[Tenchiro]

No wonder kids in America are getting fat. Schools are cancelling PE for financial reasons and not allowing children to be children because they have litigious pussis for parents...

Is litigation taking the 'play' out of kids' playgrounds?
By Susan Harding

PORTLAND, Ore - Most adults can remember the carefree days of childhood, climbing trees and jumping from swings, often on schoolyard playgrounds.

Climbing, swinging and sliding was once a rite of passage during recess, a time for adventure, to see how high, how far and how fast we could go as a kid.

Today, kids find themselves grounded, victims of a culture of fear and injury litigation.

A growing number of school districts are going so far as to ban the game of tag and are even posting signs that read "no running on the playground."

Is there real danger on the modern playground?

Safety advocates say yes and want to eliminate it.

Their first target: swing sets.

They've convinced Portland Public Schools to remove all swings from elementary schools playgrounds.

But even a playground inspector finds the removal of swing sets a little over the top.

He says that swinging creates motion and is an important part of childhood development.

But the safety advocates don't stop there.

Portland Public Schools have also rejected merry go rounds, tube slides, track rides, arch climbers, and teeter totters.

At Grant Park in Northeast Portland, some parents embrace a new plastic enclosed play area, noting that the construction of the play equipment does not have sharp corners, and soft surfaces are used in many areas.

As for the disappearing swings at school playgrounds, some parents say the kids won't miss them, while others decry the move as overprotective.

And it's not just Portland that is seeing playground equipment disappear.

Our lawsuit happy culture has schools and parks installing low-to-the-ground play structures that some have derided as "dumbed down."

Now, it seems, anything with moving parts is a lawsuit liability, and in some places, that even means moving legs.

In Broward County, Florida, there's a new rule on the playground: no running.

A parent there commented that "no running on the playground, that's kind of like no playing on the playground" and another called for a review of what exactly was "safe" or unsafe.

So what can kids still play?

Not dodge ball or tether ball, that's still too dangerous. And in Beaverton, at Barnes Elementary School, rules there forbid the game of tag.

In Salem, an elementary education director says "we don't encourage the game of tag because it encourages fights."

But at Catlin Gabel, a private school, there's an entirely different philosophy at work on the playground. One where monkey bars, slides and other playground favorites are used daily by a roiling mass of youngsters, some who come away with skinned knees or other minor boo-boos.

Kids there are taking chances, even jumping from swings, and it's all encouraged.

An adult watching the students play says it's really the nature of childhood to take small risks and find out what they can do and what they can't do.

One child psychologist points to the rising trend of childhood obesity in defense of letting kids play like kids.

National statistics indicate 34 percent of kids are overweight, with obesity projected to be nearly 50 percent in the year 2010.

But safety advocates point to different numbers, saying playground accidents cause 200,000 injuries nationwide each year, and 17 deaths.

It's a debate that is sure to continue, as some say kids can never be safe enough, and others feel that if kids can't jump from the swing set and maybe skin a knee, they are not learning valuable life lessons.

Running on the playground is bad? But upskirt photography on the playground is ok?!?

 

[The Amish]

NO swings no dodgeball, no diving boards.................Its a nation wide campaign to turn all our kids into Fags

 

[BurlyShirley]

Sweet Jesus, what'll be next? No sugar? No laughing?

 

[The Amish]

"If you dont eat your meat, you cant have any pudding! HOw can you have any pudding, if you dont eat your meat".....................Thats whats next. Damn commie's

 

[narlus]

i agree it's ludicrous...the litigation mentality of america is crushing us.

 

[DaveW]

Sweet Jesus, what'll be next? No sugar? No laughing?

I don't know about "no sugar" but cutting back the amount the average kid ingests these days wouldn't be a bad move.


That school with the no running needs to be bitchslapped back to reality! :mumble:

 

[Transcend]

Wow, that's the stupidest thing I have seen in a long tyime. Isn't it called a playground for a reason? It isn't like they are showing shakespeare, so that only leaves one definition.

 

[ktmsx]

i agree it's ludicrous...the litigation mentality of america is crushing us.

WELL PUT.!!!!!

 

[Tenchiro]

The playground of the future;

Once they develop grass cut proof suits.

 

[Transcend]

The playground of the future;

Once they develop grass cut proof suits.

My mom works at an elementary school. It used to be a concrete playground. They just got FieldTurf (based in montreal) to donate an entire artificial playing surface. That's right, this school now has a multi-million dollar playground worthy of the NFL.

 

[MMike]

My mom works at an elementary school. It used to be a concrete playground. They just got FieldTurf (based in montreal) to donate an entire artificial playing surface. That's right, this school now has a multi-million dollar playground worthy of the NFL.

Which school??????

