Playgrounds can often be a savior for tired parents. Children in early and middle childhood can spend hours playing on the various equipment found at a playground. Monkey bars, oversize tic-tac-toe, and slight staircases are just a few types of equipment that provide stimulation to children. The reprieve offered to parents is not the only benefit as playgrounds can also help facilitate the growth of gross and fine motor skills, the senses, and play for children. The purpose of this paper will be to analyze a playground and its equipment in the context of the support it offers to physical growth in children. Playground Activities Staircases Early childhood is the stage in which children are particularly active, and each piece of a playground provides some kind of stimulation to gross motor skills (Feldman, 2014, p. 104). All of the fun activities that are part of a playground require the use of stairs to reach, and around the age of 3, children are able to use those stairs to reach those fun activities (Feldman, 2014, p. 104). In conjunction with gross motor skills, a young child is also …show more content…
Although there have been advances in playground technology, there are many playgrounds that have not yet adopted those changes. Further, many playgrounds use pea gravel as ground cover, and impact with the ground may cause injury. Pea gravel is densely packed and hard, so a fall from height – such as from monkey bars – increases the likelihood of a severe injury. This is due to the fact that “injuries due to falls from equipment are more severe than other falls on the playground” (Macpherson et.al., 2010, p. 1). For example, children playing tag and tripping will suffer less damage on gravel than on asphalt. However, a fall onto their back from the monkey bars will be nearly as hard on gravel as it is on asphalt because of how densely the material is
It helps babies and young children improve their balance and flexibility, improve their bone strength, heart and lung capacity. Regular physical activity and exercise and engagements is very important for a healthy brain development in babies and young children. Physical activity and movement can help stimulate the brain growth and facilitate key connections for learning. Babies would develop muscle tone over time so they could begin to crawl. Exercise and physical activity improves babies and young children’s coordination, catching and throwing skills, enjoyment, motivation and social skills. It increases energy boosts and helps stop stress and anxiety which affects positively on self esteem. Activities such as: a climbing frame, balls to roll/throw, moving to music are good to help children’s physical development. In my setting there are many activities that are planned to increase opportunities for children to improve their physical
In conclusion, the author has given a common issue in our society, which is safety for children. Although the debate tends to replace all traditional equipment on children's playgrounds, it still causes us to think more about how to develop children in the perfect way. Do we need to keep children too safe? And this point is the success of the writer because his article is viable and very comprehensive to the intended audience, providing balance as well. By expressing the opposing ideas of two sides in the argument, the readers actually have the chance to give their own
People who say “Rockwell’s playground is still an adventure playground—a construction site with all the splintery edges sanded down. It’s what an adventure playground looks like in a risk-averse culture. And it promotes the kind of play we think children should be doing now: not with just their bodies, but with their minds. The Imagination Playground is a much more cognitive vision of the playground. No one would confuse it with a jungle gym.” (Day 2) This shows that children to Mr.Day should be using their heads more and playgrounds should be safer, but Commissioner of parks in New York Henry Stern has a different idea. He says “His philosophy seemed reactionary at the time, but today it’s shared by some researchers who question the value of safety-first playgrounds. Even if children do suffer fewer physical injuries — and the evidence for that is debatable — the critics say that these playgrounds may stunt emotional development, leaving children with anxieties and fears that are ultimately worse than a broken bone.” (Tierney 1) Showing that kids should be doing physical activities at parks and using their imagination somewhere else. Not only-but also David Ball says “There is no clear evidence that playground safety measures have lowered the average risk on playgrounds,” said David Ball, a professor of risk management at Middlesex University in London. He noted that the risk of some injuries, like long
During middle-to-late childhood, growth and development begins to slow down a bit. However, while the development may not be as rapid as it may have been in previous stages, it is more consistent and steady. The development that occurs during this stage begins to incorporate the skills learned in previous years, and the skills gained during this time are more applicable to real world situations. Cognitive development, intellectual development, and disabilities are key aspects to consider during this time.
My own experience with this comes from my early childhood. At the age of six, I was playing on the jungle gym playground like a normal child care free and e...
Generally, preschoolers mainly engage in physical activity with other children (“Preschoolers at play”). Teachers encourage this by helping children plan roles, encouraging to talk to peers, and posing open ended questions since physical play is significant to the development of children (Rice 2). According to the Child Development Institute, physical play helps a child develop connections between the nerve cells and the brain (Wonderly 1). As these connections develop, a child’s fine and gross motor skills are improved (Wonderly 1). According to the North Carolina Child Care Health and Safety Resource Center, “All children birth to age five as well as school age children should engage in daily physical activity that promotes health-related fitness and movement skills” (Wonderly 2). This is due to the fact that physical activity is significant to children and their development because the process of physical development starts in human infancy and the peak of physical development happens in childhood (Thomas 1). It is a crucial time from infancy to late adolescence for neurological brain development and body coordination (Thomas 1). This is a time where gross and fine
Parrish, A. M., Yeatman, H., Iverson, D., & Russell, K. (2012). Using interviews and peer pairs to better understand how school environments affect young children's playground physical activity levels: a qualitative study. Health Educ Res, 27(2), 269-280. doi: 10.1093/her/cyr049
Like the author, I do not think the government should be held responsible for the creation of playgrounds because playgrounds do not force children to challenge themselves mentally
Through the performance of physical activity in children there is a continued positive effect on the motor development and further refinement of actions. During this developmental stage, it ...
Toddlers are the epitome of curiosity and energy. From ages 1 – 3, toddlers are always on the go and want to learn about everything in their world. As with infants, no two are alike; each toddler is unique in his or her developmental stages, and each accomplishes milestones at different times. “Although children develop at different rates, there are common stages of development that serve as guidelines for what most children can do by a certain age” (Groark, McCarthy & Kirk, 2014). As seen in the hatfieldmomof3 (2011) video, one observes toddlers at play and can determine the age of the toddlers by their actions and the milestones they have accomplished.
Play supports children’s physical development as when they are playing they are being active and exercising their body. It is important that children develop strength and stamina from a young age and through
The reason for my chosen topic is because I am interested in finding out more about all the benefits of outdoor play and how it has an impact on the child’s physical and social development. I would also like to find out more about
Adults and teachers need to do everything possible to keep physical development from being delayed. Adults can provide children with opportunities to help them in development. By the age of three a child's brain is three quarters of its adult size. From infancy to the age of two development is very rapid (Santrock, 1996). For this reason it is essential for the child to be able to explore their world around them.
From preschool into early elementary school, children have begun to develop their gross motor skills. They have developed a “mature pattern of walking” and are ready to test their physical abilities to the limits. Also fine motor skills have begun to develop, however more slowly. Along with motor skills children are developing their visual, tactile, and kinesthetic senses. A child’s sensory skills are helpful in learning language.
Furthermore, by introducing shared open spaces with other classes, we can bring out the full potential of the children physically, mentally and emotionally. They will have more sensory play when exposed to a wider range of materials outdoors more often. The importance of sensory play is supported by Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development in the sensorimotor stage which states child’s intelligence is developed by the basic motor and sensory explorations of the world around them.