I hope this catches on

[Encryptshun]

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/43810459

Synopsis for the "TL;DR"ers:

Studies show that eliminating playground equipment (like monkey bars and tall slides) due to risks of emotional and physical injuries (spelled L-A-W-S-U-I-T-S) actually causes worse emotional and physical side effects than having it around did.

Kids from any era have an innate NEED to engage in thrilling and adventurous activities. Providing a physical outlet for those needs has positive psychological and physical benefits which far outweigh any injuries that might come as a result of falls and scrapes.

In short, a broken arm heals in weeks, but being a fat effing p*ssy lasts a lifetime.

I hope this is a true victory for common sense and starts an epidemic of schools rebuilding playgrounds, reinstituting dodgeball, and bringing back sports day.

[Ajax]

I've never seen anyone get more than a scraped knee or elbow on a playground.

[alms24sebring]

Yeah just more proof that kids are b****es these days. Just cry about it and move on, they'll be back when they are healed. No need to freakin outlaw a dam playground I mean c'mon now

[Encryptshun]

I myself have had a sprained wrist, a concussion, 9 stitches above my right eye, and a hyperextended knee all from playground activities. But that was back in the day when you could actually have FUN on a playground.

[alms24sebring]

LOl, what were you doing Spiderman?

I always got the usual huge srapes on the knees and elbows. I love jumping off the swing and trying to land on my feet. I remember my friend was doing that and a little kid walked behind him as he was swinging and got kicked in the face really hard... I lol'd.

[AZhitman]

In short, a broken arm heals in weeks, but being a fat effing p*ssy lasts a lifetime.

Kids from any era have an innate NEED to engage in thrilling and adventurous activities. Providing a physical outlet for those needs has positive psychological and physical benefits which far outweigh any injuries that might come as a result of falls and scrapes.

Exactly - If they don't learn a healthy dose of respect for speed, velocity and impact at that age, what makes us think they're going to have a clue what happens when they get behind the wheel of a car?

[Encryptshun]

Sprained wrist and concussion were from falling off the top of the monkey bars (they were open in the middle all the way to the bottom) because I was playing on them in the rain. Stitches were a result of playing "follow the leader" on a nice big flat sheet of ice. Knee was from swinging as high as you could on the swingset then launching yourself out of the seat and landing on the ground. We were judged on height of the arc and distance.

Those are just the major wounds. When you are pretending to be Luke Skywalker, Optimus Prime, Snake-Eyes, TRON, and Hulk Hogan, the injury possibilities are endless. But then so is the fun.

[Razi]

Sometimes we played tag while climbing or walking on top of jungle gym domes (On rainy days we'd predictably have at least one person slip and land on their nuts, which was hilarious).

I went back to my old neighborhood and looked into the playground and they still have the same equipment as us!
I think they got rid of the rusty spaceship we had though.

[Mr1der]

I've never seen anyone get more than a scraped knee or elbow on a playground.

The only time I can recall ever getting knocked out cold was when I fell off the top of a slide and did a face plant in the gravel below.

Still have scars on my face from it...

I was back on that slide a few weeks later going down it like a f***' champ.

oh, half my face looked like Freddy Krueger.

it was pretty awesome. I ate nothing but ice cream for a week. As a 6 year old kid, that was goddamn fantastic.

[Coupe12]

I got my head caught under a see saw lol

[AppleBonker]

I got my head caught under a see saw lol

Did you ride the short bus? Just kidding.




Or am I?

[Rev_D21]

I said it before, removing consequences from childrens lives we end up with adults with no concept of mortality, theirs or others. Let the kid skin his knee for crying out loud.

[skydragoness]

Wholeheartedly agree with this.

I didn't break anything as a kid but I always had bruises, cuts, or something I was healing up from. It's kind of strange as paranoid and pessimistic as my mom is she let me run around outside and play in the woods/creek with the other kids. I remember sledding off of what was like a cliff ( if you were as small as I was at 11 it totally was one) behind our apartment and pinching a nerve in my back when I landed on the sidewalk at the bottom. It was awesome.
Kids are coddled too much these days, but hardly disciplined by parents in public places.

[alms24sebring]

Sprained wrist and concussion were from falling off the top of the monkey bars (they were open in the middle all the way to the bottom) because I was playing on them in the rain. Stitches were a result of playing "follow the leader" on a nice big flat sheet of ice. Knee was from swinging as high as you could on the swingset then launching yourself out of the seat and landing on the ground. We were judged on height of the arc and distance.

