'Councils embrace risky play' and 'Children being 'raised in captivity', warns psychologist' are two of the articles in this months Play England round up of what's hot in play. Cadence welcome the profile these thoughts are getting, things have moved on since we worked on our first play strategies.
The first refers to the way councils are spending money allocated to them to spend on play facilities, it says:
Councils are ignoring the so called ‘compensation culture' and investing in more adventurous play equipment as part of the governments £235m investment in England's play facilities. Latest research by the Local Government Association (LGA) has found that councils are keen that new playgrounds focus on fun and excitement rather than ‘wrap children in cotton wool.' The government is looking to see 3,500 new or revamped facilities built by 2011 as part of the investment. Of these, 500 have opened and, according to the LGA, equipment already being bought includes giant climbing walls, tree houses and zip wires.
The second refers to the relative risks of playgrounds versus the internt in an article by Dr Tanya Byron (has been commissioned by Gordon Brown to investigate the harmful effects of video games and websites) and says:
Children who are kept indoors are far more at risk than those allowed to go out to playgrounds and parks - because of the perils of the internet, a child expert claimed. Over-protective parents who refuse to let their children play outside are mistaken in believing that they will be safer, said Professor Tanya Byron. She said that attempts to keep children safe indoors could backfire because of the danger of their turning to the internet for something to do, which could involve other risks. ‘We are raising a whole generation of children in captivity because parents are increasingly risk averse'.
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Reply #1 on : Thu September 08, 2011, 17:52:17
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