The New Playground

            One of the simple pleasures of childhood is gliding back and forth on a swing, but thanks to over protective government and a litigious society swing sets, high slides, seesaws and even merry-go-rounds are fading from elementary school playgrounds and public parks.  As reported by USA Today, Scott Burton, President of Safety Play Inc. states, “Everybody’s afraid of being litigated against. They just tear it out and don't replace it.”

          At one West Virginia school, a child jumped off a swing and broke his arm.  The parents sued and as a result, the swings are gone.  At a Massachusetts school, children can’t play tag, at another students are forbidden to hang upside down from the monkey bars.  A combination of lawyers, safety experts and playground safety guidelines from the federal government force the removal of the tall swings and slides that many of us remember from our youth.  These are replaced with “cooperative play climbing challenges.”  If you would like to see the new “perfect playground,” click on the embedded video.

          In a recent article, Investors.com quotes Philip K. Howard, author of The Death of Common Sense, as stating, “There is nothing left in playgrounds that would attract the interest of a child over the age of four.”  Sad isn’t it.      

Comments

[Leticia]

It's hard to believe we lived though our childhood huh? If we broke something our parents didn't sue the school they looked at us and said " you won't do that again will you?"