Comments on: Merry Go Round

By: Controversial vision for new Grimston Park playground | Tenth To The Fraser

Controversial vision for new Grimston Park playground | Tenth To The Fraser — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 22:03:17 +0000

[...] expensive to replicate (approximately two to three times the $250,000 budget) and fails to meet current playground safety standards due to the fall risk from those tall towers. So, Andrew and Richard are hoping the West End will [...]

By: Kirsten

Kirsten — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 23:51:58 +0000

The kid at the top is much less likely to lose her grip though — closer to the centre, so less centripetal force. Or…some other force. Would it be one of the perpendicular force vectors affecting that kid? Sorry, my much more mathematical friend, it’s been awhile since OAC Physics.

Still. The kid at the top, while she would fall farther, is less likely to lose her grip in the first place, so the chances of failure are lower although the consequences are higher.

Which is kind of what a lot of kid play is all about, come to think of it; finding your own comfort level as you travel through the zones of risk and reward.

By: Lady M

Lady M — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 03:33:48 +0000

Playground equipment certainly is different now. I miss see-saws (until I read the comment above) and the giant climbing structures that must have been splinter magnets, now that I think of it. I do love the spongy flooring that they put in a lot of the new playgrounds though.

By: Maria@Conversations with Moms

Maria@Conversations with Moms — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 00:49:51 +0000

I agree with the Merry-Go-Round, it was a blast. Just look at the smile on her face as she’s spinning faster and faster.

However, as a now Mom hearing about all those injuries, I’m glad it’s gone.

I never really played safe. I remember being on the see saw with my friend and thought it would be fun to slam down quickly on the ground. She wasn’t hanging on tight enough, went flying and banged her face in the middle of the see saw. It wasn’t funny anymore.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 21:01:30 +0000

When I see the “spinning tree” I can’t help but think some kid is going to climb to the top and yell to his (or her) friends to spin faster, faster, faster…you know how much hang time you’ll get if you go flying off from that height?

We can wrap our kids in bubble-wrap to keep them perfectly safe, but sometimes skinned knees, bruised elbows and a few tears are part of the fun.

By: Heather

Heather — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 16:36:51 +0000

http://freerangekids.wordpress.com/2009/03/16/raw-cookie-dough-death-on-a-spoon/

You talked about baking cookies or cake with Hannah awhile back and how decieded to let her lick the spoon even though he paused to think about the safety aspect of it.

I just saw this post at Free Range Kids and thought of you!

By: Heather

Heather — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 16:31:40 +0000

I have no idea because I haven’t done the research, but I am sure that more children are injured in minor car accidents every day – while wearing proper seatbelts and safety equipment. The world isn’t a safe place. It never was. I actually don’t one child who has sustained a brain injury or has been killed from riding a bike without a helmet, skating without a helmet or has been seriously injured on a playground. As a kid I was pushed off a climbing structure at the childminding center that used to be in Seven Oaks Mall, and sprained my arm. My injury was caused by another kid playing too rough, not by the equipment that I was playing on.

I am all for keeping my kids safe. But, I just think that sometimes ‘safety’ is like a run away train. The world isn’t a safe place. I am sure children are hurt more often doing regular things in their homes than they are on playgrounds, but again, I haven’t actually done any research to back this up, so I guess I could be completely wrong.

I agree with you though Amber, living on the edge is fun…even if it means tossing your cookies from being spun to the point of puking!