Playgrounds have arisen as some of the most popular places that parents take their kids for outdoor adventures amd fun. However, if you’ve been charged with designing a commercial playground space, you’ll want to make it more than just exciting. After all, a well-considered and thoughtfully laid-out playground can have a lasting effect on children’s mental, physical, and social abilities.
To illustrate this point, imagine a playground that’s been outfitted with a traditional swing set versus one that includes ADA-compliant accessible swings. The first playground can only be used by children who can safely ride on regular swings. On the other hand, the second playground invites a wider array of children to experience the thrill of being on a swing set. Plus, the second playground encourages children to play with kids who might be differently abled. In this way, they see the value of developing friendships with all children.
This is just one example of how the playground equipment you pick can impact young visitors’ thoughts and behaviors. Let’s look at five other examples of this phenomenon in action.
1. Your equipment can drive socialization.
We often take it for granted that kids will naturally gravitate toward one another. Some will, but some won’t. Plus, many children are shy or introverted. Without a reason to gather, they might hesitate to approach another child to initiate play.
Plenty of pieces of playground equipment can override this kind of hesitance and promote the blossoming of friendships and camaraderie. Why? They’re created to allow kids to play side-by-side or as a team. Take the seesaw. As commercial playground provider Playground Equipment explains, seesaws always require at least two participants, if not more. This means the participants have to communicate, operate as a team, and trust each other. By choosing this deceptively basic type of playground equipment for your space, you could transform a child’s social confidence.
2. Your equipment can hone fine motor skills.
By their nature, playgrounds encourage children to practice fundamental development skills like running, jumping, and climbing. However, those are far from the only skills that a well-organized playground can teach a child. It’s possible for playground equipment to help hone a child’s fine motor skills as well.
According to research from the Neuropsychology & Education Services for Children & Adolescents, some playground equipment builds dexterity, grasping, and other finger and hand movements. Specifically, the researchers cite the value of kids being led to improve their grip strength, which comes in handy every day. A child might not know it, but he or she is making it easier to open a twist-top jar because you decided to add an agility ladder or climbing wall to your playground.
3. Your equipment can influence calculated risk-taking.
Although some children are risk takers, others are risk averse — and that’s not always to their benefit. Understanding how to calculate risks, as well as how to determine which are “safe bets” and which aren’t, is healthy. Depending on the layout and kind of playground equipment at your facility, you can influence children to learn to take calculated risks.
Case in point, maybe you have several slides. Each slide is a different height and offers a unique type of texture or curve. Children have the opportunity to assess which slide they want to try first. From there, they can scale up and take a “risk” (which isn’t actually risky if you’ve purchased high-quality, safe equipment) — or not. By pushing their limits carefully, they can begin to weigh the potential outcomes of future decisions.
4. Your equipment can give their imagination a boost.
Most kids are happy to use their imaginations even without playground equipment. However, you probably want to urge the kids on your playground to get creative. You can do this by including some unusual playground equipment, or objects that they aren’t expecting (or haven’t seen before.)
For instance, Parkitect mentions parks and playgrounds from around the world that feature abstract and organically shaped climbing and crawling elements. These aren’t meant to fit into a theme, but to “become” whatever kids want them to be. Every time a child visits, he or she can mentally turn the objects into something new. Accordingly, they never get bored and are always creatively stimulated, even if they go to the same play space every week.
5. Your equipment can get parents and children working together.
Parents, grandparents, and babysitters can sometimes be at a loss when it comes to figuring out how to play with a child. Frequently, they need outside stimuli to help them overcome this type of stumbling block. Some playground equipment pieces can give them an excuse to collaborate with their kids, thereby strengthening the bonds between them through the magic of play.
For this reason, think about including equipment pieces that can be enjoyed by a multigenerational audience. These may include raised sandboxes, workout equipment meant for all ages, and interactive stations. You may want to include a seated area next to these places so parents with mobility issues can easily join the fun. (Be sure that you’ve thought about individuals who use canes or wheelchairs, too. Having a stable surface for them to roll or walk on is essential.)
As a playground designer, you’re not just the person who’s identifying which structures to buy and install. You’re someone who’s going to have a deep influence on all the kids who come to your play space. Consequently, give yourself the bandwidth necessary to conscientiously choose equipment with positive, specific outcomes in mind.
