I remember when my kids were younger they always had difficulty climbing onto the cooler play structures. Somehow the first few steps of the entrance are the most difficult. So I just had to help them get on and they would be fine. At first this annoyed me a bit, but later I realized that this must be intentional; if the kid manages to get in/on the play structure in the first place, they'll probably be fine. If they fall when trying to get on it, they fall in the sand so also no problem. Only the kids with some physical ability are able to reach some height, the smallest have to stay on the ground
Learning the ropes: why Germany is building risk into its playgrounds (2021)
81–90 of 162 posts
Re: Learning the ropes: why Germany is building risk into its playgrounds (2021)
#82Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Children even started wearing yellow safety vests to school all of a sudden. Given how many accidents happen on the way to school ("Schulwegunfälle", yes we have a dedicated word for it), it's absolutely necessary. 62k accidents in 2021, and 16 dead kids [1]. A large part of the cause is how absurdly car-centric our cities are - and yet, we're harmless compared to the US. [1] https://www.dguv.de/de/zahlen-fakten/sc…
> 16 dead kids of course every preventable death is too much and we should be aiming at zero...but 16 doesn't seem that much? I would have guessed more for sure.
It does seem a little hypocritical to follow up 'should aim for zero children dead from being ran over by vehicles' with 'but 16 is fine'
Re: Learning the ropes: why Germany is building risk into its playgrounds (2021)
#83>A sign urges parents to take off their children’s cycle helmets in order to eliminate a strangulation risk. That's ironic - PPE that becomes dangerous in a different environment.
Helmets in particular have tremendous specificity, which is fascinating. Bicycle, ski, and motorcycle helmets have MIPS. Motorcycle helmets have chin guards. Bicycle helmets have side impact protection. Climbing helmets have puncture resistance and top impact protection. Ski helmets have puncture resistance and coverage close to a motorcycle helmet, but less cushion. I’m sure the list is long for hard hats as well.
Kids helmets have started to show up with breakaway neck straps- the strap only need be so strong to prevent the helmet from slipping off in a crash.
Re: Learning the ropes: why Germany is building risk into its playgrounds (2021)
#84These 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).
I know at least two in Berlin that are pretty high even for adults. One is at John-Foster-Dulless-Allee in the Tiergarten the other next to Fritz-Schloß-Park in Moabit.
Re: Learning the ropes: why Germany is building risk into its playgrounds (2021)
#85Building risk into playgrounds so that no adult German ever takes risks and has insurance for every case :)
how do you think Allianz got so big? ;)
Re: Learning the ropes: why Germany is building risk into its playgrounds (2021)
#86I don't know, kids these days. You should have seen what we had to contend with in the 60s - huge lumps of flesh mangling metal, swinging at terrifying angles, throwing small children off in all directions. And no wimpy rubber mats to catch them. Sometimes, I wonder that I survived.
maybe it's just my old man memory but when I was young in the 70's there was always one or two kids in a cast, usually a broken arm -it was a bit of a badge of honor and something for everyone to sign. Now I almost never see a kid in a cast maybe medicine has gotten a lot better and things seem to have had the entire danger aspect removed from them. I wonder if play today is boring or there is so much safety that kid…
As a 2000s/2010s kid, I would word it the same way you did: “there was always one or two kids in a cast.” If your wording is accurate to your experience then I don’t think much has changed. If you don’t physically work in a school then it’s a tough pattern to monitor.
Re: Learning the ropes: why Germany is building risk into its playgrounds (2021)
#87Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not really, as you will notice and learn that the ropes are damn stiff and have metal ties to form the grid.
In the US, my experience with this style of rope structure is that the ropes are actually steep cables encases in fiber or nylon rope sheathing. There is no stretch, so landings are immediate (unlike falling onto an actual rope net).
I think I've seen that too; why are they made this way? Durability? Supporting more people's weight at once?
Re: Learning the ropes: why Germany is building risk into its playgrounds (2021)
#88Earlier quoted context omitted.
In the US, my experience with this style of rope structure is that the ropes are actually steep cables encases in fiber or nylon rope sheathing. There is no stretch, so landings are immediate (unlike falling onto an actual rope net).
I think I've seen that too; why are they made this way? Durability? Supporting more people's weight at once?
Same shit as some commercial residential developments here in Germany have: wrong metrics.
Like, when the builders' metric is "must last for 20 years at minimal maintenance effort and legal risk", you get radically different results (barely fulfilling the legal definition of playground, no one uses it) than if the metric is "out of the X potential users in the 200m surrounding the playground, Y% use it frequently". The latter costs more money in construction and upkeep.
Re: Learning the ropes: why Germany is building risk into its playgrounds (2021)
#89[deleted]
Re: Learning the ropes: why Germany is building risk into its playgrounds (2021)
#90All well and good, but the children in our local playground in Germany climb the nearby trees overlooking the risk-engineered playground, reaching heights of around 5 metres while standing on branches less than 1cm thick!