Playgrounds in Germany (and EU) are pretty safe. Child may fall, but there are no sharp corners, and ground is covered with grovel or rubber.
Learning the ropes: why Germany is building risk into its playgrounds (2021)
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Re: Learning the ropes: why Germany is building risk into its playgrounds (2021)
#32It is hard to explain, but this headline makes me sad, very sad. Not because german children are supposedly put at risk, not at all... It is the tone of finger pointing. Risk is what eventually makes us grow. A totally risk free world/life would be utterly worthless living, and perhaps a reason to attempt suicide.
Good point. Makes me think of the complete lack of suicide in more primitive cultures.
Re: Learning the ropes: why Germany is building risk into its playgrounds (2021)
#33It doesn't look like they are building risk into the playgrounds, as much as they are building the feeling of risk. which isn't necessarily a bad thing. This seems like a compromise that should be seen as better, or at least acceptable to both extremes of parents. "The maximum fall height in the Triitopia structure’s spiderweb is 1.8 metres." That's not a risky fall, if you're falling onto a rope net. Also, "The Trii…
i wonder if it will be discovered as fun to "base-jump" into the net
Re: Learning the ropes: why Germany is building risk into its playgrounds (2021)
#34These things are ubiquitous in Berlin: https://stage.berliner-seilfabrik.com/wp-content/uploads/201... They're not actually that high to an adult, but I have childhood memories of these seeming somewhat tall and scary. On an average one, a young child can fall 4-6 times their own height (but not straight, you'll get buffered by the structure as you go down).
> They're not actually that high to an adult
Not the ones we have here in Croatia : https://fastly.4sqi.net/img/general/width960/57918118_91NXEE...
Re: Learning the ropes: why Germany is building risk into its playgrounds (2021)
#35Considering our species used to send children into dark caves as a rite of passage and the way things are now, this is probably for the best. "Parents can try to keep up with their young mountaineers as they ascend through the rope spiderweb, but they might get left behind in the tightly woven mesh." Like Instagram and TikTok, but with real safety guarantees.
> Considering our species used to send children into dark caves as a rite of passage
Is this a reference to Victorians sending kids into coal mines to die of back lung, or something else? As a bonus, the tunnels didn't need to be so large.
Re: Learning the ropes: why Germany is building risk into its playgrounds (2021)
#36Children don't know better and getting hurt isn't always the best way to learn because their could be permanent consequences
A friend of mine, PhD in early childhood education, told me the contrary:
Toddlers instinctively know their limits and will not "bite more than they can chew", at least with gross motor skills.
My personal experience confirms this: for example, when teaching my young kid of 18mo to climb down stairs standing, I would stop holding his hands and observe his behavior. He would initially try to go down a step on his feet while holding the side rail, then hesitate and ask for my hand. If I told him to do it himself, he would instead sit down and slide down gently.
Re: Learning the ropes: why Germany is building risk into its playgrounds (2021)
#37These things are ubiquitous in Berlin: https://stage.berliner-seilfabrik.com/wp-content/uploads/201... They're not actually that high to an adult, but I have childhood memories of these seeming somewhat tall and scary. On an average one, a young child can fall 4-6 times their own height (but not straight, you'll get buffered by the structure as you go down).
Pretty common in Paris too.
I wish they made versions that were socially acceptable for adults to climb. These things were awesome.
Re: Learning the ropes: why Germany is building risk into its playgrounds (2021)
#38These things are ubiquitous in Berlin: https://stage.berliner-seilfabrik.com/wp-content/uploads/201... They're not actually that high to an adult, but I have childhood memories of these seeming somewhat tall and scary. On an average one, a young child can fall 4-6 times their own height (but not straight, you'll get buffered by the structure as you go down).
Childhood memories! Our playground had the same version shown in the linked image.
You were considered cool when you dared to jump off the highest possible standing position. The wood chips softened the fall :-)
Re: Learning the ropes: why Germany is building risk into its playgrounds (2021)
#39These things are ubiquitous in Berlin: https://stage.berliner-seilfabrik.com/wp-content/uploads/201... They're not actually that high to an adult, but I have childhood memories of these seeming somewhat tall and scary. On an average one, a young child can fall 4-6 times their own height (but not straight, you'll get buffered by the structure as you go down).
We've got these in many newer playgrounds in Canada. They're awesome and always full of kids.
Re: Learning the ropes: why Germany is building risk into its playgrounds (2021)
#40These things are ubiquitous in Berlin: https://stage.berliner-seilfabrik.com/wp-content/uploads/201... They're not actually that high to an adult, but I have childhood memories of these seeming somewhat tall and scary. On an average one, a young child can fall 4-6 times their own height (but not straight, you'll get buffered by the structure as you go down).
Pretty common in Paris too. I wish they made versions that were socially acceptable for adults to climb. These things were awesome .
The town I grew up in the 90s had much bigger versions of these. I'm not sure exactly how tall they were, but based on this photo [1] and my memories they were probably around 10-15m tall.
[1] https://www.dynamoplaygrounds.com/understanding-climbing-net...