The custom of the land..a new look at kid's playgrounds

THIS is one of the most interesting things I've ever read. It describes a new type of kid's playground based on an old concept. The children can literally go wild there and their 'play things' are basically junk. They can roll old tires around, play in a muddy creek, build forts and castles out of old plywood and pallets, dig in the dirt and even start fires in designated areas. Like the old 'fire in a barrel', where they sit around on old plastic lawn chairs and just burn things for the fun of it.

I kind of like it, yet, it scared me a little. They DO have designated play ground watchers, but, these adults do not intervene unless the situation is life threatening. I've said for years (and I've done posts on it) that modern play grounds are unsafe and boring. The giant metal sculptures painted primary colors that now sit in our playgrounds, replacing old cool stuff, are quite awful and not at all safe. I grew up playing in junk yards. I loved it. I had a blast 'driving' old cars and trucks, making things, rolling tires and building fires in barrels. Unsupervised. I only got badly hurt once when we decided to take turns crawling inside an old washing machine tub and letting someone else push it down a steep hill. I had to be the first one down. I got cut up by some metal and seriously injured my knee. I was on crutches for weeks. I remember my dad found the crutches in the dump and cut them off so I could use them. They didn't have any money for a doctor, so my grandma sewed me back together and doctored me with her herbs. Whatever she did, it worked. I was around seven years old. I still have a gnarly scar. My older cousin suffered a lot of guilt because he was the 'pusher'. He shouldn't have. I would have found a way to do it myself, it sounded like such a good idea at the time. When I got well, I went right back to the junk yard to play some more armed with a pocket knife and kitchen matches. Just in case.

Read the article and decide yourself. Would I let Lissa play there? Yeah, I would, but, I'd have to grab a plastic chair and sit on the edge watching. I do think playing in a literal junk yard is better than modern play grounds. I just hate those bullshit metal things they put up now in play grounds. They suck. Let 'em build a fire and roll some tires into a creek. You're only a kid once.