Play restrictions

Children must be given the chance to develop their judgment and their sense of what their own body is capable of. They do this through play with reasonably large challenges. For the small child, it can be like climbing up a rock. The slightly older child tries how high he dares to climb a tree. But the opportunities for such challenges have increasingly disappeared and been replaced by designed play equipment. Children who grow up in an urban environment, therefore, miss out on important learning and knowledge. The pursuit of maximum safety makes one forget that childhood is bordered by important experiences such as abrasions and the occasional sprained foot.

During the 1990s, a European standard was developed to prevent serious accidents related to play equipment and playground design. The recommendation was based on a compilation of accidents and has since become part of Swedish standards. The purpose of having a standard was to have a common measure to facilitate trade in play equipment in Europe. Gradually, these standards have been given the status of governing documents by municipalities and property owners. With the standard as a basis, the safety of playgrounds and play equipment is now inspected.

Self-built and designed play environments often fail in safety inspections. Fear of and uncertainty about who is responsible for possible damages and accidents causes many property owners to back off. The consequence may be that play equipment and entire play areas are removed.

Really dangerous places and playground equipment must of course be fixed so that children do not get hurt. Getting stuck with a lanyard from the jacket in a broken slide can have fatal consequences and is not something the child can foresee. Other risks, on the other hand, are obvious - if you climb high, you can fall down, this is understood by every child who automatically adapts the game accordingly.

Bubble wrap children and helicopter parents are new words that describe children who are over-protected and parents who anxiously check that the child is not exposed to danger. Worrying is human and natural but must not go to excess. Something has gotten out of hand when parents who let their children play unsupervised feel afraid of being seen as careless and educators in schools worry about being taken to court. It goes beyond the child's development into an independent and judicious person.

If there is no play value in the playgrounds and play environments that adults create for children's play - then it is actually wasted money. Play environments must be interesting, challenging and able to be influenced. If the play environment is not stimulating, the children simply go somewhere else and play.

Perhaps adults' concerns should instead be directed at the fact that city children today are deprived of the opportunity to develop their physique, self-confidence and judgement. Here with a little danger, cried the Ronja Rövardotter of the story before she finally challenged the Hell Gap and in triumph dared to jump over the chasm, filled with excitement and delight mixed with terror.

Azaleadalen 2020. Photo: Lo Birgersson.

The opportunities for children and young people to move freely have diminished dramatically in the last century. Tim Gill, author, lecturer and child rights activist in England, has described the development through his own family in Sheffield. In the 1920s, as an eight-year-old, his father got to walk all over Sheffield alone, almost a mile, to fish in the river. At the same age in the 1950s, Tim Gill got to walk 1.5 kilometres into the woods and play without adult company. As an eight-year-old in the 1970s, his daughter got to walk eight hundred meters on her own to the swimming pool. His grandson, who was eight years old in the 2010s, is only allowed to walk to the end of the street, about three hundred meters.

This development is widespread throughout the western world and is largely due to the increasing car traffic, lack of safe walking and cycling routes and parents' perceived concerns. The physical activity that everyday life provided just a few generations ago is not taken for granted by children today. The lack of interesting places to play also contributes to children and young people choosing to stay indoors. The less freedom of movement children have and receive, the more important it is that they have access to a good and stimulating environment close to home, school and preschool.

All children should have safe opportunities to seek excitement and challenge in the play. It is an important part of every human being's development. By playing and trying what the body can do, the child acquires vital knowledge and good judgment. A good outdoor environment, therefore, invites children to run, climb, crawl and slide. Children describe how they get a tingling sensation in the stomach when, with a mixture of horror and delight, they accept physical challenges and test their courage in their relationships with adults and friends.

Research shows that preschool children need to:

Explore heights (climb, cling, jump, balance)
Experience high speed (running, swinging, sliding, cycling, skating)
Explore their limits of what is dangerous (climbing walls, fire, ice, water)
Test common tools (carving, chopping, sawing)
Struggle (compete, fight, wrestle)
Try to be alone (hide, withdraw)