Imagine a standard piece of commercial playground equipment. Incorporate creative engineering and increased play value, and then visualize a fun-filled…
From DynamoPlaygrounds.com

Follow Katie Hurley on Twitter: www.twitter.com/katiefhurley 

See original story here. 

Once again re-shaping the face of commercial playground equipment, Dynamo’s new series of artistic Ropes Courses blend visual display with play appeal….
From DynamoPlaygrounds.com

Residents of Mesa, Arizona and the surrounding region recently enjoyed the long-awaited grand re-opening of Riverview Park. The City if Mesa offered a day of spectacle as they unveiled the completely new park and sports facility including wide open green spaces, shade and picnic areas, fishing lakes, splash pad and incredible new playground in addition to the new Chicago Cubs Spring Training Facility. Huge crowds of visitors came to see, and the sea of grinning faces & loud buzz of happy voices and laughter proved the day a complete success!

Prominently visible from any approach, park visitors or passersby easily notice the most memorable features of this playground whether on freeways or local streets. Mesa Parks staff worked with local distributor AZ Rec Design and Dynamo Playgrounds to create truly unique playground achievements that are sure to draw visitors from near and far.

The first feature of this playground everyone will notice is one that has been perplexing locals for months after it rose behind the construction fence. Pyramid Net Climbers have become familiar sights on playgrounds in recent years, but no playground has seen one like this. Standing 15M tall – nearly 50 feet – The DX-108 is the World’s Tallest Pyramid Net by Dynamo and sets an entirely new standard for playground awesomeness.

Also attracting a high volume of attention is the first structure in Dynamo’s new Art Play series. Although markedly shorter than its big brother beside it, this Ropes Course winds its way over almost 10,000 square feet. Designed with extensive consultation between AZ Rec Design and the City, this special ropes course offers a rope play unlike any one style of net climber.

Undulating planes, ever-changing angles and an entire collection of different frames offer the user a multitude of experiences as they cruise through the different sections. With such a variety the children will find endless new and different ways to enjoy this special piece, being called by some The Caterpillar.

Already a favourite with residents of Mesa, this playground is setting the tone for future playground thinking locally and beyond. Congratulations Mesa on a fantastic result!

From DynamoPlaygrounds.com

By GRAYSON HARBOUR | IDS

YORK – The students at York Elementary School can now swing away at recess thanks to their own efforts and those of the Parents And Teachers Together organization.

PATT is a volunteer group of parents that helps out with various activities during the school year.

“We handle anything from fundraising and book fairs to setting up meals for the teachers who stay late for parent/teacher conferences,” PATT Coordinator Lindsey Eckert said.

Every year, the YES students do a major fundraiser in the fall. They sell things like cookie dough and various gift items.

That money has helped pay for things like the new smart boards that now occupy each of the classrooms at YES.

Last fall, in addition to selling cookie dough, students also gave out pamphlets that sold everything from gift wrap and little knick knacks to chocolates.

They weren’t expecting to raise a whole lot of extra money through that pamphlet but they ended up doubling their normal amount, Eckert said.

In fact, they had enough to buy YES some new playground equipment.

“The items that parents in the PATT group had most often heard requests for were swings,” Eckert said.

So each side of the playground at YES got a brand new set of swings.

However, the PATT group wanted to make sure that every student is able to enjoy the rush of wind and the thrill that comes from swinging through the air.

“We wanted to add some items that were handicap accessible so all of the students can enjoy recess time together,” Eckert said.

The items they chose were an omnispin spinner and an oodle swing.

The omnispin spinner is basically a safer version of the old merry-go-round.

It has high-backed seats that the children can sit in so that when they swing around, they don’t go flying out.

The oodle swing is a safer version of a tire swing and can fit between four and six kids at a time.

Both of them have transfer points for children from a wheelchair to the swing or spinner.

All of the new items have been overwhelmingly popular with the students. Every day at recess or lunch, there are lines for the swings and the spinner. Playground supervisors even have to make time limits so that everyone gets a chance to play on the new things.

The students have several people and businesses in the community who they can thank for getting that new equipment installed in time for them to use it before the end of they year.

The PATT group thought at first that they were going to be able to install the equipment themselves. However, when it looked like it wasn’t going to work out before the end of the school year, several members had the idea to go to businesses in the community for help.

Jensen Lumber donated their time to install the equipment; York Equipment donated the use of their auger; and Mead Lumber donated the use of one of their forklifts to help unload all of the items off the delivery truck.

“Without the support of the community, it wouldn’t have been possible,” Eckert said.

By Rachael Ruybalid Staff Reporter at the New York Times

Who needs a gym to exercise? A trip to the playground is all it takes for moms to get in better shape.

By Jessica Brown from Parents Magazine

This convenient full-body workout from Tina Vindum, owner of Outdoor Fitness, in Marin County, California, will have you toned up in no time. Your children also benefit, since they’re more likely to be active if they see you break a sweat regularly — especially if it looks like fun. And this is one workout that doesn’t seem like “work” at all!
Swing Crisscross

Targets: Abs

Sit on a swing and hold the chains, then lean back about 45 degrees. Extend your legs straight in front of you with your feet together and toes pointed. Open your legs slightly to form a V, then cross your left calf over your right, contracting your core muscles to keep the swing as still as possible. Return to V position for one count, then cross your right calf over your left to complete the set. Do 12 to 15 sets.

Jungle-Gym Pull-Up

Targets: Back and biceps

Using an underhand grip, grasp a jungle-gym bar that’s 3 to 4 feet high. Keep your hands shoulder-width apart and extend your legs in front of you until your chest is under the bar; place your feet hip-width apart. Pull your chest close to the bar by drawing your elbows alongside your ribs. Straighten arms and repeat. Aim to do five pull-ups; work up to 12 to 15.

Slide Lunge

Targets: Butt and thighs

Stand facing away from the slide and rest your left foot on the bottom of it; place your hands on your hips. Bend your right knee until your right thigh is almost parallel to the ground, but don’t let your knee move farther forward than above your toes. Return to starting position by pressing through your right heel. Do 12 to 15 reps, then repeat with the other leg.

Jungle-Gym Standing Push-Up

Targets: Chest, shoulders, and triceps

Stand arm-length away from the jungle gym, with feet shoulder-width apart. Place your hands on a bar that’s no higher than your chest. Keeping your body straight and your weight on your toes, bend your elbows until your chest nearly touches the bar. Do 12 to 15 push-ups.

Lateral Leg Lift

Targets: Hips, outer thighs, and waist

Stand alongside a step so it’s on your right side and place your right foot on it; rest hands on hips. Press through your right foot to raise yourself up until your right leg straightens as you simultaneously extend your left leg to the side with foot flexed. Do 12 to 15 lifts, then repeat on the other side.

Bench Dip

Targets: Shoulders and triceps

Sit on a bench and grip the edge with your hands shoulder-width apart. Scoot off the bench and extend your legs in front of you, bending your knees slightly. Bend your elbows and lower your butt a few inches toward the ground, keeping your back close to the bench; slowly press back up. Do 12 to 15 reps.
Originally published in Parents magazine.

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Warm, sunny days are the perfect opportunity to get fit on your city’s dime.

Over time, landscape architects have pushed playground design forward as research has deemed certain aspects of play beneficial to childhood learning.

As public open spaces are diminishing in our rapidly growing cities, architects must make the most of available space to provide a foundation for learning in a safe environment.

“As 89 percent of Australians now live in urban environments, outdoor play for most children will take place in spaces that have been designed,” said Mary Jeavons, director of Jeavons Landscape Architects.

Traditional Pre-1920s Playgrounds

To improve the quality of life for inner-city children, traditional playgrounds often included hardwood pieces such as balance beams, swings and ladders. Traditional playgrounds were designed to serve neighborhood centers so that children from underprivileged families could experience the social standards of the upper-class in an effort to teach “social morality.” It was often a meeting place for mothers who supervised their child’s activities.

Traditional Post-WWI Playgrounds

To give children social experiences, traditional playgrounds after WWI included pre-developed play pieces such as steel climbers, swings, jungle gyms, sandboxes and fencing. Children were provided with materials to create their own play environments.

Junk Playgrounds

Often viewed as unsafe, junk playgrounds emerged after WWI in vacant and abandoned lots. Children used spare construction materials to create, destroy and rebuild customised play spaces.

Adventure Playgrounds

Where traditional playgrounds only offer regulated play in supervised environments focused on social development, adventure playgrounds give children the ability to construct their play experiences. Adventure playgrounds emphasise the use of natural and recycled materials rather than manufactured pieces and have an informal layout. Construction play encourages a variety of physical and social development in children.

Imagination Playgrounds

Imagination playgrounds use many of the ideas found in adventure playgrounds but are mostly made with a mixture of prefabricated materials that can be moved. Both permanent and movable play materials encourage children to use their imagination to create different spaces each time.

Contemporary Playgrounds

By the 1970s, playground safety standards were becoming more stringent. Since that time, rules seem to be continuously tightening. Uniquely designed elements were replaced by manufactured playground elements which met stringent safety regulations. This shift was due to increased demand for children with disabilities to be able to use public playgrounds and playscapes. Contemporary playgrounds typically include plastic and metal play structures such as swings, slides and climbing structures, all with impact-absorbing materials underneath.

The Resurgence of ‘Imagination’ and ‘Adventure’ Playgrounds

A movement back to adventure playgrounds has occurred due to growth in adults’ ability to trust that children know how to play and trust that they will play instinctively if provided with the right tools and environment.

Though extremely popular, there are currently only five adventure playgrounds in Australia. Skinners Adventure Playground in South Melbourne plays an integral role within the local community, catering to disadvantaged children from nearby public housing developments.

A Blend of Playspaces

Innovative landscape design in Australia shows the endless possibilities within playspaces. For children and adults, they are places to meet friends, celebrate, educate and relax. New playscapes are often not isolated from the community, but rather integrated into a wider social network where people of all ages can mingle.

The educational needs of children which come from playspaces needs to be considered by designers to figure out how play zones for children and adults can be included in public spacesbeyond formal playgrounds.

Recent Australian examples of play design show the traditional playground being expanded to incorporate social and environmental functions while connecting with open space networks. Designers predict that playgrounds will move further from the ‘play zone’ to permeate the built environment.

Letting Children Create

Jeavons says it is difficult for landscape architects to leave spaces undesigned, yet that practice allows a child’s mind to flourish.

