We Put Children At Risk By Making Playground Equipment Too Safe

I love my kids and never want to see them get hurt, so at my house all our stuff if childproofed and safe. Take our trampoline for example - trampolines are great for America's Funniest Home Videos because they are so dangerous! Not at my house - our trampoline has a net around it so my kids can't fall off. The problem with this safety precaution though, is they think the net is now a part of jumping on a trampoline so they jump against the net and it bounces them back to the trampoline. But, because of that, we don't let them jump on our neighbors' trampoline because they don't have a net! Playgrounds today are WAY safer than when we were kids.  It's all plastic . . . no rusty metal slides or splintering wood.  And according to an early childhood specialist in Australia, that could actually be making our kids LESS safe.  She says that modern playground equipment keeps kids from learning how to calculate risks . . . which can lead them to do dumber things in the long run. Do you think our kids are too safe?

via Children's play equipment too safe for their own good, expert warns | News.com.au.