Why adventure play?
Adventure playgrounds are unique and special play spaces, with many fantastic benefits to London's children and young people.
The importance of adventure play
The opportunity to be able to access a rich play environment, and assess and take risks, is paramount for the healthy development of all children, physically, mentally, emotionally, socially and creatively. Sadly, and increasingly, children are unable or not allowed to go out to play, and engage freely in play activities that a generation ago would have been taken for granted.
There is a serious danger of serious and long lasting damage to a whole generation of children by denying them opportunities to explore, experiment, and experience the wide, wonderful world around them. Being 'wrapped in cotton wool', children are deprived of the most natural part of childhood - playing and taking risks. It is only by direct personal experience that children learn to assess and overcome danger and hazardous situations, and gain varied and flexible responses to the different situations they find themselves in.
Today's children are also leading increasingly sedentary lifestyles - a significant contributing factor to obesity and health problems among the young. By running around and playing, children can achieve the 60 minutes of daily activity recommended by the Chief Medical Officer for healthy development.
A good adventure playground aims to achieve such benefits: opportunities to experiment and explore; providing risks for children to take. Risks are assessed and in a controlled environment, supervised by trained, professional playworkers who are always on hand to help out if needed, who know when to intervene, but also know when to stand back and let children work things out for themselves. After all, children are the experts at playing.
The benefits of adventure playgrounds
Adventure playgrounds are open access, meaning that children decide to use the playground themselves, when they choose. Adventure playgrounds are designed specifically to respond to the needs and wishes of children, rather than their parents, which makes them more popular with children than the 'fixed' playgrounds.
The majority of London's adventure playgrounds are situated in deprived areas where children can face problems in their families, housing and quality of life. Adventure playgrounds contribute to improving the children's play, learning and social opportunities.
Adventure playgrounds are mostly free to use and typically based within neighbourhoods, ensuring all children can visit often and without travelling far from home. Playgrounds have space for large numbers of children and welcome children and young people from a wide age range. This encourages neighbouring and related friends to play all together.
Many adventure playgrounds are accessible for wheel-chair users and non-disabled children alike. They enable disabled children to share in the sense of freedom and adventure.
Adventure playgrounds contribute to a child's growth and development, by encouraging them to discover and test themselves against the environment and with other children. Adventure playgrounds can be the first place where many children learn to climb, jump, swing and hang.
Using tools and materials to adapt the outdoor space is an important feature of adventure playgrounds. Activities include building camps and dens, cooking on open fires, digging gardens, tending animals and growing food and generally playing with and in the outdoor space.
Skilled, permanent playground staff are always on hand to ensure the safety of the children. The staff are significant adults in the lives of many of the children, providing a stable and positive adult relationship.
Children play a part in the ongoing design and construction of their adventure playground. This gives children the space to explore, test, create, build and rebuild their play space, and encourages children to feel at home in the playground and treat it well.
