This climbing "rock" was installed several years ago
on our neighborhood playground.
It may seem minor, but I think learning to climb
this rock will help these girls with other,
larger obstacles later on. And I like the way
the taller girl is watching over the other,
to help her find her footing.
4 comments:
Eek! Skinned knees, banged elbows and a bump on my head the size of an egg. I remember those only too clearly, but I also remember the joy of climbing my local cliffs when I was their age.
I hope there was something soft to land on at the bottom.
Other portions of the playground look solid, but in fact are cushioned and feel as though they have springs beneath that. It's disconcerting to step on the first time.
Ah, Playtop! It's made out of old running shoes and you can make it in rainbow colours and in any pattern you like and in my work designing schools I've used hundreds of tons of the stuff. It's a great safety feature in that you can throw kids at it and they bounce off unharmed, but I do feel it leads to a false sense of security … kids who grow up learning that falling doesn't hurt are in for a big shock one day. I'm glad I grew up with skinned knees and bumps on the head.
Yep, that's the stuff, and wouldn't you know it's made by Nike. I'm with you on the stuff giving a kid a false sense of security. Over here it's extended to protecting the precious little angels from any challenge. Imagine the reality check a home-schooled kid undergoes when it confronts, OMG!, failure. Or falling down and skinning one's knees. But what do I know, right? I think I'd have been a kind of off-hand mom who'd go, "Fucked yourself up, did ya? Well, let's go in and wash it off." all the while throwing up inside.
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