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How Urban Legend Destroyed the Ball Pit

meghanboilard.substack.com

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Re: How Urban Legend Destroyed the Ball Pit

#81

Post by nemo44x »

tgsovlerkhgsel wrote: post #76

I really hope the adventure playgrounds mentioned are still a thing. The ones in Germany were a bit more organized than just a pile of junk, but you basically went there, maybe parents paid some (nominal) fee or deposit, and you got a toolbox with basic hand tools like a saw, hammer and nails and there was plenty of wood to build with. Larger structures were clearly built with some guidance and probably a civil engin…

Yeah, I don't think we're giving kids saws and nails to play with.

Saying that where I grew up there were a lot of homes being built so there were piles of scrap wood, etc all over and we'd raid them and build forts using saws and nails from our dads' workshops. So maybe we are overprotective today.

Re: How Urban Legend Destroyed the Ball Pit

#82

Post by dosman33 »

Heh, before the internet rumor mill existed, I had friends who worked at fast food joints with ball pits. They ALWAYS complained about kids pissing in the ball pits. That scared me off from ever messing with them as a young adult (and they didn't have them around my area when I was the right age/size to play in one).

Re: How Urban Legend Destroyed the Ball Pit

#84

Post by tgsovlerkhgsel »

nemo44x wrote: post #81
tgsovlerkhgsel wrote: post #76

I really hope the adventure playgrounds mentioned are still a thing. The ones in Germany were a bit more organized than just a pile of junk, but you basically went there, maybe parents paid some (nominal) fee or deposit, and you got a toolbox with basic hand tools like a saw, hammer and nails and there was plenty of wood to build with. Larger structures were clearly built with some guidance and probably a civil engin…

Yeah, I don't think we're giving kids saws and nails to play with. Saying that where I grew up there were a lot of homes being built so there were piles of scrap wood, etc all over and we'd raid them and build forts using saws and nails from our dads' workshops. So maybe we are overprotective today.

The nice thing about such basic hand tools is that you usually get to learn from mistakes without permanent consequences. Will a child hurt themselves at least once with a saw and a hammer? Probably. Will they seriously hurt themselves? Probably not. Will they learn to not hurt themselves? Almost certainly.

I also don't remember how exactly supervision works, but it definitely isn't just dumping a bunch of kids at some unattended construction site. Parents and/or the team managing the place are at the very least nearby.

Re: How Urban Legend Destroyed the Ball Pit

#85

Post by Dennip »

hgomersall wrote: post #78
lotsofpulp wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Based on the frequency of my kids getting infected at daycare, I assume any activity where toddlers or even a little older get together has a near certain chance of transmission. Although, I still would not take my chances with a ball pit that I doubt is ever thoroughly cleaned.

Except, strangely enough, according to my anecdata, not COVID-19. For nearly 2 years there were, AFAICT, almost no cases of COVID transmission through our nursery. I'd love this to be followed up properly. I have a theory that not only are the kids more resistant, but the parents are too due to the circulation of the other coronaviruses in pre-school children, along with all the other various infections. It's all cha…

But could this simply be down to the fact that people were actively managing/combatting COVID-19?

Re: How Urban Legend Destroyed the Ball Pit

#86

Post by tinus_hn »

chomp wrote: post #5
namdnay wrote: post #2

I guess this is limited to the US? Ball pits are going strong here in Europe, they're a staple of every indoor playpark. There's a special machine for cleaning them, it looks a bit like the robot from teletubbies

No, ball pits are ubiquitous at most indoor play parks here too, the author is extrapolating their disappearance from fast food restaurants, and correlating it to the 90s rumor mill. These rumors were definitely a thing, but more than just ball pits have been removed; most McDonald’s locations have had their entire PlayPlaces removed, due to the fact that people don’t sit down in fast food restaurants anymore, and al…

And of course they have been closed for COVID for a few years.

Re: How Urban Legend Destroyed the Ball Pit

#87

Post by hgomersall »

Dennip wrote: post #85
hgomersall wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except, strangely enough, according to my anecdata, not COVID-19. For nearly 2 years there were, AFAICT, almost no cases of COVID transmission through our nursery. I'd love this to be followed up properly. I have a theory that not only are the kids more resistant, but the parents are too due to the circulation of the other coronaviruses in pre-school children, along with all the other various infections. It's all cha…

But could this simply be down to the fact that people were actively managing/combatting COVID-19?

Maybe, but have you tried actively managing infection control policy in a group of 0 to 5 year olds?

Re: How Urban Legend Destroyed the Ball Pit

#88

Post by littlestymaar »

Dennip wrote: post #85
hgomersall wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except, strangely enough, according to my anecdata, not COVID-19. For nearly 2 years there were, AFAICT, almost no cases of COVID transmission through our nursery. I'd love this to be followed up properly. I have a theory that not only are the kids more resistant, but the parents are too due to the circulation of the other coronaviruses in pre-school children, along with all the other various infections. It's all cha…

But could this simply be down to the fact that people were actively managing/combatting COVID-19?

That could be said until this year, but in France all restrictions where lifted before the presidential elections in April this year (for real) and weren't reintroduced ever since (even though we've had 2 Covid waves and 27k death in the meantime).

Yet, there's still no covid outbreak at my sons' daycare…

Re: How Urban Legend Destroyed the Ball Pit

#89

Post by aerostable_slug »

corrral wrote: post #53
mc32 wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Chicken Fillet is good; but I’d hardly describe it as “fast-food prices.” Although it is fast food. It’s more like a chain restaurant prices (think Olive Garden and such).

No fast food places have "fast food prices" anymore unless you heavily coupon and/or use their apps. Seems to be a method of price discrimination. If you're poor you know about the app and coupons and never pay menu prices. If you're not then you think "god damn, fast food got expensive" and pay menu price anyway, when you happen to go to such an establishment. Like, they've always done coupons, but menu prices used…

In-N-Out is a nice exception. I don't think I've ever even seen an In-N-Out coupon.

Re: How Urban Legend Destroyed the Ball Pit

#90

Post by SamBam »

dhosek wrote: post #66

My kids’ school has actually retained some elements of the junk playground. In the courtyard play area, there is a wealth of scrap wood that the kids use for building projects. When we did the tour before enrolling our kids, the older kids had just built a shed which I thought was appropriate because the school is based on John Dewey’s progressive education ideals, with his central example he returned to many times i…

Where was this? As a STEM teacher, I'm wanting to push for more things like this.
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