

Can playgrounds be too safe? - colinprince
http://www.cbc.ca/thesundayedition/mobile/touch/essays/2014/03/28/do-safe-school-yards-increase-bullying/

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cardamomo
I think this column stops short of offering any real insight into its primary
source, an article about a school's "rule-less" playground:
[http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/03/21/when-one-new-
zealand...](http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/03/21/when-one-new-zealand-
school-tossed-its-playground-rules-and-let-students-risk-injury-the-results-
surprised/)

The original article is fascinating. This commentary doesn't contribute much,
unfortunately.

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microcolonel
I've seen the systematic removal and disinclusion of swings from playgrounds
here in Canada since I grew up. It was already under way when I had just been
born(mid-late '90s).

On one hand, I'd have to agree with it, it's not like we made that decision in
a void: swings are really dangerous, I have seen people break legs, kick in
heads, and do all sorts of things on swings, it simply isn't worth it. Though
I enjoy swinging, I didn't really care that much losing it, and have lived
very happily without it for the better part of a decade.

On the other hand, we have to consider that quality of life significantly
decreases for active people, when they're forced to be less active. I'm of the
personal opinion that even children(assuming they are not raised in physically
abusive or discourse-deprived homes) have a fairly good sense of their
physical boundaries, and the physical boundaries of others. I am generally in
support of increasing freedoms like this, which have a clear impact on quality
of life.

The greatest danger I was exposed to in a playground was when the supervisors
blew their whistles to rush us back into class, I would frequently be pushed
into doorframes or dangerously distracted by goading(to the point where I
would run into things like signposts).

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marijn
Ignoring some of the more ridiculous excesses, child safety measures are a
balance that, obviously, shift as society becomes more risk-averse (puts a
higher value in lives and safety). I enjoyed a very free childhood. One of my
friends, in a similar situation, was killed (age 10) by a car when riding his
bicycle home. For my own children, I try to err on the side of freedom, but
stupid opinion pieces pretending the safety measures are all silly nonsense
don't contribute anything useful to the discussion.

