Learning the lessons of risk assessment, collaboration, and physical abilities starts early in life, and playgrounds are the proving grounds that builds these skills.
Every outdoor companies strive to increase participation in the outdoors by supporting outdoor legislation, developing products that meet growing consumer trends, creating compelling marketing campaigns, working to protect our natural environment, and more. What's missing is just like academic learning, appreciation and placing value in the outdoors starts early in life. Really early.
To make a difference in participation rates for outdoor recreation in the long-term, inv
estments and emphasis on the importance of early childhood recreation should become a priority. Kid's first profound experiences of climbing, jumping, reaching, and sliding is often on a playground - places that make up less than 1% of our public spaces. For parents that take the time to bring their kids to playgrounds and allow them to explore the challenges that playgrounds offer, they are building the same skills the kids will need to climb a mountain, portage a canoe, or hike a remote trail. The problem is, not all kids are getting their free range playtime.
The rules of recreation have changed. What today’s generation of kids find compelling, engaging and challenging has changed. Age compression, technology, fears of litigation, over scheduled parents and kids, fear of the boogie man and other influences have all conspired to detract, detach and distract us from getting outdoors. Not to mention the millions of children in the US that don't have access to safe, nearby play areas.
No Child Left Behind has forced many schools to forego recess in order to prepare students for mandatory academic testing. In fact, NCLB has no provision for physical fitness, ignoring the link between physical and mental health. Recess has been relegated to non-essential and has been cut in many schools. This trend has sparked a “Right to Recess” campaign, showing what parents and caregivers already know – healthy bodies means healthy minds.
Age compression is phenomenon that we’ve all seen – kids getting older younger. They’re abandoning classic tactile games for screens. Technology has become the medium they use and in doing so, they’ve immersed themselves in environments designed for them, not by them, replacing self-motivated creativity with programmed paths and outcomes. The outdoors represents ambiguity – a setting that has no programmed purpose or goal.
For parents that strive to provide experiences that teach lessons, measurable benefits and something that will help children do better in school, playtime doesn’t have high scores, winners or grades. Despite numerous studies to the contrary, free-play has been relegated to a a luxury they feel their children can’t afford. As a kid growing up in a small town in Michigan, my most creative moments, those which allowed me to take risks, build my confidence, and fully explore my imagination, usually came right after I hit the bottom of boredom. My parents, acting not out of neglect but simply not accepting their role as my entertainment guide answered my complaints of boredom with disdain not distraction. “Go outside”, was their typical response. So I did.
In today’s world of Amber Alerts and media sensationalism, many parents are reluctant to doing the same today, fearing they’re putting their kids at risk, despite studies that show these horrible types of crimes have actually decreased. In addition, kids are becoming more limited in the distance they are allowed to travel from home and are finding fewer places to play. Isolation harms our connectedness profoundly.
Technology, particularly video games, have also played an important role in occupying the finite time kids have for free-play. At a symposium titled, “Generation Play”, Dimitri Williams, Associate Professor in the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California spoke to the audience on this issue as well as other influences impacting outdoor play. Video games and smart phones have found their way into every aspect of our kids’ lives from recreation to learning and to every age group. When I grew up, there was only one screen in the house – and I was the family remote. Today, kids have mobile devices and TVs in their own rooms which further fragments the family. In addition, gaming companies have designed video games for children as young as two. As a parent, its easier to identify these tools and to remove or limit their use to encourage other creative outlets, but there are other, less obvious influences as well.
Innovation in our approach will be a key to getting us back outside. Peaceful Playgrounds is a company that repurposes existing playground blacktops into places that get kids moving while teaching them sportsmanship, conflict resolution and safety. In cities across the country, efforts to rebuild our communities into sustainable, walkable and engaging spaces are still under way. Experiments such as pop-up parks are showing up in underused urban spaces more frequently as recreation departments strive to engage the public in physical fitness and fun. To help remind children of their connection to nature, more emphasis is being placed on incorporating natural design elements in daycares and commercial sites. Children and Nature showcases the efforts being made by landscape architects and corporate partners.
The solution won’t be to simply target children, but the family and community as a whole. Designing spaces where kids and adults can be active together, each finding an appropriate challenge, will address not just our need for stronger bodies, but stronger communities too.
By focussing on new, creative solutions that meet the needs of today’s generations we can reconnect with the outdoors and perhaps increase the outdoor participation numbers everyone is after.
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