“This provides some major challenges for our profession: to overcome the temptation to over-design public space; to research and understand the importance of unstructured free play to children (even if this challenges our sense of control); to recognize and advocate for children as legitimate users of outdoor space; and to hold firm against over-sanitizing our parks, open spaces, school grounds and early childhood centres,” she said.

Guidelines for Future Playgrounds

Learning from the gaps in conventional, traditional, imagination and adventure playgrounds, designers can follow suggested guidelines for future playgrounds:

• Integrate native plants into playscapes to offer opportunities for education about local ecology
• Provide building materials that are movable and changeable to let children create new experiences
• Use natural elements in a controlled fashion. Ponds, creeks, rocks, earth and wildlife give children the chance to experience how seasons and weather affect those elements
• Encourage different levels of physical activity with a variety of play equipment
• Provide opportunities for different types of play: construction play to learn creativity and problem solving, functional play for basic skill development such as running and climbing, and symbolic play to encourage role playing
• The playground should reflect local values, needs and ideas
• Design a variety of spaces for children of all ages; younger children need semi-enclosed spaces to play in small groups while older children prefer larger open spaces
• Create a microcosm of nature within the playground to encourage children to relate learning small facts to larger abstract ideas
• Allow children to create their own playscape without guidance and allow them to have control over it
• Create naturally occurring shelter such as bushes or small enclosures for children to seek refuge or rest.

Recent research shows that children need unstructured free play. Public play equipment is certainly an excellent educational tool, but there also must be elements that are undesigned and natural such as a tree they can climb, some leaves that can be collected, branches that can be used to make a fort or a big rock that can be their island of refuge. A mix of both designed and undesigned elements in a safe environment results in a safe haven for childhood education.

By: Kristen Avis

Author and clinical psychologist Kay Redfield Jamison writes, “Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity.” It is through unstructured, open-ended creative play that children learn the ways of the world. While playing outside, children explore with all their senses, they witness new life, they create imaginary worlds and they negotiate with each other to create a playful environment.

1. Outdoor play is a multi-sensory activity.While outdoors, children will see, hear, smell and touch things unavailable to them when they play inside. They use their brains in unique ways as they come to understand these new stimuli.
2. Playing outside brings together informal play and formal learning. Children can incorporate concepts they have learned at school in a hands-on way while outdoors. For example, seeing and touching the roots of a tree will bring to life the lesson their teacher taught about how plants get their nutrients.
3. Playing outdoors stimulates creativity. Robin Moore, an expert in the design of play and learning environments, says, “Natural spaces and materials stimulate children’s limitless imagination and serve as the medium of inventiveness and creativity.” Rocks, stones and dirt present limitless opportunities for play that can be expressed differently every time a child steps outside.
4. Playing outdoors is open-ended. There is no instruction manual for outdoor play. Children make the rules and in doing so use their imagination, creativity, intelligence and negotiation skills in a unique way.
5. Playing in nature reduces anxiety. Time spent outside physiologically reduces anxiety. Children bring an open mind and a more relaxed outlook back inside when they are in more traditional learning environments.
6. Outdoor play increases attention span. Time spent in unstructured play outdoors is a natural attention builder. Often children who have difficulty with pen and paper tasks or sitting still for long periods of times are significantly more successful after time spent outside.
7. Outdoor play is imaginative. Because there are no labels, no pre-conceived ideas and no rules, children must create the world around them. In this type of play, children use their imagination in ways they don’t when playing inside.
8. Being in nature develops respect for other living things. Children develop empathy, the ability to consider other people’s feeling, by interacting with creatures in nature. Watching a tiny bug, a blue bird or a squirrel scurrying up a tree gives children the ability to learn and grow from others.
9. Outdoor play promotes problem solving. As children navigate a world in which they make the rules, they must learn to understand what works and what doesn’t, what lines of thinking bring success and failure, how to know when to keep trying and when to stop.
10. Playing outside promotes leadership skills. In an environment where children create the fun, natural leaders will arise. One child may excel at explaining how to play the game, while another may enjoy setting up the physical challenge of an outdoor obstacle course. All types of leadership skills are needed and encouraged.
11. Outdoor play widens vocabulary. While playing outdoors, children may see an acorn, a chipmunk and cumulous clouds. As they encounter new things, their vocabulary will expand in ways it never could indoors.
12. Playing outside improves listening skills. As children negotiate the rules of an invented game, they must listen closely to one another, ask questions for clarification and attend to the details of explanations in ways they don’t have to when playing familiar games.
13. Being in nature improves communication skills. Unclear about the rules in an invented game? Not sure how to climb the tree or create the fairy house? Children must learn to question and clarify for understanding while simultaneously making themselves understood.
14. Outdoor play encourages cooperative play. In a setting where there aren’t clear winners and losers, children work together to meet a goal. Perhaps they complete a self-made obstacle course or create a house for a chipmunk. Together they compromise and work together to meet a desired outcome.
15. Time in nature helps children to notice patterns. The natural world is full of patterns. The petals on flowers, the veins of a leaf, the bark on a tree are all patterns. Pattern building is a crucial early math skill.
16. Playing outdoors helps children to notice similarities and differences. The ability to sort items and notice the similarities and differences in them is yet another skill crucial to mathematical success. Time outdoors affords many opportunities for sorting.
17. Time spent outdoors improves children’s immune systems. Healthy children are stronger learners. As children spend more and more time outdoors, their immune systems improve, decreasing time out of school for illness.
18. Outdoor play increases children’s physical activity level. Children who play outdoors are less likely to be obese and more likely to be active learners. Children who move and play when out of school are ready for the attention often needed for classroom learning.
19. Time spent outdoors increases persistence. Outdoor games often require persistence. Children must try and try again if their experiment fails. If the branch doesn’t reach all the way across the stream or the bark doesn’t cover their fairy house, they must keep trying until they are successful.
20. Outdoor play is fun. Children who are happy are successful learners. Children are naturally happy when they are moving, playing and creating outside. This joy opens them up for experimenting, learning and growing.

 

 

by Stacey Loscalzo  – Stacey Loscalzo is a freelance writer and mother of two girls living in Ridgewood, NJ. She and her girls have been getting outside to play for nearly a decade.

As winter fades to spring and spring turns to summer it is the time of year that children look at the greening grass and think: monkey bars, merry go rounds, swings and slides. The playground is a wonderful place for children to exercise, socialize, work on their balance and muscle memory and, oh yes, get hurt. Let me first say that of all of the things I just listed, the getting hurt part is something parents should be concerned about, watchful to try and prevent, but accidents do happen and the positive effects of play and exercise far out way the dangers lurking in the playground.

Some of the more common injuries on the playground are fractures or broken bones. But one of the best parts of being a child or young adolescent is that many of the fractures that would require surgery in adults can be realigned or set and placed in a cast or splint (a partial cast that allows for the injured limb to swell without concerns of cutting off the circulation) and will heal in children. Healing is only part of the solution however. One reason that adults require more surgery is that if the bones are not in good alignment then it can lead to long-term functional problems. For instance if you break your forearm as an adult and it is even a few degrees from being perfectly aligned it can limit the movement of the elbow and wrist and lead to problems. The reason for this is even though the older bone in adults is continuously being turned over and changed into new bone we are no longer growing, so the broken bone has limited potential to reshape itself. In children however they continue to grow and as the normal remodeling process occurs they are also growing so it allows them to straighten their bones and correct any misalignment after their fracture. For instance the forearm fracture in adults has to have normal alignment for us to treat it in a cast (and even then it is probably better to treat it with surgery) but in children we can sometimes accept up to 15 degrees of misalignment and they will not only heal but will straighten the bone over time and x-rays years later may show no sign of ever having a fracture.

The most common fractures in children occur in the forearm and wrist. About 50 percent of all fractures in children involve these two areas with three out of four of those fractures occurring at the wrist. Typically these injuries occur from a fall when a child tries to catch themselves with their arm outstretched.

The simplest of these fractures is called a Taurus fracture or buckle fracture. What occurs during these injuries is the bone doesn’t actually break all off the way through instead it bends on one side and buckles on the other. This occurs because in young bone the bone is much more rubbery than adult bone so it is able to bend before it breaks.

Another fracture of the forearm is called a green-stick fracture, which similar to a buckle fracture the bone doesn’t break all of the way through. Like the name implies and you can probably imagine if you were to go outside right now and take a green branch off of the tree and try and break it over your knee you are unlikely to be successful. And if you look at the stick you will find that the side of the branch closest to your knee bent around your knee but didn’t break but the side opposite this did break partially through. These fractures can sometimes be problematic because if they bend a lot but do not break completely we have to take the child to the operating room and complete the fracture so that we can realign it. But wait, you just said kids can realign their bones as they grow. Although this is true if the fracture is complete in green-stick fractures were it is mostly a bend the bone doesn’t realize it is broken and tends to keep the same shape and has less chance to remodel and return to its normal shape.

Fractures that break completely through the bone sometimes still do not need to be reset, especially those at the wrist. This is because most of the growth that occurs in the radius, which is the bigger bone of your forearm at the wrist, allows for an enormous amount of potential to remodel. This allows for even more leeway in how much angulation we can accept before we need to reset the fracture. Nonetheless some wrist fractures and a fair number of forearm fractures do need to be reset before being casted. But for the most part as long as we can get them in good alignment the long term consequences are small.

One particular fracture that can be a little more problematic however is the wrist fracture that goes through the growth plate. The major issue here is that if the growth plate is injured it can stop growing and lead to “growth arrest” which depending on the child’s age may or may not be a major issue. Sometimes if these fractures do not realign easily it is best to take the child to surgery to ensure that the growth plate is not repeatedly injured predisposing it to growth arrest. Typically the surgery requires realigning the bone under x-ray guidance and holding it temporarily with pins that can be removed 4-6 weeks later as well as a cast.

Although there are potential dangers lurking in the playground, the benefits of play far outweigh the risks. Statistically it will probably happen: 75 percent of boys will break at least one bone, 50 percent two and 25 percent three. Girls have about a 50 percent chance of breaking at least one bone before they reach adulthood. So be aware and watchful, but if it happens remember accidents do happen and it probably was nobody’s fault – which is sometimes hard for parents to keep in mind when their child is hurt. Remember that kids are able to heal in ways that make the long-term consequences of broken bones much less concerning than in adults.

By JEREMIAH CLINTON, MD – Bitterroot Orthopedics & Sports Medicine

LINCOLN PARK — Mistie Lucht’s children have probably been to more parks over the past two years than all of their classmates combined.

For Lucht, a day to the park doesn’t mean just one. She typically will knock out between nine and 12 parks to gather field notes for her ever growing database of more than 700.

