Risky play and adventure playground

Abstract

Risk play, which is a form of children's play, is generally defined as a high level of physical activity as well as exciting forms of physical play that involve a risk of physical injury?' Risky play, which is primarily seen in outdoor environments such as playgrounds and natural areas, is a form of play that contributes to the overall development of children and helps them deal with challenges that can be encountered throughout their lives. Previous studies have highlighted that restricting children's access to risky outdoor play opportunities for safety concerns can negatively affect children's development. The type of playground that offers more risky play opportunities in a safe environment is adventure playground. Adventure playgrounds are commonly called informal playgrounds where children can play in a designated place under the supervision of playleaders, with an abundance of building and scrap materials, a set of tools and facilities, and materials necessary for feeding animals and outdoor cooking. The term adventure is used to describe a child's play experiences in the sense that adventure is in the child's mind while playing. Playgrounds are generally classified into three types: traditional, contemporary, and adventure playgrounds. When all these playground types are compared, it becomes apparent that adventure playgrounds are more effective in enhancing children's social, emotional, physical development, and creativity. The number of existing adventure playgrounds is lower than the number of other playgrounds. Adventure playgrounds do not yet exist in Turkey. The design of areas that support child development and respond to a child's developmental needs is one of the important issues of planning, architecture and landscape architecture. However, there are no studies available on the risky game and adventure playgrounds in the existing literature. The fact that parents perceive urban settings as potentially dangerous places where children can be harmed and that the increasing parental concerns about child safety restrict children's outdoor play in urban spaces, as well as influence children's participation in risky play and children's choices of play spaces. A semi-structured interview was employed to determine the parents' attitudes and opinions towards the risky play and adventure playground that provides a broad range of play opportunities. To this end, 12 parents who have children between the ages of 3 and 11 were interviewed. The results of the interviews conducted with the parents indicated that the parents did not have any idea about the concept of risky play and adventure playgrounds. However, all parents agreed on the lack of adventure playgrounds in Turkey and expressed their support fir the adventure playground. Even if the parents do not let their children participate in risky play, they reported that they would gladly allow their children to play in the adventure playground since they found it safe. The most important reason for this is the presence of a play leader (s) on the playing field. In addition, during the interviews, some parents mentioned the similarities between adventure playgrounds and the play areas where they played as kids. For this reason, they stated that adventure playgrounds can replace play areas such as streets or empty lands where their children are currently deprived of. Further, during the interviews, parents reported their concerns about their children who used traditional play equipment in different and sometimes potentially dangerous ways. Thus, it can be implied that when the playgrounds are not exciting and interesting enough for children, they engage in risk-taking behaviours to challenge themselves. In view of the findings of the study, it is clear that parents support the concept of adventure playgrounds. Adventure playgrounds can be effective in boosting children's socialisation, reconnecting with nature, especially in today's world in which access to the streets is restricted and open spaces are gradually decreasing, particularly in megacities. This study has limitations in that a certain generalisation cannot be made considering the number of interviewers. Yet, the results may provide insights into the parents perspective on children's risky play and adventure playgrounds. It is hoped that the study presented here will attract the attention of non-governmental organisations and local governments to encourage studies on adventure playgrounds and remove the obstacles to the implementation of adventure playgrounds.