 

[Transcend]

Which school??????

St Lambert

 

[Ciaran]

The playground of the future;

Once they develop grass cut proof suits.

Well, if Christo is supplying the artwork it might not be too bad.


People are silly and stupid. Someday when I have a kid I am going to teach him to kick ass on all the pvssy kids.

 

[DRB]

Well, if Christo is supplying the artwork it might not be too bad.


People are silly and stupid. Someday when I have a kid I am going to teach him to kick ass on all the pvssy kids.

Unless some of it fell over and crushed some kids, then we're right back where we started.

 

[kinghami3]

I can see using plastic equipment and pea gravel in stead of concrete, but getting hurt is part of growing up; these people need to realize that. (me being the kid who had to go to the nurses office an average of twice a week). Not letting them play dodgeball or swing on the swings is just going to take away the things that teach kids how to interact with the world around them.

 

[bjanga]

i agree it's ludicrous...the litigation mentality of america is crushing us.

 

[Changleen]

Ridiculous. Welcome to a generation of pvssy fat kids with zero co-ordination and no balance. Pretty soon stairs will be abolished too.

 

[Secret Squirrel]

But safety advocates point to different numbers, saying playground accidents cause 200,000 injuries nationwide each year, and 17 deaths.

Out of how many children total?? This is just like saying that 12 people die of eating bat feces every year...It's an epidemic...we need to kill all the bats so that so many people don't die!!! OUT OF 6 BILLION PEOPLE!!! ugh...this just makes me a sad, sad squirrel....

 

[kinghami3]

Out of how many children total?? This is just like saying that 12 people die of eating bat feces every year...It's an epidemic...we need to kill all the bats so that so many people don't die!!! OUT OF 6 BILLION PEOPLE!!! ugh...this just makes me a sad, sad squirrel....

And how many kids will die from cigarette smoke, obesity, not being buckled when their retarded elders slam their car into a tree, etc...? People have no common sense.

 

[H8R]

I have to say that for all it's retardedness, Berkeley totally rules here:

http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/marina/marinaexp/adventplgd.html

This place is awesome.

 

[BurlyShirley]

that actually looks unsafe

 

[H8R]

that actually looks unsafe

Kids are encouraged to find any stray nails or splintered surfaces.

The place is amazing. Every kid in there has a total blast.

 

[noname]

Sweet Jesus, what'll be next? No sugar? No laughing?

Watch what you say, in certain states soda is being banned from schools(I think Va is one of them, can't remember) and I heard on the news this morning that there is some legislative action being taken in the U.K to curtail the consumption of ice cream by children.

 

[Transcend]

Young children tend to go berserk when pumped full of caffeine and sugar. Probably a good idea to get sodas out of school. They drink enough at home as it is probably.

 

[noname]

speaking of litiginous societies......http://rinkworks.com/said/warnings.shtml

 

[H8R]

Watch what you say, in certain states soda is being banned from schools(I think Va is one of them, can't remember) and I heard on the news this morning that there is some legislative action being taken in the U.K to curtail the consumption of ice cream by children.

No sodas in school is a damn good idea if they are going to ban running in the playground.

:nonono:

 

[noname]

Young children tend to go berserk when pumped full of caffeine and sugar. Probably a good idea to get sodas out of school. They drink enough at home as it is probably.

Yeah, my roommate lives off the stuff, right now there are about 4 cases of various sodas in my kitchen and I don't even drink the stuff. It will likely all be gone and replaced again by monday.

 

[noname]

had too be done "Remember, objects in the mirror are actually behind you." -- On a motorcycle helmet-mounted rear-view mirror.

 

[H8R]

speaking of litiginous societies......http://rinkworks.com/said/warnings.shtml

"Please keep out of children." -- On a butcher knife.

Where the fvck am I supposed to put it?

 

[noname]

sounds about right....."For a limited time only." -- From a Rally's commercial that described how their burgers were fresh.

 

[valve bouncer]

No sodas in school is a damn good idea if they are going to ban running in the playground.

:nonono:

I've got no problem banning Coke in schools. The playground thing is stupid though. A kid in my son's class broke her arm at school on the jungle gym the other day. No-one even thought about suing. Kids hurt themselves sometimes, it's part of growing up.

 

[MikeD]

I can see using plastic equipment and pea gravel in stead of concrete, but getting hurt is part of growing up; these people need to realize that. (me being the kid who had to go to the nurses office an average of twice a week). Not letting them play dodgeball or swing on the swings is just going to take away the things that teach kids how to interact with the world around them.

Don't worry; they can learn from Grand Theft Auto III...

 

[noname]

Don't worry; they can learn from Grand Theft Auto III...

or WOW
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5829962112288504909