About two years ago, she teamed up with a friend of a friend, who happened to enjoy developing web applications on the side, to create an iPhone app called Playground Pointers. The app is aimed at parents and caregivers whose kids might have grown sick of the neighborhood swings.

“We would literally explore and talk to other moms and say ‘Where would you go to play?’” Lucht said. “I would take notes on my phone for where to go. I just started going to playgrounds.”

When Lucht was pregnant with her third child, who is now about a year old, she began her journey with the Lincoln Park parks, visiting such spots as Oz Park, Adams Playground and Jonquil Playlot. That quest has now moved on to the ring of the Chicago suburbs, but could eventually spread nationwide with the help of user-generated reviews, according to developer Chris Cooper.

Lucht has become an expert on parks, and each listing in the app contains photos, a cleanliness rating, information about parking, picnic areas, how many swings, tire swings and slides each park has, the type of surface and if there are any sports courts available.

“When someone says, ‘I have an 8-year-old boy. Where should I go?’ I can easily rattle off the best one in their area,” she said.

Lucht also writes personal notes for each park. In a note for her favorite park in the city, Mary Bartleme Playground in the West Loop, she noted the park is not shaded and can get “very hot,” but “the climbing is something I have not seen anywhere else” in the city.

The most useful aspect of the app is the security it can give parents who are willing to make the trek to an unfamiliar city neighborhood to check out a park and make a day of it.

“It’s either a delightful surprise or like ehhh. … I’m not afraid to say that,” Lucht said. “Some city parks, even the nicest, newest ones, are plagued by litter and graffiti and broken swings.”

The app also lists the “perfect playground days,” with family friendly restaurants and museums nearby for goers who might not be familiar with a surrounding area. In all, there are some 3,500 photos.

Playground Pointers, which costs $1.99, has been available in the iTunes App Store since May 2012, and so far about 2,000 people have downloaded it. Cooper and Lucht hope to make a major push this spring with an updated version of the app that includes hundreds more parks than were available last summer.

“Whenever I talk to friends who live in the city who have kids, they get excited about the idea. They want to see [the app] and they go out and buy it,” Cooper said. “It’s definitely got a lot more information than you are going to find on the Chicago Park District site.”

Cooper has four kids of his own and said he hopes the app lets parents recreate memories that they once had as children of visiting playgrounds.

“I remember when I was a kid, my mother would put my brother and myself in the car and say lets find a playground,” he said. “We would get out and play for a few hours, get back in the car and find another.”
By Paul Biasco, DNAinfo.com

Children and teens should be more active in PE, the classroom and after-school programs.

Despite years of prodding from their parents, teachers and doctors, kids and teens still aren’t doing nearly enough physical activity, and changes need to be made in schools to help kids step it up, says a report released Friday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

A recent government survey found that only 29% of high school students participated in 60 or more minutes a day of physical activity on each of the seven days prior to the survey. That’s the amount recommended for kids and teens by the government’s physical activity guidelines. Boys (38%) were more likely than girls (19%) to meet the guidelines.

“Dramatic action needs to be taken to increase physical activity in American kids,” says Russell Pate, a member of the committee for the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition, which produced the new report. He’s a professor of exercise science at the University of South Carolina.

Schools are the best place to start because kids are there for six to seven hours a day, he says. “Kids love to move when they are exposed to creative, well-designed programs during physical education, class exercise breaks, recess and before- and after-school programs.

“We have to use all the opportunities during the school day to increase kids’ physical activity.”

Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, chair of the committee that did the report and president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, says, “The evidence shows that being physically active can help kids get and stay fit and perform better at their schoolwork.”

In 2008, the government released physical activity guidelines for Americans, which recommended that kids and teens should do an hour or more of moderate-intensity to vigorous aerobic physical activity each day. The adult guidelines recommend that they get at least 2½ hours (150 minutes) of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity each week, such as brisk walking, or 1¼ hours (75 minutes) of a vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, such as jogging or swimming laps, or a combination of the two types, to get the most health benefits from exercise. This activity should be done in at least 10-minute bouts.

Now, five years after the release of those guidelines, the expert committee concluded that the recommendations still offer people solid exercise advice based on the latest research. But the group identified strategies to increase physical activity, especially among children. Among the suggestions:

– Get kids moving more in schools. Offer students “enhanced physical education” — that is, increased lesson time from well-trained specialists and instructional practices that provide a lot of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Also offer classroom activity breaks, activity sessions before and/or after school, and opportunities to walk and bike to school.

– Give preschool children lots of opportunities to be active. Increase the time they spend outside, give them play equipment such as balls and tricycles, provide trained staff to lead physical activities and increase the time kids get to do these kinds of things.

– Change the built environment. Improve walking and biking infrastructure, such as sidewalks, multiuse trails and bike lanes. Increase access and proximity to parks.

Kathleen Janz, also a committee member and a professor of health and human physiology at the University of Iowa, says, “Parents need to stand up and be part of this solution.

“Ultimately, parents have a lot of power to increase their kids’ activity by taking them places to be active, buying them pieces of sports equipment, encouraging them and playing with them. And those are things that don’t cost all that much money.”

Current research suggests that the best way to raise an active child is to be activewith your child by playing tag, going on family walks, raking leaves, gardening together and even playing badminton or other sports where everyone succeeds, Janz says.

The Government’s Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans say:

– Children and adolescents should do an hour or more of moderate-intensity to vigorous aerobic physical activity each day. That should include vigorous activity at least three days a week. And it should include bone-strengthening activities such as running, jumping rope, skipping, playing soccer and playing tag at least three days a week and muscle-strengthening activities such as tug of war, sit-ups, pull-ups and push-ups (modified for younger kids) at least three days a week. It is important to encourage young people to participate in physical activities that are appropriate for their age, that are enjoyable and that offer variety.

– Adults should get at least 2½ hours of moderate-intensity physical activity each week, such as brisk walking, or 1¼ hours of a vigorous-intensity activity, such as jogging or swimming laps, or a combination of the two types, to get the most health benefits from exercise. These aerobic activities should be done in at least 10-minute bouts.

– To get even more health benefits, people should do five hours of moderate-intensity physical activity each week or 2½ hours of vigorous activity.

– Adults should do muscle-strengthening (resistance) activities at a moderate- or high-intensity level for all major muscle groups two or more days a week. This should include exercises for the chest, back, shoulders, upper legs, hips, abdomen and lower legs. The exercises can be done with free weights or machines, resistance bands, calisthenics that use body weight for resistance (push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups), or carrying heavy loads or doing heavy gardening such as digging or hoeing.

– Older Americans should follow the guidelines for other adults if they are able. If not, they should be as active as their physical condition allows. If they are at risk of falling, they should do exercises that improve balance.

– Adults with disabilities should also follow the guidelines for other adults if they are able.

(Photo: Hans Pennink, AP)

From TheRoot.com | by Dream Hampton

It’s no secret that obesity and childhood obesity is a problem in America, and Ebony contributor dream hampton writes how she and a group of mothers through the organization MomsRising.org are trying to transform America’s nutritional future.

In his partly autobiographical documentary, Soul Food Junkies, Byron Hurt investigates African-Americans’ attachment to food traditions, and challenges his audience to take a closer look at those relationships. He returns to his own father’s death, made premature by what he speculates was overeating brought on by deep depression.

Junkies isn’t all blues. Hurt offers a sometimes hilarious look at our affinity to foods like fried chicken, fat-flavored collard greens, and fried pork chops despite the knowledge that these foods increase risks for diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, stokes, heart disease and obesity.

What’s no laughing matter are the alarming statistics that predict that this generation of young people can expect to die sooner than their parents. African-American children suffer from obesity at a greater rate than white children. There are many complex factors that contribute to this epidemic. But one factor, junk foods sold in schools, is being tackled by parents nationwide. The USDA recently issued proposed nutritional guidelines on food sold in vending machines and à la carte lines. And a study by Kids’ Safe & Healthful Foods Project, a joint project of the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation shows that parents nationwide broadly support the creation of strong guidelines.

The organization I work with, MomsRising.org, is committed to food justice for our children and families. We believe in mothers uniting to take back control of our kids’ nutrition and of our family health. We believe that together we can break down the structural barriers that are keeping everyone from having access to healthy foods. Mothers voices together can have an incredible impact on everything from making sure healthier foods are served and available in schools, to making sure vending machines have nutritious options, to passing laws to support childhood nutrition, as well as to limiting the junk food marketing that’s aimed at our children.

from CafeMom.com | by Sasha Brown-Worsham

One of the funniest things one sees at the park is all the new moms who are so anxious to get out of the house that they are there stuffing 2-month-old babies into the baby swings and pushing them ever so slightly. The reality is, as parents, we are ALWAYS so excited for our kids to get to that next level. We want them to climb high, reach the top, slide fast, and do those monkey bars ASAP.

The reality is, though, playgrounds aren’t all made equally. Ask any mom who has followed her 2-year-old around equipment made for 8-year-olds with clenched fists and you will know. There is a reason many playgrounds have structures for the little ones and different ones for the bigger ones.

It’s not always easy to tell when a child is ready for the bigger equipment, but here are six pieces of equipment, each with signs you can look at in your child to assess his or her readiness. See below:

1. Slide: It’s probably best to try to wait until your baby is about 18 to 24 months old before using this park favorite by himself. Before that, of course, slide with your baby or hold him as he slides, but until about 18 months or so, babies don’t have the balance or core strength to keep themselves upright on the way down the slide and they can bang their heads or worse on the way down.
2. Climbing equipment: This all depends on the age of the child. A small child under 3 can maybe do the climbing, but mom or dad should spot him. To me, this is just a feeling. I still spot my 4.5-year-old, but generally give my 6-year-old more freedom.
3. Baby swing: Your baby isn’t really ready for a swing until she can hold her head up and sit up herself. Having seen many parents putting babies in these swings way before this, this is a big one.
4. Big kid swing: Big kid swings require stability, balance, and coordination. Most children should remain in the bucket swing until they are 3 or older. Those who can graduate should have all three of those aforementioned skills. And if they are too scared, let them swing in the “baby” swing! My son does sometimes and he is almost 5!
5. Sand box: With this you really need to wait until your baby is out of the eating everything stage. This comes at different ages, but you will know.
6. Ready for the monkey bars: Some might make the argument that monkey bars are NEVER safe. But as a veteran of the old bars myself, I’d say this is definitely an older one. Even my 6-year-old doesn’t do them without supervision and a soft surface beneath her! That would be the earliest kids should be doing them alone.

