History of the Child's Playground

An example of Victorian playground activities.

When children reflect on the past before their time (‘the olden days’), it’s often done so with either rose tinted fake nostalgia (often informed by television) or in monochrome grey - all work and no play. Cast your mind back to your childhood, did you really care what the kids a hundred years past were doing in the playground? Probably not and if you did you likely imagined it to be pretty rubbish.

The truth is the playground as we know it is still a fairly new part of worldwide education, with the original blueprints laid down in Germany sometime in the early 19^th century. People were becoming increasingly concerned with the dangerous nature of street play and felt that children were not learning the correct way to co-operate and play with one another. In 1859, the first proper “purpose built” kid’s playground appeared in Manchester, England sparking inspiration for the rest of the country and beyond. It quickly became evident how well they aided child development and offered a safe, contained area for parents to let their kids loose.

Roosevelt - 1907

America followed a little later, with an official introduction by President Roosevelt in 1907 who recognised the importance of play and safety:- “Older children who would play vigorous games must have places especially set aside for them; and, since play is a fundamental need, playgrounds should be provided for every child as much as schools. This means that they must be distributed over the cities in such a way as to be within walking distance of every boy and girl, as most children cannot afford to pay carfare.”

Up until the 1980s, playgrounds both communally and in schools had not been regulated for safety (at least, not in any serious way that would inhibit dangerous builds). Thankfully, the following rules for construction were put forth: ‘No sharp points or edges, gaps must measure less than 3.5 inches or more than 9 inches and equipment more than 30 inches high must have at least a 9 foot separation’.

To explore Bridge Timber’s current catalogue of safe for play equipment and playground designs please click here or give us a ring on 01422 832863.

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