Every parent has to have a certain amount of responsibility, especially when it comes to their children and the playground. Kids can be nasty little creatures, so the fact that, not everyone likes everybody, is something that is carried on from childhood.
I’m not saying that in a playground, you should keep your kids away from the ones that they don’t like, but try to have a responsible attitude to how they react to children that are not nice. You have to instill a certain amount of common sense when it comes to your kids, integrating with others, in the playground and not go on their defense at every opportunity. (more…)
When traveling around I have been surprised at the lack of, if you like, communal playground areas. By this I mean playgrounds that are all together, young and older kids can run around the same area.
Obviously you don’t want a fourteen year old running into a four year old, they would knock them for six, but we could have one end for the bigger kids and one end for the smaller ones.
When I was a kid, many moons ago, there was such a place like this in a town near where I lived, the actual playground, had a big hedge around it, there where picnic benches in there, so all the family could sit and have something to eat, swings for the little ones where at one end, with slides, climbing frames and roundabouts, that none of the bigger kids wanted to play on. At the other end was where the older kids had larger pieces of equipment, swings their size, bigger climbing frames and things that the younger kids could not really play on. (more…)
In the United States over the past few years, there has been a lot more housing developments being built. The one thing that really grabs people with these new places, is the closeness and community feeling they give.
What does not seem to enter into the equation though, is the fact that all the play areas for the children seem to be the same, and have looked the same for the past fifteen years. Do they have just one person that designs the play areas for children, do the same thing all over the country, then go abroad, look at what they have, move it around a bit and then do exactly the same thing. Is there only one company producing swings, slides, roundabouts and funny looking things as climbing frames? (more…)
It is likely that wherever you are in the world, there will be a playground game, or derivative of, which has been played by children in playgrounds all over the world.
One such game is Duck Duck Goose, where children sit in a circle facing one another, and one is appointed ‘it’. ‘It’ walks around the circle touching people on the head and saying out loud whether they are a duck or a goose. When a goose is picked, that child gets up and chases ‘it’ around the circle and tries to get to the empty seat first, whoever is left standing becomes (or remains) ‘it’ and has to select a new set of ducks and a goose.
In the news, especially in the US recently, there has been a lot of worry about artificial surfaces and the problems they can cause, with dust particles being inhaled by people and children who are playing on them. Some parents will not even let their children go anywhere near these synthetic areas.
The thing is that when you look at a surface which has fake grass, then that is the problem more than anything else, also what feels like normal dirt, is actually very fine pieces of rubber, that have also been treated with something, to probably make it last longer.
If you’re thinking of building your children a playground, there are quite a few things to take into consideration. You should always have a plan, that will start and end with safety, as this is a major factor in any playground, then you need to think about the equipment, different age ranges, sturdiness and even cost. The surface of the playground is just as important as the equipment and the location of the play area, for example can you see it from the house? These are only a few things to plan for and I’m sure you can think of a lot more.
Let’s do a little reminiscing, and cast our minds back to the games we used to play in the playground. We probably remember all the chasing, all the kicking and throwing balls about and the universal doctors and nurses, but do we remember the actual names of the games?
Remember this one? It is where a group of friends split into two groups. In one group, everyone holds hands, and the other group wait to hear the words – “Red Rover, Red Rover, we call Simon over”, and then “Simon” would have to run at the group holding hands to try and break the link.
Children are going to have accidents in the playground, no matter what the apparatus, the playground surface, or what we teach them. There will always be show offs and kids who think they are clever, who use swings as climbing frames, or seesaws as circus training apparatus. Unfortunately, even the best behaved child can lose their balance and injure themselves.
You might think that children having accidents in playgrounds is not a common occurrence – you would be wrong. It is such a common occurrence that several lawyer firms have specialized knowledge on playground accidents and how to pursue compensation.
Has anyone really thought about letting the little ones learn whilst having a good time? Well we do have the odd type of playground that has some type of alphabetic or numeric play things, which are usually sprayed on the ground. Most of these are either ignored by the little ones, sprayed with something else by the older ones, or just forgotten about altogether.
So what about creating some playground areas that look like different cities around the world, even buildings from ancient cultures or whole countries? The possibilities are endless. We have theme parks that use this concept and do very well, people enjoy themselves whilst seeing, smelling and feeling what it is or was like to be in the place the park is recreating. (more…)
Think about everything you throw away. Can something else be done with it? Can it be recycled, or can someone else make good use of it?
So don’t throw away or simply burn old clothes, books, kid’s toys, or even furniture, but instead give them to your local charity shop instead. You will be helping other people and the environment too.
When traveling around I have been surprised at the lack of, if you like, communal 
In the 
Let’s do a little reminiscing, and cast our minds back to the games we used to play in the 
Has anyone really thought about letting the little ones learn whilst having a good time? Well we do have the odd type of 
Think about everything you throw away. Can something else be done with it? 