From DayNursuries.co.uk | By Richard Howard, News Editor

Child independence is increasingly becoming a forgotten freedom, warn Love Outdoor Play campaigners.

Responding to research published by the University of Westminster, the campaign wants to see the steady decline of children’s independence over the last 40 years become a more prominent issue, calling upon local authorities in particular as the key players in producing more accessible outdoor spaces.

Comparing data gathered from 1971, 1990 and 2010, the university’s Policy Studies Institute (PSI) found that only 25 per cent of children are now allowed by their parents to travel home from school alone – a figure that stood at 86 per cent in 1971.

PSI research fellow Ben Watson believes the results prove that UK children have a disadvantaged upbringing, compared to those from other Western countries, as a result of this trend.

He comments: “Independent mobility has been shown to be good for children’s well-being and development, yet our research shows it has dropped significantly in the last four decades. The experience from Germany shows that this drop is not an inevitable result of modern life. If we care about the future health of our children, action should be taken to enable them to regain the right to a safe outdoor environment without the need for adult supervision.”

The Love Outdoor Play campaign wants to see immediate action from local authorities, challenging councils to find more play spaces by 2014 and seeing the loss of independence as impacting negatively on physical health due to a lack of leisure and recreational activities.

Cath Prisk, director of Play England, who launched the campaign, comments: “This study confirms our own research that there are more barriers to playing out and travelling independently for children today than for previous generations.

“Parents who want to buck this worrying trend should think about giving their kids the gift of independence at home, on the doorstep, in their neighbourhood and further afield. Play England wants to see communities take control of their own neighbourhoods to ensure that children can play out like they used to. If we want our children and young people to have independence, resilience and everyday adventures they need to start young – it is everyone’s responsibility to make this happen.”

Although the challenge is set out for local authorities and communities, early years providers themselves can get children off to a good start by pursuing a curriculum that targets the benefits of outdoor play and learning.

Such initiatives were the motivation for settings like that of Berkhampstead Day Nursery, in Cheltenham, which opened in April last year in premises chosen specifically for the benefits of outdoor access. Marketing head Angela Cross comments: “Being outside is a real priority for us, we know the benefits that all children gain from fresh air, so from the very youngest age, we make sure that there’s opportunity to get outdoors each day – wellies or suncream being applied as needed.”

She continues: “A real priority for us has been to develop the outdoor space and to establish a Forest School area. Logs and tree trunks are currently being moved into place – the grass is wild – staff and children are raring to go and discover the delights of grubs and bugs, campfires and confidence-building activities. Part of Berkhampstead School, where a ‘can-do’ attitude is key, our little ones are starting young and honing their skills in the outdoor environment, doing real things, learning and getting dirty while they are about it!”

Beyond the Walls Outdoor Nursery children, Tockholes, Lancashire

The childcare sector is also seeing the first completely outdoor nurseries opened in recent years, based on similar models in Germany and Scandinavia. Only a handful exist so far, however, one of which is Beyond the Walls Outdoor Nursery, in Lancashire, where children spend all their time immersed in woodland-based activities rather than incorporating computers and plastic toys.

Lead practitioner Naomi Suggett describes some of the activities: “We set up camp and explain the boundaries to the children. We have an ocarina, a flute-like instrument, so if the children are playing hide and seek for example, they will know to come if we use the ocarina as we want the children to have a bit of freedom. We do have a whistle to blow if we think there is any danger.

“There are rope swings, trees to climb and streams where they can go fishing with nets. We do have activities for them to do but mostly we like them to lead their own play and use their imagination. They will do things like sit on a branch and pretend it’s a motorbike.

“Through the changing of the seasons we embrace each new challenge with a determination to fully and wholeheartedly take advantage of all that nature provides; in spring, the fascination of a spider web wet with dew, sun breaking through the canopy of the trees in summer, the crunch of fallen golden autumnal leaves and the enchanting beauty of a cold crisp winter’s day, hunting for hidden treasure.”

Sustrans is another campaigning group that want to see more community freedom for children, with plans to launch a ‘Free Range Kids’ campaign once the movement has enough support from MPs.

Chief executive Malcolm Shepherd sees restoring parents’ faith in their communities as the crucial factor, saying: “It’s a tragedy that so many of our children are failing to meet recommended physical activity levels but little wonder when parents don’t feel that their local streets are safe.

“We urgently need to make our communities safer if we’re to get kids active by walking and cycling to school and playing outdoors. Parents want to see safer streets – the Government must change the standard speed limit to 20mph on the streets where we live, work and play.”

Dr Mike Knapton, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, agrees, saying: “We know that children aren’t getting active enough. This can directly affect their health – increasing their risk of developing long term conditions such as cardiovascular disease. “It should be as easy as possible for everyone to get active as part of their everyday life. Walking or cycling to school is a simple way for children to fit activity into their daily lives.

“But for people to feel confident to do this, we need towns and cities which encourage people to have an active lifestyle. Steps like reducing the speed limit in residential areas are one of the ways we can help create environments which inspire people to be more active.”

The issue of child access to outdoor play was even raised by a recent United Nations Committee. After observing that very few national reports on the Rights of the Child focused on physical activity, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child called upon member governments to, “respect and promote the right of the child to participate fully in cultural and artistic life and shall encourage the provision of appropriate and equal opportunities for cultural, artistic, recreational and leisure activity.”

Health minister at the Welsh Assembly, Lesley Griffiths, is eager to see Wales play its part in bucking this trend and also puts pressure on local councils to recognise the need for prioritising this issue.

The minister comments: “The right for children to experience the freedom and enjoyment of play and recreational activities is of paramount importance to the Welsh Government. Recently we commenced the duty on our local authorities to assess the sufficiency of play opportunities in their local area. This is the first step in ensuring we have places which are safe and freely available for children to play both now and in years to come.”

Mike Greenaway, director of Play Wales, is delighted to see this Government commitment though feels that Wales is already setting an example on children’s rights.

He comments: “Wales is already taking a lead by legislating for children’s rights through the Rights of Children and Young Person’s (Wales) Measure 2011 which places a duty on Welsh Ministers to consider the rights of children when making policy and legislation decisions.”

Conwy County Borough Council is one authority which has sought to address this gap in the lives of modern children, implementing a ‘Play Strategy’ aimed specifically at breaking down these barriers to child freedom.

Council leader and Conwy’s lead member for children, Dilwyn Roberts, describes some of the work undertaken.

He says: “The Playing Out project targets thirty communities across the county borough with a team of playworkers who operate from parks and open spaces to encourage children to make use of the outdoor environment for play.

“The playworkers have a van full of (mostly scrap) resources, so that children can build and create their own games, dens and rope swings. Mess and mud is the order of the day as children follow their own ideas for their own reasons. They are supported by the playworkers who are on hand to help if needed but are trained not to take an overly directive role so that play can continue unhindered by adults.

“Very often our playworkers find themselves talking to other adults in the community and helping to address one of the other barriers to play; adult attitudes. We have found that a little bit of misty-eyed reminiscing of childhood ‘mischief’ is often enough to remind adults that children playing outside in their community is a good thing in a world where, all too often, the young generation are demonised.”

Mayer Hillman, senior fellow emeritus at the PSI, laments the fact that so few similar drives can be found throughout the UK, saying: “It is highly regrettable that so little attention has been paid to the damage caused by this erosion of children’s freedoms and decline in their quality of life. Far more effort needs to be invested in reversing the process that has had such an unfortunate outcome.”

Today Dynamo Playgrounds is introducing our newest Biggo Swing:  the Biggo Spia

As the newest addition to our revolutionary line of multi-user swings, this innovative swing will ensure a new flight of interactive play for users of all abilities.

Users can sit, stand or lie down while swaying the large, hammock-like dish back and forth through its parabolic arc. Unlike a traditional swing, this unique motion cradles the riders within the dish, providing a safe yet exhilarating experience.

Built with play value in mind, 1 to 4 users at a time can enjoy this ride that helps develop balance and equilibrium and promotes physical and social activity.

From CNNMoney | By Jill Allyn Peterson, contributor

FORTUNE — Artist/philosopher team Claudia Moseley and Edward Shuster, who met in a tree-house protest site in the English countryside a few years ago, are taking an idea that began as a community project and branching it out to create a first-of-its-kind pop-up city in a major London city park for Summer 2013. Called The Invisible City, this architectural experiment aims to bring the cultural life of the city — including art installations, performances, lectures, music, food, drinks, and plain old hanging out — to London’s leafier quarters. With top-secret big name musical acts in the lineup, major NGO partners involved and Helena Bonham-Carter and Tim Burton on board as patrons, you might be picturing a festival. They’re hoping it launches a new way of life.

According to Moseley and Shuster, festivals often end up recreating a city environment, but their goal with Invisible City is to do something else entirely, to create a new kind of space for interaction within the city. A conceptual Matryoshka doll of culture-within-nature-within-culture, their vision will be expressed not in the standardized shipping container format that has become synonymous with pop-ups the world over, but in wildly original structures built around trees which are made with sustainably sourced laser cut plywood, recycled rubber flooring and steel – all of which can be packed up and shipped. Think mobile, flat-pack treehouses from the future, filled with food, drinks, art, ideas and music, and coming soon to a city park near you.

While much planning is going into the tightly curated launch (they are currently selecting a group of partners, sponsors, exhibitors and performers), the intended long-term purpose is to open this set of structures for the community to take over and use as a new social space. Included in the Invisible City are an amphitheater, an exhibition space, a set of three dining pods, and a smaller set of teardrop-shaped pods that give a new meaning to hanging out. After the London launch, the team have their sights set on New York City and other cities around the world.

The Invisible City raises great questions about design for public space and even suggests a direction in which the zeitgeist of the Occupy movement might evolve. They answer a few about their project here:

You first met in a community of arboreal protest, where the notion of Invisible Structures and The Invisible City began. Can you describe how what sounds like a quite radical and rural experience has inspired the more urban incarnation?
In our experience, these protest sites are successful when they are self-empowering and humbling at the same time; when they encourage independent learning in a space that celebrates both common ground and individuality.

We came to the idea of creating an environment in an urban setting with the belief that this environment could radically improve the quality of people’s lives, by opening up the possibility of social and cultural interaction on the threshold of nature. We became quite obsessed with this idea of Invisible Structures – these natural patterns and correspondences that could inform design, social networks and material spaces and be totally inclusive.

By dropping cultural activities into this environment we wanted to encourage people to see their lives, the future, the city as an idea that they can positively participate in the writing of.

