What IF:
- by making play safe for kids, we're actually setting them up to get hurt more...
- by making sure our children have most of what they need and want, they are developing less ingenuity and fewer abilities...
- by giving children more opportunities, we're actually narrowing their horizons...
- by keeping things clean and sanitary for kids, we're actually compromising their health...
These are literally just thoughts that are popping into my head, but if I am ever considering procreating and/or going back to teaching, these are thoughts that must be considered and addressed so as to form my own opinion. I hope you all, whoever you are, will think about them and go out and form your own educated opinions as well. I know others have discussed these things further, but let me delve into why I started thinking about this. I'm going to ramble, but I'll highlight what I see to be the key points in case you want the abridged version.
I sat down at a pre-interview at a martial arts studio... it was a free "self defense" session and they wanted to get a picture of my movement background first. I got to the part about how I started going back to playgrounds last year and the guy said, "Oh, you mean like with Monkey Bars & Merry-Go-Rounds?" Me: "Yeah, but you can't really find Merry-Go-Rounds anymore at all." "Really?" "Yeah, it's generally a liability thing. They're 'too dangerous' to keep around." Guy's co-worker pipes in: "Yeah, actually, just a month or so ago a kid in my neighborhood fell off the Monkey Bars & is now paralysed!"
I don't know if any of you have been to playgrounds recently, but if you haven't, I suggest you go out and take a look around. More and more of the playgrounds are becoming less and less challenging. The vast majority appear to be formatted like castles and tree houses with elevated platforms, stairs, ladders, and slides. That's fun. But you'll be hard pressed to find slides that are more than 4 ft. high and made of anything other than than stupid plastic that gives you ridiculous static cling and lets the speed top out at, oh... the pace of a caterpillar. Here is what you WILL NOT see, unless you've found a relict from the dinosaur era: 6-8 ft high metal slides, a merry-go-round, and teeter-totters. While I am sad those are largely gone, this is where I have a real issue... these things are HARD to find: Monkey bars, rings, fireman's poles, balance beams, parallel bars and pull-up type bars.
Stairs, small ladders, small slides and platforms are great for make believe and safe play, but it's the hard-to-find items that are really responsible for helping kids build strength (through PLAY) and helping them learn more about how their body moves (subconsciously through PLAY).
When I jumped into movement & fitness with gusto two years ago, it was just to help find myself, help center myself emotionally, and "get in better shape." After trying more conventional approaches, (i.e. gyms, running, etc...) I wanted to get stronger and have more fun. I thought about how I got strongish as a kid and remembered climbing on things a lot, playing on the swing set (I still love swings), using the monkey bars, etc.... so I got a friend and went to the playground. The next day, my arms and thighs hurt from using the swings for 40 minutes. Long story short, I went back & kept playing on the playground, found MovNat, found Exuberant Animal, and started really going beyond fitness and just decided to explore movement and see what my body is capable of doing. I'm now trying to find my limits and push them instead of going for set goals like strength. Strength is a side product of what I can do - it's actually circular. The more I try, the stronger I get, the stronger I get, the more I can try.
Along the way I discovered this: I don't know how to move. I'm learning. I'm 30 and I'm learning how to move. I understand momentum and weight transference to some extent. But you tell me to do a pull-up & I try to contract my biceps & expect that will do it. I tried to push myself up & hold myself up on a pair of gymnastics rings and I fell right off because I was trying to use my triceps. I stopped. I tried again. I listened to what parts of my body were affected when my attempt failed. I felt it in my laterals, my pectorals, my shoulders and back. I was ignoring the function of a whole slew of things that needed to work together. Next time, I tried to push up & used those shoulder/chest/back muscles and guess what.... it worked! It makes me feel really stupid. It makes me realize how much I don't know and how much more I need to learn.
So back to the topic at hand.... From my own experience, I understand some basic movements and got some building of strength from playing on this "dangerous" equipment as a kid. If, as an adult, I still don't feel like I know enough about how to move and use my body (can be helpful if you need to save yourself or get out of physical trouble), how are younger generations going to learn & how will they turn out? Yes, there's more prevalence of organized sports, but those result in specialized movements and skills, not general awareness. And what about kids in underprivileged areas where they might not have access to leagues and only have access to "safe," unchallenging playspace. Will this relegate them to a weaker body and lifestyle in the end? I don't know. It's something I'm thinking about. Maybe others should too?
P.S. I've been very lax about the Veg of the Week, but this week I tried Carrot Tops (the greens). Interesting... like a combo of parsley & arugula. It had quite a strong flavor.
