The Importance of Adventure Playgrounds for Children's Development

Adventure playgrounds provide a space for children to use their imagination and develop creativity and adaptive skills. They allow children to learn about risks and acquire knowledge that can be utilized in the future. The concept of adventure playgrounds should be encouraged more among children to help them develop their imagination and creativity.

Running head: RECREATION AND TOURISM
Recreation and tourism
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Response to post 1
It may occur to many that adventure playground is a concept that would be harmful
and not very useful for children. However, the video that is discussed in this post and after
watching the video named “The importance of playing with fire” it can be said that a lot of
intricacy is concealed behind the concept of adventure playgrounds (youtube.com 2018).
Early childhood or children of young age have a high tendency to learn and adapt to the
surrounding around them (Fox & Schirrmacher, 2014). Henceforth, the tools and activities
that constitutes the adventure playground are a great way for these young minds to develop
creativity and adaptive skills that would benefit them in future.
However, the adventure playgrounds could be modified in such a way so that it could
ensure safety of the child as well but at the same time does not hamper the essence of a
traditional playground that involves activities and equipment. The adventure playground
could include equipment such as hammer or digging shovels that are not made up of heavy
metal instead are plastic made. In this way, the children could get the essence of traditional
adventure playground as well and at the same time the Canadian culture of ensuring low-risk
playgrounds can also be achieved (Lorinc, 2018). In addition to this, equipment such as
ropes, tires can also be included and a manual can be provided in the grounds so that children
could make their own swing out of it. This would sustain the Canadian culture of providing a
safe environment for children to play and simultaneously maintain the concept of adventure
playground.
Response to post 2
The concept of adventure playgrounds may be traditional but the philosophy out of
the concept is quite futuristic (Czalczynska-Podolska, 2014). The main philosophy of such
playgrounds is to let children use their own imagination and learn the types of risks that can

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come. Now in my opinion I believe that adventure does involve risk and a feel adrenaline that
excites an individual. In my opinion this is what the core essence of adventure feels like.
However, this is what I feel about adventure now but at the early childhood days, the very
meaning of adventure was foreign to me. Since adventure for me in early childhood days
meant, to be able to do whatever I wanted to do. The restrictions set up by parents limited my
activities and therefore, breaking or going beyond those restrictions was adventure to me.
Although it can be said that my perception regarding adventure at my early stage of
childhood and now are similar. Since at both stage, I believe adventure for me is something
which is risky or attempt to do something that is way beyond my limit. In my opinion without
taking risks or breaking your own limitations one cannot experience adventure. At this stage
of life, I also believe that adventure seeks for fear as well. The things that we are most afraid
of is where adventure lies. Henceforth, my perception of adventure changed over the period
and the experiences that I gained so far.
Response to post 3
The video named “The importance of playing with fire” shows children playing in a
very unconventional playground which can be termed as adventure playground. The children
in the video are seen playing and creating things out of waste products. They create and build
things out of something which many people thing are waste products. This is one of the
highlighting thing that I observed in the video. Adventure playgrounds includes equipment
and a space as such that allows children to use their imagination (Chilton, 2018). In my
opinion it is really significant for young minds to be free without any restriction. I also
believe out of creative play children can learn and acquire knowledge that could utilise in
future. Adventure playgrounds allows that freedom to children where they could learn and
grow unlike other contemporary indoor games that limits a child’s imagination. In today’s
world we can observe that technology has even taken over children’s mind. They do not find

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fun in playing outdoor instead are attached to video games, social media. In my opinion these
technological equipment limits the power of imagination among children. They are not able
to apply any creativity in it and thus are constraint within a box of advanced child’s play. I
believe the concept of adventure playgrounds should be encouraged more among children
since it allows them develop their imagination and creativity. In addition to this, they learn
about various aspects of risks as well that would be beneficial at any point of their life.

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References
Chilton, T. (2018). Adventure Playgrounds. Aspects of Playwork: Play and Culture
Studies, 14, 157.
Czalczynska-Podolska, M. (2014). The impact of playground spatial features on children's
play and activity forms: An evaluation of contemporary playgrounds' play and social
value. Journal of environmental psychology, 38, 132-142.
Fox, J. E., & Schirrmacher, R. (2014). Art and creative development for young children.
Cengage Learning.161-173.
Lorinc, J. (2018). What happens when Toronto takes the ‘play’ out of playground. Retrieved
from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/what-happens-when-toronto-
takes-the-play-out-of-playground/article35065670/
YouTube. (2018). The Importance of Playing With Fire (Literally). [online] Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esGAJshsGvc [Accessed 14 Nov. 2018].