Has the Occupy Wall Street movement had any affect on your thinking about this project, such as how dynamics of public space can change?
We are inspired by the zeitgeist idea that people are passionate about reclaiming public space and making a stand against social injustices, and this helped us to clarify what we wanted to achieve – small scale structures where the individual is in direct contact with the environment; introducing into the culture a dynamic mix of content from individuals, producers and artists. It’s a school of perception where people can create the future. We want people to engage with this project not thinking that they will be buying an experience, but that they will have their eyes widened and ears perked up.

As an artist/philosopher team, how do you plan to bring your concepts to life? Are the final designs very literal translations of the sketching that comes out of your creative process?
We have worked with a number of people to get the structures to the stage they are at now. It has been a very collaborative and organic creative process. Jerry Tate Architects have been very important to this process. He has a very collaborative approach himself – it has been very organic.

You mentioned that there are some top-secret big-name acts in the works. Are there any you can talk about at this time to give a sense of what might go on? 
We can’t announce artists or collaborators just yet as we are finalising deals over the next few months. But we are very pleased that the scheme has attracted some really big names across different art forms – people seem to be very excited about the opportunity to perform in such a unique, intimate and natural setting.

In your quest for funding, is corporate sponsorship something you’d welcome? What’s the best way for people to get in touch who want to be involved?
We would welcome sponsorship and would invite sponsors, partners and potential participants to get in contact.

by Susie Steiner • From The Guardian on January 28, 2013

Most mornings, my six-year-old comes down the stairs with his hair sticking up and armfuls of “equipment” for whatever intense project he has in his mind. This morning, it was to build a home for his Hexbug – a little robotic beetle he had recently acquired. The home must have ramps and doors and rooms of cardboard and be decorated with bug pictures. Cereal and toast are ignored, as are his freezing bare feet on the kitchen floorboards. Once he has a project – and he always has a project – it is almost impossible to divert him from it.

His playing is not filled with carefree laughter: it is a rather grim and serious business, and woe betide the adult who gets in his way. To watch him, you would realise that playing is his job – his important work. And yet stop him we must, because of the demands of his schooling.

This morning, I am supposed to take his Hexbug plans away and drill into him the spelling of “height”. How do you explain to a six-year-old why there is an “e” in height?

At six years of age, he has the following weekly homework: he must practise his reading for 15 minutes a day, learn to spell five new words for a weekly spelling test (“light” and “height” among them), fill in a sheet to do with telling the time, and another to show he understands the basics of punctuation.

He is six. SIX. All he wants to do is make a house for his Hexbug, with ramps and doors and rooms.

My son is at a good London primary school – a school that is coming under mounting pressure from SATs league tables, Ofsted reports (it has an “outstanding” Ofsted rating, which it is unlikely to replicate in the current austere climate) and pressure, too, from the helicopter parents who eye these results hawkishly. It is easier to measure his ability to spell “height” than to gauge his emotional health and its connection to his ability to play freely and to see where that playing takes him.

It frightens me that he is being trammelled at such a young age. It frightens me that we are drilling out of our children the creativity that represents their best chance of leading a fulfilling life.

Take a look at the nearest creative writing school and you will find legions of adults fighting to get back to the creative freedoms of childhood and playing, the free-associating of an unfettered imagination. If you can’t play, you’ll never be able to write, compose, imagine, sculpt or sketch. And yet I have never seen less emphasis on playing in the education of small children.

The urge my son has, to project himself into his Hexbug and his game – to allow this “not-self” to engage in an imaginary world, which he can then control – is essential for his development. More, I would argue, than his ability age six to spell “height” correctly, though no doubt Michael Gove would disagree.

Donald Winnicott, the paediatrician and psychoanalyst, wrote in Playing and Reality: “It is in playing and only in playing that the individual child or adult is able to be creative and to use the whole personality, and it is only in being creative that the individual discovers the self.”

We need more Winnicott and fewer league tables, to encourage teachers to engage with primary school age children and their crazy world of playing – to appreciate it and to build on it.

Dynamo’s newest member of the Biggo Swing family. The Biggo Spia uses a minimal frame, but offers all the same benefits that made its revolutionary design a world leader: universal access; appealing to all ages; multi-user; and the safest swing we have.

From The Guardian | by Susie Steiner

Most mornings, my six-year-old comes down the stairs with his hair sticking up and armfuls of “equipment” for whatever intense project he has in his mind. This morning, it was to build a home for his Hexbug – a little robotic beetle he had recently acquired. The home must have ramps and doors and rooms of cardboard and be decorated with bug pictures. Cereal and toast are ignored, as are his freezing bare feet on the kitchen floorboards. Once he has a project – and he always has a project – it is almost impossible to divert him from it.

His playing is not filled with carefree laughter: it is a rather grim and serious business, and woe betide the adult who gets in his way. To watch him, you would realise that playing is his job – his important work. And yet stop him we must, because of the demands of his schooling.

This morning, I am supposed to take his Hexbug plans away and drill into him the spelling of “height”. How do you explain to a six-year-old why there is an “e” in height?

At six years of age, he has the following weekly homework: he must practise his reading for 15 minutes a day, learn to spell five new words for a weekly spelling test (“light” and “height” among them), fill in a sheet to do with telling the time, and another to show he understands the basics of punctuation.

He is six. SIX. All he wants to do is make a house for his Hexbug, with ramps and doors and rooms.

My son is at a good London primary school – a school that is coming under mounting pressure from SATs league tables, Ofsted reports (it has an “outstanding” Ofsted rating, which it is unlikely to replicate in the current austere climate) and pressure, too, from the helicopter parents who eye these results hawkishly. It is easier to measure his ability to spell “height” than to gauge his emotional health and its connection to his ability to play freely and to see where that playing takes him.

It frightens me that he is being trammelled at such a young age. It frightens me that we are drilling out of our children the creativity that represents their best chance of leading a fulfilling life.

Take a look at the nearest creative writing school and you will find legions of adults fighting to get back to the creative freedoms of childhood and playing, the free-associating of an unfettered imagination. If you can’t play, you’ll never be able to write, compose, imagine, sculpt or sketch. And yet I have never seen less emphasis on playing in the education of small children.

The urge my son has, to project himself into his Hexbug and his game – to allow this “not-self” to engage in an imaginary world, which he can then control – is essential for his development. More, I would argue, than his ability age six to spell “height” correctly, though no doubt Michael Gove would disagree.

Donald Winnicott, the paediatrician and psychoanalyst, wrote in Playing and Reality: “It is in playing and only in playing that the individual child or adult is able to be creative and to use the whole personality, and it is only in being creative that the individual discovers the self.”

We need more Winnicott and fewer league tables, to encourage teachers to engage with primary school age children and their crazy world of playing – to appreciate it and to build on it.

From DyanmoPlaygrounds.com

At the core of just about any Dynamo product, you will find the humble steel reinforced rope cable. While this rope may seem simple, it is a complex construction of steel and nylon designed for maximum longevity and durability of the playground equipment it supports.

Depending on where in the net structure it is used, Dynamo rope will contain either 144 or 168 strands of galvanized steel that provide strength and rigidity to the woven polyamide nylon braid. The steel reinforcement is the real strength behind the cable, and finding the right balance between strength and flexibility is a key to a great play experience. The inner rope’s 144 strands provide excellent strength, while keeping the cable flexible and comfortable to grip. The edge rope’s 168 strands provide additional strength where it is needed most – on the cables that take the most tension and keep the net standing tall.

The nylon weave that covers the steel is specifically developed with play in mind, to withstand the rigors of sun, water and salt. UV protection and flame retardant solutions are added into the nylon before it is braided, ensuring complete coverage and protection. This method allows for a soft, comfortable climbing experience that also achieves a class 7-8 Colourfastness rating – the highest level of protection available! Not only does this greatly delay the signs of fading in the rope, but the addition of the UV additive also serves to resist the wearing or fraying of the yarn.

No matter where it is used on any of the Dynamo climbing events, the steel reinforced rope cables are over-engineered to provide strength, durability and fun year after year.

From DyanmoPlaygrounds.com

The Dynamo Biggo Flyer has had a history of leading the way. It was one of the first products to employ a to-fro swing-like motion in a multi-user product. It has surpassed all other products in its class for impact safety. It is a leading choice of designers for accessibility and its benefit for children with developmental challenges such as autism. And now, it leads the way again being the first product of its type to carry IPEMA certification to CSA Z-614.

At Dynamo, we’re proud to see the Biggo Flyer join the more than thirty other Dynamo products that already bear the IPEMA certified designation. It is truly an honour to see the industry recognize the effort that goes into designing, building and improving a great product. Look for even more products to join it in the near future.

From DyanmoPlaygrounds.com | by: Rob Lockhart, CCPI, CPSI

recent addition to many playgrounds are the ever-more-popular Climbing Nets. These nets offer a variety of challenges and opportunities for children of all ages, and can come in a wide variety of shapes and styles.

As providers of commercial playground equipment offer more of these climbing products, it can create questions for adults purchasing these items about how to understand the fall heights calculated by safety standards.

It can seem counter-intuitive that a pyramid-shaped Climbing Net with a center post height of nearly 32 feet (9.7 m) can still have a fall height of less than 8 feet (2.2 m); but, understanding how the nets are constructed helps to make sense of the logic.

Internal net geometry on a well-designed net will provide a continual criss-cross web below the user, preventing any long falls should the user happen to lose all of their gripping points. In effect the play piece is its own safety net.

Fall heights are calculated either at the highest point of the perimeter of the game, or at the highest point inside the net where a user of the targeted age range could conceiveably fall to the surface without being caught on a cross-rope. Although the higher value of the two is used for each net, the result is still a fall height far lower than the highest point on most net climbers.

Visiting a park with one of these net climbers will quickly show how much the children love them. Knowing that net designs are deceptively safer than their appearance can make purchasers and parents alike love them too.

From DyanmoPlaygrounds.com

Play is universal. There is something special about the experience of playing that is recognized the world over.Whether it is the social benefits that come from the shared activities, the physical benefits from the active play, or just the opportunity to be creative in an unstructured environment, there is something unique about play that is shared by people all over the world. As Dynamo’s US and International Sales Director, Rob Lockhart observed during his various travels,“Playgrounds sound the same in any language.”

However, there have been times in our history where world events have caused this freedom to play, along with other freedoms, to be threatened. So on this, the 92nd anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War 1, Dynamo would like to take the opportunity to thank those that have served, and continue to serve, to protect our freedom to live, to work and to play. Dynamo remembers.

