In the pursuit of safety, teeter-totters & swings disappearing from playgrounds!

[DrewKaree]

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/education/sfl-cplaygroundjul18,0,6068840.story

Dumbest-sounding thing in there:
     "Kids aren't using them the way they're supposed to," said the agency's director, Donna Thompson, who led a national effort to get rid of animal swings two years ago. "I'm pleased that a lot of these are disappearing."

I'm looking forward to the day when there's a handout and a release form when you get to the playground, explaining how each "apparatus" works and the release saying you've read it, know the proper way to use it, and you must sign the release stating that you agree to waive the right to sue the school if using the equipment improperly

"Play is one of children's chief vehicles for development," Frost said. "Right now it looks like we're developing a nation of wimps."

[paigeoliver]

Another example of lawsuits ruining the country.

When I was a kid everything was made out of rusty metal, 15 feet high and we loved it.

I got hurt on the playground a couple times when I was a kid, and no one ever even considered the idea of suing the school, or of even asking the school to pay for the stitches or cast.

[cdbrown]

The people in charge are getting stupider and stupider.  Let's just wrap everyone up in bubble wrap so thy can't hurt themselves.  Make sure there is some rule so that the kids can't get too close to one another just in case they collide.   

[Dartful Dodger]

Flying Wheels
This was my childhood favorite.

Luckily I haven't seen one since I was a kid, I have a feeling now that I'm bigger, I could do some real damage to myself and others.

[2600]

Guess you guys aren't big fans of the movement to ban competitive Gym/PE in schools either.  I wish I could rember the links to the organization(s), but there's no dodgeball, kickball, etc. Also, you jump rope without the rope, it's too competitive otherwise.

On a somewhat related note:
You should see some of the footage from Coney Island back in the day.  My favorite was watching people get thrown off the Human Roulette Table.

[missioncontrol]

If you can dodge a wrench....you can dodge a ball

[Stingray]

Guess you guys aren't big fans of the movement to ban competitive Gym/PE in schools either.

Only a matter of time. I work at a school. All other forms of competition have been eliminated. We're certainly doing our best to breed a generation of mediocrity.

-S

[Clonedsheep]

What ever happened to being tough? Big knots on the head, deep cuts, scrapes and bruises are what turn little boys into men. Boys love danger. With the way kids eat now and as little as they do. I just see marshmallows. You can't blame our gaming, we used to stand to play. Sometimes that's after a long walk/bikeride to get to the arcade.

[missioncontrol]

What ever happened to being tough? Big knots on the head, deep cuts, scrapes and bruises are what turn little boys into men.

But now some nosey neighbor calls the child protection agency and claims your beating you kids just cause they fell down and got a mark on them...........

[Sephroth57]

when i was in hockey in gym HS i got nailed in the head with a high stick and had to go to the hospital and get stitches. sueing the school didnt even come to mind... why would it.  i hate whats happening to our society...

[DrewKaree]

If you can dodge a wrench....you can dodge a ball 

That was a cool movie.  A guy movie only though.  My wife hated it.

I think the ground in a playground is too hard........

perhaps we should petition parks and schools to make playgrounds out of pillows.........

but they have to be the hypo-allergic kind so all kids can paly there................

 

You don't even realize what you just said already happens   In a lot of the fast food joints with playgrounds, the floor is covered with rubberized "goop".  It's applied like the mortar for ceramic tiles (with a float) and built up to a specified depth.  When it dries, it's all rubbery and spongy.  You'd have to fall from 2 (or more) stories to even seriously HURT yourself!  I think the stuff is called "SoftPlay" or something like that!  Oh, and it IS hypo-allergenic too! LOL

when i was in hockey in gym HS i got nailed in the head with a high stick and.....

