Research Paper
Essentials for the Perfect Play Environment Imagine that you are planning on building the perfect playground for your child. Before you begin, what questions would you ask yourself? What kind of equipment is going on the playground? How much space is allotted for the playground? What kind of activities do you want to do on the playground? These are all great questions and necessary for laying out the design of your playground. But have you evaluated the risk associated with a playground in your own backyard? What about, what type of play ground will you design? What pieces of equipment will be incorporated into the design? This essay will cover the risk factors of outdoor play, the importance of outdoor play, and highlight a few of the best play environments. Children find a thrill and excitement in the risk of injury associated with certain forms of play. For this reason it is important to take certain risk factors into consideration when designing your playground. The playground risk factors are modest when compared to many other popular sports, such as football and soccer. However, the main risk factors on playgrounds are found to be behavior, equipment height, and body orientation in falls to the ground. Behavior can be alleviated (but not all together removed) by having an adult supervise the children as they play and then intervene when necessary (Grolund, 2008). Equipment height is one of those factors that depend on the type of playground you are designing. One solution for both equipment height and body orientation in falls is to consider including soft flooring into the design. For instance, sand and rubber flooring will assist in absorbing the fall but not necessarily will it remove the risk.
It is important to set up conditions to promote healthy, engaging play for children. Ellen Sandseter writes, “Even though children naturally seek to engage in risky play, features of the play environment influence children’s play by affording
It is important to set up conditions to promote healthy, engaging play for children. Ellen Sandseter writes, “Even though children naturally seek to engage in risky play, features of the play environment influence children’s play by affording
Cited: Sandseter, Ellen B. Affordances for Risky Play in Preschool: The Importance of Features in the Play Environment. Norway: Early Childhood Education Journal, 2009. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web 22 May 2013. Gronlund, Gaye. Being Playful and Responsive: Planning for Play and Observation. Washingon, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children, 2008. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web 22 May 2013