From DyanmoPlaygrounds.com | by: Nat Lockhart, CCPI, CPSI

Dynamo Playgrounds’ products are designed to get children outside and active, so it is only natural to have a strong commitment to making sure the environment is preserved for all the children of the world to be able to play for years to come. As a company, Dynamo is working at every possible level to make the world a greener place.

To begin with, Dynamo playground equipment is an environmentally sound choice. Utilizing designs that make better use of vertical space, Dynamo products allow more children to play in a smaller product footprint – as much as three times more play value for the same area. This means parks can be constructed to accommodate a whole community in a smaller space, leaving more land undisturbed or available for greenspace. This also means less development cost, time and resources are required for the play area and less impact absorbing materials needed under the equipment.

With unique construction methods requiring fewer raw materials than traditional structures, Dynamo Playgrounds products have a smaller carbon footprint and often “blend in” to the park environment better. Additionally, the Dynamo factory has achieved ISO 14001 certification for environmental responsibility in the manufacturing process. This is a continuation of Dynamo’s philosophy of always working towards further improvements, whether in efficiency, reducing environmental impact, or more forward-thinking design.

Due to exacting material specifications, Dynamo does not rely on recycled materials in the production process as they do not consistently meet Dynamo’s strict manufacturing tolerances; however, this is balanced by the fact that Dynamo uses fewer raw materials to produce a piece of play equipment than are required in producing a composite structure with the same play value. Additionally, Dynamo’s commitment to environmental responsibility means that great care is taken to ensure all waste materials are properly reused or recycled wherever possible.

Given the ability of the Internet to deliver relevant, current and detailed information to customers around the world, companies like Dynamo are utilizing it to a large degree in this modern age. At Dynamo, green efforts are taken a step further by partnering with an environmentally-responsible web hosting company that offsets its carbon footprint by 110% through large-scale reforestation projects. This will ensure that the information keeps flowing, and trees keep growing, for the future.

Finally, Dynamo’s newest catalogue is printed by a FSC, SFI and PEFC-certified printer that uses only environmentally friendly vegetable and soy-based inks and varnishes. In addition, they have established a Plant-a-Tree program in partnership with Scouts Canada to plant trees based on the volume of every print order. So far, over 90 trees have been planted on Dynamo’s behalf as a result of this partnership. This newest catalogue is also freely available on the Dynamo Playgrounds website for online viewing and download, something that Dynamo has been doing with all printed promotional materials since 2005. This means that customers need not request a printed copy when an electronic copy is satisfactory, and the volume of printed catalogues can be reduced to compensate for this use.

From the product to the process, and everything in between, these are just a few of the ways that Dynamo is helping keep our world greener today so children around the world can continue to play tomorrow.

From DyanmoPlaygrounds.com | by: Rob Lockhart, CCPI, CPSI

What should a playground sound like? Children everywhere naturally like to play. Having traveled to playgrounds around the world, I can tell you that commercial playground equipment comes in a myriad of shapes and designs, but children at play sound the same in any language. Shrieks of laughter, giggles of happiness, and the ubiquitous ‘higher, faster!’ are universal.

Unstructured outdoor play is highly beneficial for children of all ages. Beyond the obvious activity and action which helps with physical wellbeing and using up excess energy, play also refreshes the mind and stimulates creative thinking. In other words, active play can help improve learning.

Given a fostering environment, children will develop forms of dynamic community play, with cooperation and sharing. Children are able to fluidly adapt their expression and communication whether they are surrounded by friends or strangers-about-to-be-friends. This can transcend any barriers of verbal language or cultures.

Truly, the language of play is universal. All children speak “fun”!

From DyanmoPlaygrounds.com | by: Nat Lockhart, CCPI, CPSI

Have you ever owned a product that was of high quality? The entire ownership exprience is fantastic. You enjoy having the product, using the product, even telling others about the product. The product may require some maintenance from time-to-time in order to keep it running in top form, but even that is simple and effective. High quality does not always mean high price, but owners of high quality products usually feel their purchase was worth it, no matter the amount they paid.

In the world of commercial playground equipment, there are a few markers of quality. These indicate not only the quality of the product at initial manufacture, but also quality process that goes on from product design through manufacture to after-sales support and service. When this is in place, product quality, and in turn safety, improves. Validated by third-party organizations, these quality products will bear the TÜV or IPEMA marks, or both, depending on the region the product is sold.

Since both these designations require rigorous testing, careful planning and regular third-party inspections, you can be sure when you put a TÜV or IPEMA certified product in your playground, that it will provided years of safe fun for the children who play there. The next time you are choosing product, be sure to look for the TÜV or IPEMA symbols of quality. After all, a quality product really does pay for itself.

From DyanmoPlaygrounds.com | by: Nat Lockhart, CCPI, CPSI

Commercial playground equipment is designed to endure extreme outdoor conditions, from the frigid chill of winter to the scorching heat of summer. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t show our playground some TLC and make it last even longer. Spring is an ideal time to perform some maintenance on your whole play area.

While most maintenance is best left to a certified professional, who is familiar with playground equipment and the standards in place in your area, most cities and school boards are happy to have hundreds of extra pairs of eyes, the people who use the playground, looking for and reporting any hazards they may see. (See article on Safety vs. Challenge for a definition of this term.) Members of the community can also organize a Spring Cleaning day to get their park clean and looking great before the throngs of children return to play there regularly.

Being proactive and doing a spring tune-up on your playground now will make the playground a safer and more enjoyable place to be once spring has well and truly sprung in your community.

From DyanmoPlaygrounds.com

At Dynamo Playgrounds, we believe in doing things better, and pushing creativity farther.

Many of our customers know that in recent years Dynamo took the unique decision to become our own rope manufacturer, and truly set ourselves apart from the competition. The main reason we did this was to take full control over quality, but now we are also taking advantage of this to add a new “twist” to our ropes.

Effectively doubling the number of rope colour choices for our clients to pick from, we are proud to announce the release of these exciting new Combination Rope Colours. After all – what child doesn’t want to play on a game made from Licorice Twist or Dragon Tail?! Together with our wide paint selection, the design possibilities are nearly endless.

Which twist will be your favourite?

From DyanmoPlaygrounds.com | by Nat Lockhart, CCPI, CPSI

The weather seems to be more extreme these days. Whether it actually is, or if our perceptions are shaped by an increase in the availability of weather-related information thanks to a significant increase in media coverage is a debate best left to others. What is clear is that the weather is certainly on people’s minds a lot more these days – whether it be “Snowpocalypse” in the American North-east, the flooding and cyclone in Austalia or even the day-to-day weather wherever you may live.

In the realm of commercial playground equipment, weather plays an important, if perhaps overlooked, role. The weather affects whether or not we will go outside to use the equipment. The equipment may be taken out of service if the weather is too extreme, as often happens during the winter in Canada. Extreme weather may cause the equipment to deteriorate faster, such as plastic equipment deteriorating faster in sunny climates.

With playground equipment in active use on 5 continents, weather is always an important factor considered in the design of Dynamo playground equipment. The nylon coating on the cables prevents them from getting as hot as a steel climber. The pigmentation process used on the nylon produces an industry-leading protection against fading and material deterioration. The ground-mass achor system used on the Biggo Flyer and Rotating Climbers is designed and tested to stay put through a lifetime of freeze/thaw cycles.

No matter where you are located, it’s always a good day to play on Dynamo playground equipment – whatever the weather!

Adding yet again to their revolutionary line of dynamic commercial playground equipment, Dynamo Playgrounds is pleased to introduce: the QUAD PODS.
As…
From DynamoPlaygrounds.com

This week we’re running a special of 5% off our Tea Cup Merry Go Round.

From TheAge.com.au on January 20, 2013 by Cosima Marriner

The so-called “helicopter” parent is becoming ubiquitous, with new research showing more than 90 per cent of school psychologists and counsellors are encountering over-involved parents.

Some schools are staging parenting workshops to counter this behaviour as psychologists believe it can damage a child’s resilience.

A Queensland University of Technology survey of nearly 130 parenting professionals from across the country revealed numerous examples of overparenting: a 16-year-old whose mother makes him a special plate of food to take to parties because he is a picky eater; 10-year-olds attending school camp who don’t know how to dress themselves; and an eight-year-old whose mother confronts her classmate over a playground disagreement.

More than a quarter of the school psychologists, counsellors, teachers and mental health workers surveyed reported seeing “many” instances of overparenting. Nearly two-thirds said they had seen some instances of this behaviour, while 8 per cent had never witnessed it.

An Australian Psychological Society representative, Darren Stops, said psychologists had observed the emergence of the helicopter parent in schools over the past decade.

“Children are not allowed to be independent, they’re overscheduled, parents are over-involved in their child’s life, they’re not letting children learn from their own mistakes,” said Mr Stops, an educational and developmental psychologist who works in schools.

“We tend to see more young people that aren’t able to accept the consequence of their own actions because mum and dad will jump in to defend them.”

The research also found schools were fielding parental requests for children to be placed in the same class as a friend, or in a sports house that matched their favourite colour, as well as parents contesting discipline meted out to their child.

Some schools are trying to head-off the issue of overparenting by hiring experts to advise new kindergarten parents on the appropriate level of involvement in their child’s life.

Florence Kearney, the principal of Somerville House, a private school in Brisbane, said holding parenting workshops run by a clinical pyschologist had proved successful at countering overparenting.

“It makes our job more difficult when parents overparent,” Ms Kearney said. “They have to let go and let their children learn to take risks and develop into confident people.”

Psychologists warn that overparenting is helping produce a generation of anxious children who aren’t resilient, have poor life skills, a strong sense of entitlement and little sense of responsibility.

“The result of overparenting is Gen Y: they’re highly emotional and expect everything to go their way – and they were parented less than the current generation,” QUT PhD researcher Judith Locke, who conducted the study, said. “You can’t complain about Gen Y and then go home and indulge your child.”

A clinical psychologist, Ms Locke’s research revealed many parents aren’t letting their child reach normal developmental milestones, such as travelling alone.

Ms Locke said parents were overthinking their own childhood. “They’re looking at the flaws in their childhood and they don’t see them as lucky events which produced resilience, they see them as stopping them becoming superstars,” Ms Locke said.

Family therapist Andrew Fuller, author of the parenting book Tricky Kids, said it was important parents didn’t do things for children that they could do themselves.

“Parents are carrying a massive burden of guilt because they are time-poor so they try to make it up to kids with things to replace time.”

Psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg believes overparenting has almost become the norm. “Parents have fewer children these days, so they’ve got more energy and time to devote to, and focus on, these individuals … there are going to be so many screwed-up teens as a result of this.”

From Meadowbrooke Headmaster

Imagine: An adult is hit by a soccer ball on a playground, and unfortunately suffers a concussion. What would you do, if you administered a school? An administrator in a public school in Toronto faced this issue recently, and so banned the use of inflated balls in the schoolyard.

In some schools, games of tag and other chase and elimination games have been banned, following particular complaints of injury or the bruising of self-esteem.

Some places have removed playgrounds, because there is some fear that children may hurt themselves.

At our school, we are very aware of risk, and – because of that awareness – we will not be banning tag, banning balls, or removing playgrounds. A friend of mine, Stephen Smith, who teaches and writes at Simon Fraser University (phenomenology and Physical Education) notes that risk is an important component of development in children. It is through the taking of risks that children learn to be competent, to overcome fear, to work with others, and to measure their own abilities and learn new ones. When children play outside, they are often very shrewd judges of their own capabilities; they will only go so far up the rope climber unless they are certain of their own capacities. Their sense of their own self-worth is developed through increasing their competence, not through avoiding challenge.

What is very interesting is some recent evidence and thought regarding the essential role of risk in childhood development. From the New York Times:

After observing children on playgrounds in Norway, England and Australia, Dr. Sandseter identified six categories of risky play: exploring heights, experiencing high speed, handling dangerous tools, being near dangerous elements (like water or fire), rough-and-tumble play (like wrestling), and wandering alone away from adult supervision. The most common is climbing heights.
Climbing equipment needs to be high enough, or else it will be too boring in the long run,” Dr. Sandseter said. “Children approach thrills and risks in a progressive manner, and very few children would try to climb to the highest point for the first time they climb. The best thing is to let children encounter these challenges from an early age, and they will then progressively learn to master them through their play over the years.”

Sometimes, of course, their mastery fails, and falls are the common form of playground injury. But these rarely cause permanent damage, either physically or emotionally. While some psychologists — and many parents — have worried that a child who suffered a bad fall would develop a fear of heights, studies have shown the opposite pattern: A child who is hurt in a fall before the age of nine is less likely as a teenager to have a fear of heights.

By gradually exposing themselves to more and more dangers on the playground, children are using the same habituation techniques developed by therapists to help adults conquer phobias, according to Dr. Sandseter and a fellow psychologist, Leif Kennair, of the Norwegian University for Science and Technology.

“Risky play mirrors effective cognitive behavioral therapy of anxiety,” they write in the journal Evolutionary Psychology, concluding that this “anti-phobic effect” helps explain the evolution of children’s fondness for thrill-seeking. While a youthful zest for exploring heights might not seem adaptive — why would natural selection favor children who risk death before they have a chance to reproduce? — the dangers seemed to be outweighed by the benefits of conquering fear and developing a sense of mastery.

“Paradoxically,” the psychologists write, “we posit that our fear of children being harmed by mostly harmless injuries may result in more fearful children and increased levels of psychopathology.”

At our school, too, we ensure that we teach children how to be inclusive, how to sort out the inevitable issues that arise on the playground, and how to take measured risks. We think that risk should be transparent, and also that the appearance of removing risk is actually much more dangerous than making sure that risk is understood and managed. When a playground is perceived by everyone to be safe, then actual risk may increase. Our playground equipment is, or course, designed with proper fall zones, appropriate surfaces, and manageable equipment. But we will never claim to have removed all risk. It would not be honest or educationally sound, and we want our children to grow to be capable adults who are able to take reasonable risks. It is just a part of a healthy life.

From The Telegraph on January 18, 2013 by Telegraph Reporters

Worried parents will ban their children from making snowmen and having snowball fights this winter – for fear they will catch a cold, a study found.

The protective one in five mums and dads, 20 per cent, will try to stop their youngsters falling ill by keeping them wrapped up warm indoors.

Furthermore, 29 per cent say it is “too dangerous” to let them outside because they may slip on ice or be bruised by a tightly-packed snowball.

That is despite many parents admitting they “enjoyed” playing outside when they were younger, the study by Chessington World of Adventures Resort found.

A stressed 20 per cent say they are “too tired” or “too busy” to supervise their children outside, so they find it easier to ban them completely.

As a result, one in five children now spends 60 hours a month in front of a screen – either watching TV, playing video games or on their mobile phone.

One in five mums and dads say they would not encourage their children to take part in activities they enjoyed themselves when they were younger.

That includes climbing trees, building dens, rope swinging and camping overnight in the garden, the poll of 1,000 people found.

Parents’ biggest concern is that their children will hurt themselves, with 35 per cent citing that as a fear.

The decline in adventurous outdoor play means just 9 per cent of children list it as a favourite activity, compared with 37 per cent who like video games.

More than a quarter, 26 per cent, prefer playing sport, 17 per cent playing with other children and 11 per cent playing “make believe”.

The adventurous activity parents would most like to try with their kids is an animal safari, at 24 per cent, the study found.

Chessington commissioned the research in advance of the March launch of its new, multi-million pound safari attraction, ZUFARI: Ride into Africa.

David Smith, General Manager at Chessington World of Adventures Resort said: “Building snowmen and throwing snowballs are activities children have been doing for years.

“Getting outside and having fun is all part of growing up so it is a shame many of today’s youngsters are not experiencing this fun as parents are scared they may catch a cold or get hurt.

“Whether it’s in the snow or in warmer temperatures, studies have shown playing outside is good for children’s health, is character building, and can also boost their confidence.”

He added: “Our study has shown most parents enjoyed these activities themselves when they were young, so hopefully the thrills of our new ZUFARI: Ride into Africa attraction will help families rediscover their adventurous side together.”

Dynamo’s newest Rotating game, that lets kids spin & spin & spin. Active play and fantastic sensations for children of all ages and abilities.

From Time Health & Family | By Bonnie Rochman

Playtime can be as important as class time for helping students perform their best.

Recess is most children’s favorite period, and parents and teachers should encourage that trend, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Recess can be a critical time for development and social interaction, and in a new policy statement published in the journal Pediatrics, pediatricians from the AAP support the importance of having a scheduled break in the school day. “Children need to have downtime between complex cognitive challenges,” says Dr. Robert Murray, a pediatrician and professor of human nutrition at the Ohio State University who is a co-author of the statement. “They tend to be less able to process information the longer they are held to a task. It’s not enough to just switch from math to English. You actually have to take a break.”

The AAP committee that developed the statement began its research in 2007, expecting to discover that recess is important as a physical outlet for children. What they found, however, was that playtime’s benefits extend beyond the physical. “We came to the realization that it really affects social, emotional and cognitive development in a much deeper way than we’d expected,” she says. “It helps children practice conflict resolution if we allow them unstructured play, and it lets them come back to class more ready to learn and less fidgety.”

The policy could be a lifeline for the dwindling role recess plays in the school day as districts trim budgets and hours of instruction, and squeeze more academic subjects into existing or even fewer school days, often sacrificing recess in the process. A year ago, a national survey found that just six states — Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Illinois and Iowa — adhere to standards from the National Association for Sports and Physical Education that schoolchildren participate in 150 minutes a week of physical education. And just three states — Delaware, Virginia and Nebraska — have 20 minutes of mandatory elementary-school recess a day, according to research published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

Since the 1990s, 73% of elementary school students through sixth grade have some form of daily recess, though it can vary widely between districts and even from school to school. That inconsistency could have serious implications for children’s health, says Catherine Ramstetter, Murray’s co-author and a health educator at Cincinnati’s Christ College of Nursing and Health Sciences. As recess started to disappear, for example, researchers noticed a spike in childhood-obesity rates.

A school volunteer, Ramstetter has personally encountered the challenges of maintaining regular recess. The inner-city Catholic school in Cincinnati where she offers her services has no playground. Recess takes place irregularly in the school gym or at a local park, and only for students through fourth grade. And teachers often withhold recess as punishment.

She and her fellow committee members say that could be a mistake. Banning unruly kids from recess can backfire since these students are precisely those who may potentially benefit the most from the break that recess represents.

It’s also important to distinguish recess from physical education, says Ramstetter. While gym class offers kids a chance to stretch their legs and get their heart rate up, it is still considered instructional time, with very different goals from those of the unstructured downtime of recess. Likewise, it’s important to let kids play what they want — that means playground monitors shouldn’t organize kids to play kickball or soccer. “When it’s structured, it’s not a break in the day,” she says.

The new statement is not meant to be a recipe for rescuing recess; it does not specify how long recess should last, but calls for more studies to determine the optimal length of breaks in the school day. But the authors do advise that recess should be a protected time, a sacrosanct period of free play that is no less important than the hours devoted to math or reading.

That understanding reflects a growing body of research documenting the power of some time off for improving concentration and even creativity. “Everyone, not just kids, benefits from regular breaks in the day,” says Murray. Adults rarely sit down and spend two or three hours focusing on a single task. “We get up, we get coffee, we mix and match our tasks during the day so our concentration can stay sharp,” says Murray. “With kids, we have to schedule these breaks.”

Without such intentional periods of play, the AAP committee says, it’s not just children’s waistlines that may suffer, but their ability to pay attention, and ultimately their academic performance as well.

Most of the commercial playground manufacturers have systems like those described below available from distributors (like me!). Some systems are very basic while others are more complex (expensive). If anyone is interested in more info, just send me a message. I sell throughout the lower 48!  This article is from this morning’s USA Today.

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No costly membership. Open 24/7. Doesn’t take up any space in your home. And it’s good for you.

Free outdoor gyms, the latest weapon in fighting the nation’s obesity epidemic, are sprouting up in city parks across the country. Clusters of traditional fitness equipment from elliptical machines to leg press and sit-up benches are being installed in city parks, often in poorer neighborhoods that may not have access to healthful options.

Leading the effort is the Trust for Public Land, a non-profit land conservation group that created its Fitness Zones program about three years ago to help cities fund outdoor health playgrounds.

Accessible to anyone walking by, 80 fitness zones are either being built or in the process, says Adrian Benepe, senior vice president and director of city park development for the trust.

“It went gangbusters,” he says. “Essentially, it’s like an outdoor gym with new varieties of exercise equipment built to withstand the rigor of weather vandalism.”

Zones usually have six to eight exercise units but some, such as one in New Orleans, has 18.

The concept is appealing because outdoor gyms use available park space that municipalities already own. The trust not only helps pay for the zones but helps cities raise private funds.

And most important, they’re free to anyone who wants to use them.