Those are just the major wounds. When you are pretending to be Luke Skywalker, Optimus Prime, Snake-Eyes, TRON, and Hulk Hogan, the injury possibilities are endless. But then so is the fun.

EPIC! I bet I could jump higher than you..

Full of fail
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3dgqyLABjM&NR=1[/youtube]

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I remember sledding off of what was like a cliff ( if you were as small as I was at 11 it totally was one) behind our apartment and pinching a nerve in my back when I landed on the sidewalk at the bottom. It was awesome.
Kids are coddled too much these days, but hardly disciplined by parents in public places.

I recall a guy (like, someone's father) actually BREAKING their back going over a sick jump on a hill that was essentially a cliff in New Hampshire. The ambulance came and everything. Carted him off in a stretcher. Who was the first to go over that thing after that? THIS GUY.
Don't get me wrong, I about crapped my pants, and busted the crap out of my tail bone, but it was worth it.
When the ground thawed, they brought in heavy equipment and changed the grade of the hill... which now dumps directly into the street instead of having a run-off zone for you to attempt to slow down and/or bail.

I also fractured my wrist in 4th grade performing some olympic s***. Jumping from the playground over to a horizontal bar and "dismounting", except I ended up coming off more or less parallel with the ground, and used my right wrist to break my fall. I learned a skill that year- writing with my left hand.

[Oatmealman]

broke both my arms twice(total of four) at school.Once was playing on a moon bounce and getting a running jump onto it,one was trying to do a front flip off the stage,and i broke both my arms at the same time doing bmx tricks and doing an indo while trying to ride down stairs.also broke my ankle trying to spin off a swing.God i loved every second of being in elementary school even with broken bones.

[AZhitman]

I grew up in Alabama and Mississippi... lived on a lake in MS, and we went fishing and rode bikes everywhere. I don't ever remember washing my hands (just wipe the worm guts and fish goo on your shirt!) and there sure as hell wasn't any hand sanitizer.

We built a ramp at the end of the old rickety dock, took rope and attached 2 empty milk jugs to our handlebars and pretended to be the Dukes of Hazzard, launching off into the lake. (Milk jugs were so we could find our bike, lol...)

Skinned knees, covered in mosquito and chigger bites, fish hooks through fingers, scrapes and bruises... My kids probably wouldn't survive 3 days in my childhood - But they'd have a BLAST for those 3 days.

[nissangirl74]

See, if we didn't have playgrounds we wouldn't have all these cool stories.

I used to jump out of the swings at ridiculous heights. Scared the shinola out of my teachers. Good times.

Everything heals. Let them get out there and live a little.

[93coupe]

Everything heals.

[frapjap]

Those stories really being me back. Whatever happened to that thread with all of the "dangerous" playground equipment? We need a link to that one in here!

I agree with everyone here and think that if kids don't get the privilege of falling out of some trees, knocking the wind out of themselves, and getting vine thorns in their arms, how are they ever going to solve real problems? s***, people say that they "LOVE camping," but what they really mean is they like sleeping on an air mattress, bringing as much processed food as possible, and sitting around a fire drinking heavily, talking about the last time they sat around a fire and drank heavily. Which is all fine and good, but then they sleep til noon. Camping is hiking, swimming, foraging, fishing getting lost in an unfamiliar place and really having something to talk about whilst having brews at the campfire.

Wait...we were talking about playgrounds, right? In summation, break bones and get over it.

[alms24sebring]

Once was playing on a moon bounce and getting a running jump onto it.

First, how do you break your arm in a moonbounce?

Second, One of my fat kid friends back in the day was jumping in one and deflated it. It was one of the funniest moments in my life

Next, Congress will pass a law to require kids to wear helmets and pads at recess

[Encryptshun]

I used to "rough-it" camp, but as I've grown older (read "old") I find it's more difficult to give up the creature comforts to which I have become accustomed. Last time I rented a 36" Class C motorhome for 5 days. Hiking and open-fire cooking are so much better when you can retreat indoors to 72 degrees and play cards or have a nooner in a bed.

But that's just the thing, though. You have to do it the hard way first in order to fully appreciate the easy way. EARN YOUR STRIPES.

And any parents who will not ALLOW stipe-earning should be given a good striping themselves.