The Return of Risky Playgrounds



Over time, public playgrounds have become safer: metal apparatuses were replaced by wood and then plastic, concrete or gravel was replaced by grass and then recycled rubber pellets, and anything that could conceivably present a risk was removed. Kids crave thrills, independence, creativity, and a feeling of accomplishment, which is why you take your kid to a playground and find them climbing the fence instead of the plastic ladder. "Adventure playgrounds" are different. They have building materials and tools for children to design their own equipment. They allow children to take risks while still in a controlled environment, which teaches them how to judge danger. And kids have way more fun.


Comments (4)

Newest 4
Newest 4 Comments

When my son was in kindergarten another kindergartener died on the school playground. The knot in the strings that tightened the hood on her coat got caught in a gap where the plastic slide connected to the platform. She was strangled. Every effort should be made to make playgrounds as safe as possible. Five year olds should not be at risk for playing on their school playground.
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How can you learn what _not_ to do if you don't fail (in this case, get hurt)? Basically, you're practicing, and developing your skills. I completely understand the insurance deductible thing, though.
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One mother explained why she can't let her kids take any risks. Sadly, it's because her family's health insurance deductible is so high that one trip to the ER would ruin them.
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Anyone who's had cats knows this cat isn't saying 'yum, yum', it's saying 'bugger off! this is MY food' - the vocals are a sign of warning to others (or the camera) to back off.

Still kinda cute, though :)
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agreed with Camelot- that is an aggressive cat-in-training and a kittie that's serious about 'don't mess with me when I'm eating'. Interesting that the other one already knows to just surrender its own bowl of food when 'nom nom' decides he wants it!
And it was cute...
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Yep. "Stay away from my food."
Had two kittens (feral) that required bottle feeding. The littlest one had the most fierce "growl", if you will, when it came time to suckle up.
Funny thing is, two years later she's the more timid of the two.
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I dunno. He's deliberately stressing the cat by touching it while it's eating. That could develop into issues if he does that all the time.

Only watched a bit of it - it just seemed mean.
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my family has had many dogs, including 3 jack russell terriers.
they can be naturally aggressive around their food bowl unless you get them out of it when they are puppies. essentially the same way as this guy is being with this kitten... except he should be telling it "no" and letting it know it's not a good behaviour.

now our dogs willingly share (tail-wagging included) with anyone who'd want a "taste". :) (makes it a lot safer for unwitting children)

still a cute kitten, tho!
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I see that what I came in here to say haz been said - and very well.

Encouraging aggression in a young cat is no smarter than encouraging it in a dog.
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Wow, I guess I don't know anything about cats...I've worked with dogs for years and I've never seen one make such a cute sound when telling someone to get away from their food! That submissive look on the other kitty was so pitiful and looks just like my overly submissive dog :(
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Please cut this guy some slack. You can tell he cares for the welfare of these two sweet creatures. They have food and shelter unlike so many other animals that are discarded into the elements like so much trash.
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