Figure 1.-- Playgrond equipment began to appear in parks annd school yards at the turn-of-the 20th century. Not a lot of attention was given to child safety. Most of the issues were minor. We note the playground here in Boston at the Columbus Avenue Playground (1904). It can only be described as the Playground of Death. We are not what the ladder at the left is headed. Perhaps to an uncompleted slide. Any modern mother would gringe. Notice that there are no girls--they had more sence. Notice the number of boys who arebarefoot.
For most of history, children did not have dedicated or safe places to play. In fact parents actively discouraged play. Nor were there specially designed structures on which they could have fun. This only began to change in the 19th century. First parents and educators began to see positive benefits from play. And then Urban parks began to appear. The first public parks which appeared in Europe were beautifully landscaped places for adults and families to stroll along pathways. Children were not encouraged to play there. 'Keep off the grass' proliferated in early urban parks. Some urban parks began to appear where the main feature was stand alone play grounds for the kids. The idea is a very modern innovation. The idea was born in Germany as a way to get the children off the streets which were the primary play ground for urban children. There was at first no playground equipment. Police supervised the children. These parks did not have green park areas or the foliage and flowers were not the main feature. The first German parks in fact were just piles of sand. We are not sure when this trend began in America, but we think it was the late-19th century as more thought began to be given to creating livable urban environments. The first playground we know of was in Boston. Dr. Marie E. Zakrzewska, a German woman, brought the idea to Boston (1885). Germany was the origin of many child friendly innovations such as public schools and Kindergartens. A the idea took hold, we see playground equipment being installed. Some may have have ball fields as sport was increasing as a part of American life. This was limited in major cities because of the cost of real estate and the slow to develop children's sports organizations. This became more common with the move to the suburbs and more land was available. Today, children can slide, swing, run, spin, and jump on a wide variety of creative structures. Standard play ground equipment included merry-go-rounds, monkey bars, see-saws, slides, and swings. At first very little attention was given to child safety.
Chronology
For most of history, children did not have dedicated or safe places to play. In fact parents actively discouraged play. Nor were there specially designed structures on which they could have fun. This only began to change in the 19th century. First parents and educators began to see positive benefits from play. And then Urban parks began to appear. The first public parks which appeared in Europe were beautifully landscaped places for adults and families to stroll along pathways. Children were not encouraged to play there. 'Keep off the grass' proliferated in early urban parks. Some urban parks began to appear where the main feature was stand alone play grounds for the kids. The idea is a very modern innovation. The idea was born in Germany as a way to get the children off the streets which were the primary play ground for urban children. Police or park staff supervised the children. These parks did not have green park areas or the foliage and flowers were not the main feature. The first German parks in fact were just piles of sand. We are not sure when this trend began in America, but we think it was the late-19th century as more thought began to be given to creating livable urban environments.
There was at first no playground equipment. Germany was the origin of many child friendly innovations such as public schools and Kindergartens. As the idea took hold, we see playground equipment being installed. Some may have had ball fields as sport was increasing as a part of American life. This was limited in major cities because of the cost of real estate and the slow to develop children's sports organizations. This became more common with the move to the suburbs and more land was available. Today, children can slide, swing, run, spin, and jump on a wide variety of creative structures. Standard play ground equipment included merry-go-rounds, monkey bars, see-saws, slides, and swings. We note some playgrounds with large, substantial erquipment like we see here (figure 1). This of course is exactlky the wrong approach, not only is expensive andrequires suprvision whuich is also expensive, but it often requires large grouops of children. A far better approach is less substantial, expensive equipment which does not require a paid staff. Rather what became standard is low-budget equipment that even small groups of children could enjoy with family and friends.
Specific Parks
The first playground we know of was in Boston. Dr. Marie E. Zakrzewska, a German woman, brought the idea to Boston (1885). We note th Columbus Avenue playground about the turn-of-the 20th century (figure 1).
Child Safety
At first very little attention was given to child safety.
