Playgrounds of the Mind

Letter Zero 24

Dear friend,

Let’s test that hypothesis I told you about a few weeks ago. Is the opposite of a good idea really a good idea?

For example, we all agree that it is a good idea to make playgrounds safe for our children. You would have to be a fool to take the opposite stance on that issue. Don’t mind if I do...

What is a child to make of the bubble-shaped furniture of today’s playgrounds? What lessons are absorbed from the bouncy ground and mushy mulch? Perhaps it is that here the rules of Earth don’t carry punishment. That any fool can toddle into this creation and escape unscathed, that there is no penalty for folly, no cause for caution. 

After the safety committee strips away the danger, they can sex it up with bubblegum graphics and bright plastic panels, but you can’t play a player, especially when playtime is a child’s only chance to escape beyond the reach of hovering helicopter parents. The protective candy coating can’t actually stop an adventurous spirit. Children are going to use that playground as a tool to hone their understanding of the world, regardless of adult intervention.

Bored by the dangerless innards of modern playgrounds and eager to test their mettle, a child will inevitably set their sights on more exciting targets. The sun-blocking gumdrop roof of the slide, absent from the designs of yesteryear, beckons exploration. And perhaps anticipating this misuse, the designer of the slide made its roof all the more difficult to assail. The child accepts the dare, setting out courageously without foothold or grip until they are perched precariously on slick surfaces, teetering above the other children and fainting parents below. 

Assuming survival of this misdeed, what has the child learned? That the game is rigged, that the only way to beat it is to break the rules? That there are things that grown-ups desperately want to hide from them, and those things aren’t dangerous, no that is where the real fun resides. And assuming the worst, how long after an accident will this playground remain intact before lawsuits force more safety, more softness, more layers of bubble wrap on the wimpy playground.

It wasn’t always this way. The playgrounds of old carried clues to how to use their equipment, affordances that required only a glance to absorb. There was a time when the slide didn’t hide behind soft, pastel padding. The heights weren’t hidden by candy-colored plastic, the steps weren’t dipped in rubber, and rarely did they sport reassuring railings. The danger was right there, out in the open, exposed for all to see. Your destiny was held exclusively in your own hands should you dare to ascend their bare exteriors.

The minimalist playgrounds of the past also carried an alternate set of lessons. Here, mastering a challenge required new skills. The bare steal and tall heights were intimidating. Not hurting yourself required creativity, it forced you to wonder what small ways you could equip yourself for success. Each visit to the playground was an exercise in leveling up as you developed strength, dexterity, flexibility, and most of all courage to transcend the giant ladders and shoot down poles. And with your feet firmly back on the ground you felt pride in your abilities. You left the playground a better person, ready to conquer the next obstacle. You learned that there was enjoyment in embarking in challenges beyond your ability.

I'm not dumb enough to expect playgrounds to return to their former danger-embracing glory. I picked playgrounds for my contrarian thought experiment because they are relatively uncontroversial compared to the current issues of society that I should probably be talking about instead. But that’s the dangerous thing about exploring the opposite side of good ideas. Creativity is a tall ladder without safety nets.

As a parent, of course I cringe looking at the playground equipment of the past. But I also cringe when I see the empty mental toolboxes of people who grew up coddled, the tepid brains incapable of supporting even a wiggle of self-generated thought. The tribal mentality, the reflex to shoot down contrary opinions. The death of comedy. The polarization of issues that have no business being laced with politics. It makes you wonder where things went wrong, what failure of childhood bred these adults? Maybe it was the playgrounds. And perhaps play can save us.

I’ll write again next Sunday. Stay creative.

Your friend,
Adrian