“That’s what defines them,” Benepe says. “They’re in a public park and accessible to the public. … You can be outdoors with friends and neighbors.”

Nearly 50% of Americans get less than the minimum recommended amount of physical activity, and 36% of U.S. adults engage in no leisure-time physical activity at all, according to the trust. While many variables can account for these statistics, “fitness deserts” — areas where residents don’t have access to exercise opportunities — are high on the list.

“In 30 years as parks and recreation director, I have never seen as much of an immediate impact,” says Sherry McBee, St. Petersburg’s parks and recreation director. “One of our goals is to improve the health of our citizens. It’s just really been a win, win, win, win. … I have never gone by one of them that they haven’t been heavily in use.”

Florida has 17 of these open-air gyms. Sprawling Los Angeles County has 41.

“They tend to lend themselves to warmer-weather cities, but they’re also being installed in cold-weather cities” such as Newark, Denver and Minneapolis, Benepe says.

Improving Americans’ health has moved up most cities’ agendas. In Florida’s Dade County, there are 11 Fitness Zones — eight that opened in the past year alone.

“We want to put them in all 40 parks,” says Jack Kardys, director of Miami-Dade County’s Parks, Recreations and Open Spaces, which has been on a health campaign and has banned high-sugar content snacks from recreation centers.

The concept of outdoor space for exercise is common in Asia and Europe. Now, a Swedish company has created stainless-steel sculptural structures that double as workout equipment.

Catarina Rolfsdotter-Jansson of Malmö, Sweden, designed City Art Gym as “gender-neutral outdoor fitness that’s beautiful:” a sphere, a bridge and a bar in stainless steel that can be used for at least 17 exercises that use more than one muscle group.

“Some fitness equipment doesn’t make the city more beautiful,” says Rolfsdotter-Jansson, a former basketball player. “I wanted to create a fitness structure that was beautiful.”

In Malmö, there’s a City Art Gym on the waterfront and one in a town square near a medieval church. Now, U.S. cities have inquired, she says, including New York City, Salt Lake City and Sarasota, Fla. Cost: $22,000 plus tax and shipping.

Jennifer French, a member of the Paralympics U.S. sailing team that won a silver medal this year, lives in St. Petersburg and is a city volunteer who advocates for people with disabilities.

A quadriplegic, French has used the Fitness Zone that is wheelchair accessible and is working to expand it to other parks.

“Fitness for people with mobility impairment is very hard to find,” says French, 41. “Having this outdoors and the ability to use it and in your own time is great. … It’s right in a shaded area so you’re not in the beating sun.”

“It’s brought people to our parks who in the past were not regular users,” McBee says. “Grouping equipment together in a visible location makes more people comfortable using it. It’s somewhere you could watch your child in the playground while you work out.”

I’m covering various designations that you should find inside playground catalogs.  Today’s organization is the ASTM (American Society for Testing Materials).  This organization sets standards for the playground equipment.  ASTM provides safety and performance standards for various types of public playground equipment.  Its purpose is to reduce life-threatening and debilitating injuries.  While it’s not a law, virtually every manufacturer makes equipment to satisfy the ASTM.

It is early December, and outside today the snow is softly falling. Children are making snow angels, and hoping for enough snow to build forts. How does the winter season affect your playground? Depending on your local weather, things may not change or they may be very different from summer play conditions. Some owner/operators will close down playgrounds for the season, but they often can’t stop the kids from coming to play anyway.

As always, supervision plays a key role in safe play. Parents or caregivers should think about things like:

• Tucking in loose or long clothing items like scarves, jacket or hat tie strings, tassles, and other loose or loopable items which could become entangled and cause choking.
• Snow and ice buildup on equipment surfaces which can result in slips & falls.
• Frozen play surfaces, where the impact attenuation may be reduced or negated.

Equipment choices can also help. Some forms of commercial playground equipment, like net climbers, are not hard surfaces and may be less impacted by winter conditions. This can come in the form of less cold transfer to the users, less surface areas for snow or ice to build up, and increased visibility for supervision. Active play with lots of movement will also keep children warm & rosy-cheeked happy.

Who is making the hot chocolate? Play safe and enjoy the season!

From www.janetlandsbury.com

The value of child-directed play is universally recognized and one of the few aspects of child-rearing that experts and thought leaders agree on. Independent play makes for highly productive, happily occupied kids, which in turn makes for happier, calmer parents. And it’s natural — the desire and ability to create play is inborn. So, what could possibly go wrong?

Parents often share with me the difficulties they’re having establishing the independent play habit for their kids. They tell me their infants cry when they’re placed down, their toddlers won’t play unless parents play with them, or their preschoolers need constant entertainment and direction.

Most of these problems stem from common misconceptions about independent play (all of which I once had):

Play Myth # 1: Babies can’t do it.

“Infancy is a time of great dependence. Nevertheless babies should be allowed to do things for themselves from the very beginning.”  – Magda Gerber

Perhaps the most pivotal difference between Magda Gerber’s Educaring Approach and other child-rearing methodologies is Gerber’s disagreement with the common perception of infants as helpless. Infants are dependent,but not helpless, corrected Gerber. She and her mentor Dr. Emmi Pikler perceived even the youngest infants as capable self-learners, able to initiate play and exploratory activities, experience mastery, engage directly with their environment and participate in communicative mind-to-mind partnerships with caregivers.

Brain studies recently conducted by psychologists like Alison Gopnik, Elizabeth Spelke and Paul Bloom have confirmed Gerber and Pikler’s views (finally). Infant minds are now proven to be up and running.

But this capable, competent infant is at odds with the more passive, helpless infant conceived by Dr. William Sears, influential writer Jean Leidloff and others. In their popular model based on ancestral practices, babies are dependent on their caregivers for entertainment and education and need almost constant physical contact to feel connected. The focus of this approach is carrying the baby for the majority of the day.

Establishing the habit of free play requires a quite different perception and focus — creating a safe play space and trusting the baby to initiate worthwhile independent activities. Of course, infants need lots of attentive holding and cuddling, but in Gerber’s model, they also need play. She noted that infants can clearly indicate when they need to be held, but they can’t enjoy playing independently until we believe they have something to do.

Play Myth #2: If a baby cries when she’s placed down, she must not like playing.

The best way for babies to begin free play is on their backs, because this is the position in which they have the most freedom, autonomy and mobility (try your tummy and then your back to see for yourself). When parents tell me their baby cries as soon as she is placed down on her back, it is usually for one of these reasons:

The baby is placed down abruptly or without a word.

Capable (dependent, rather than helpless) babies are whole people, and they need to be our communication partners. They need to be listened to and also spoken to respectfully about what will happen to them. “Now I will put you down on the blanket to play.” Then let’s say the baby cries. “Oh, you weren’t ready?” The parent might then lie down next to the baby and caress her. “Was that too fast for you? I’m right here for you.” If the crying continues, the baby needs to be picked up but can remain in the parents lap until she feels settled and comfortable enough in her surroundings to try playing again.

The baby is used to being carried, propped or positioned.

Young children are adaptive but usually prefer to do what they are used to doing. In this brand new world, babies understandably crave the familiar, and they develop habits quickly. Habits like being carried orseated in an upright position often seem to become the child’s “needs”, even though these needs were actually created by the parents’ choices.

Developing the free play habit is also a choice. It works best when parents prioritize it by makinguninterrupted play the focus of the baby’s “spare time” between naps and attentive feedings and diaper changes.

If parents want to make a transition from carrying or propping babies into independent play, the key is to introduce the new experience gradually and responsively with honest communication (“this is different, isn’t it?”) and patience.

The parent places the baby down and immediately leaves.

No one likes to feel dumped. Parents usually need to begin play by holding the baby while seated on the floor and then stay there for a while after the baby’s placed down.  If the parent decides to leave, the baby must be told, or trust in the parent (and in play) can be undermined.

Play Myth #3: Play means “doing” something.

Often the richest, most productive play doesn’t look like much because it’s dawdling, imagining, daydreaming, big picture thinking. To encourage this kind of play we must: first, value it; second, observe it; and lastly, not interrupt. The secret to not interrupting is to refrain from speaking to children until they initiate eye contact.

Side note: Happily occupied babies don’t feel neglected because adults aren’t engaging them (even if several minutes have past). They know quite well how to ask for attention. Trust your baby.

Play Myth #4: Gated play areas are restrictive “jails”.

A safe space is essential for fostering independent play. Free roaming babies that follow parents around, even in the most baby-proofed home, don’t focus on play as well or feel as truly free as babies in secure areas. Independent play requires a place free of “no’s” and a relaxed, trusting parent who mostly stays put in order to be the “secure base” young explorers need.

Play Myth #5: Independent play means leaving children alone.

One of the many positives about independent play is that once it’s established in a safe space parents can usually leave their content, occupied child alone briefly while they do chores, use the bathroom, check email etc. But the most valuable child-directed play is fostered when we learn a new way to enjoy playing with our kids, one that is mostly about observing and responding, less about actively participating. It’s natural to want to interact, but parent participation has a tendency to take over. The more we are playing, the more our child is following our lead, rather than creating and initiating plans of his or her own.

Parents often ask me what they can do to wean older children off the play “dependencies” they’ve unwittingly created. Generally, the process is to first believe our child capable and accept “not having anything to do” (and our child’s frustration about that) as perfectly okay. Then, relax, stay put and let the child decide to explore and return to you, let go of the need to please, and keep subtly volleying the imaginary ball back to the child.

Play Myth #6: When children get frustrated or ask for help, we should solve the problem for them.

As tempting as it is to fix situations for our children when it takes us all of two seconds, we are far more encouraging when we allow frustration, give verbal support, let go of results (since children often don’t care about them as much as we do) and perhaps help in a very small way, so that the child is doing much more than we are.

When children ask for help, reflect, and then ask questions. “So, you want to draw a dog? What kind of ears do you want the dog to have? Oh, the kind that point up? Show me what you mean.” You might even resort to allowing the child to move your hand while you hold the pencil, but do all you can to give ownership of play to your child, which also means allowing some activities to be left unfinished.

Play Myth #7: It’s our job to entertain and play with our children

There’s definitely some truth to this one. Bonding through fun with our children is one of our jobs, but if we’ve encouraged kids to love playing independently, playtime together seldom feels like a chore, especially once we’ve discovered the joy of taking a back seat and trusting our child to drive.

As my own kids have gotten older, an invitation to play with them is such a rare and precious treat that I’ll gladly drop everything. Come to think of it, I’m often the one asking!