OK, nothing more to explain.  We've all heard all that needs to be said.  That clears up TONS of questions everyone's had

[missioncontrol]

USA Today article

Childhood pastimes are increasingly moving indoors

[ChadTower]

Childhood activities are moving indoors because if you leave your kid out in your own yard, someone will pick them up, rape them, and dump them in a plastic bin in an abandoned landfill.  An adult can't spend all day sitting around the park or yard with an eye on the kids, the adults have to be in doing adult things much of the time(laundry, cleaning, cooking, etc).

When we were kids, the park was a safe place.  An 8 year old could walk down the street and spend ALL DAY there without fear of anything worse that a fight with another 8 year old or maybe falling off the jungle gym.  Not anymore.  Too many predators, both adult and older kids.  I started to see the beginnings of this when my (7 years younger) brother was a kid.  I spend all day at that park and never had an abnormal problem.  I got into a few fights, played basketball all day, normal kid stuff.  By the time my brother was of that age, the park was controlled by a group of kids from a new housing project up the street.  White kids were no longer allowed, anyone white who showed up was told to leave, if they refused they were beaten up.  If they came back they were beaten up worse.  The park was full of thugs by day and drugs by night.  Now it's just an abandoned lot because the town had to remove the equipment and basketball court to get the people to move on.

Now, that's just that one park... but it's not, really, it's many parks.  Without the parks, where do your kids go?   Boy scouts... our town Scout Leader, who had served a 'clean' 40 years and was practically a town saint, was just sentenced a year for sexual assault on a child, and many more are coming out now.  Church?  You've got to be kidding.  Maybe the library, but that's no place for a kid to spend extended time.

When you combine these things with what is described in this thread, the stupidly litigious and overprotective to a point of hindrance philosophy we see now... where the hell do your kids grow up? 

[missioncontrol]

well maybe there's:

[ChadTower]

Oh MAN, no!  I try to bring my kids there once in a while.  You'll see 80 kids and 15 adults.  Don't even try and say every adult brought 6 kids.  I have seen kids climbing into redemption machines, breaking into coin boxes, knocking other kids over and taking their cup of tokens or just bumping them off a game in progress so they can play it.  So many parents, at least at the place by me, just drop their kids off and clearly do it regularly since the kids have no respect for anyone or any rules.

[missioncontrol]

I was kidding............

Even good ol Chuck E Cheese's has been ruined with time..........

 

[Havok]

I never could get that damn swing high enough to wrap around the pole. Now that I'm older, perhaps I could build rocket boosted boots to achieve terminal velocity.

Expect schematics soon...

If if doesn't work, I'll sue somebody!

 

[missioncontrol]

I never could get that damn swing high enough to wrap around the pole. Now that I'm older, perhaps I could build rocket boosted boots to achieve terminal velocity.

Expect schematics soon...

If if doesn't work, I'll sue somebody!

 

They did that on mythbusters last weekend

[DYNAGOD]

the way America raises their children is pathetic..
its a wonder any of us can do anything for ourselves.
i was watching the discovery channel the other day and they were in some south east asian village, and there was a boy and girl no more than 4 years old, each wielding large razor sharp 8" butchers knives assisting in the creation of dinner for the village with total assurance and trust..
seems to me US children are raised to be helpless till they are "adults" at which time its just a big game of catchup for those that didnt take the initiative themselves to risk a little danger and live life.
instead of buying your 4-5 year old daughter a doll, buy her a plasma torch and teach her a trade.

[Havok]

I never could get that damn swing high enough to wrap around the pole. Now that I'm older, perhaps I could build rocket boosted boots to achieve terminal velocity.

Expect schematics soon...

If if doesn't work, I'll sue somebody!

 

They did that on mythbusters last weekend

Darn - I wish I had seen that...

Hey, are you stealing everyone's avatar?

[missioncontrol]

They did that on mythbusters last weekend

Darn - I wish I had seen that...

Hey, are you stealing everyone's avatar?

It was a pretty funny episode....

they did end up having to use a rocket to get a full 360 on the swing set........



and technically... I'm just borrowing them.......