Why Germany's 'DANGEROUS' Playgrounds are Important

Why is there such a big difference between US playgrounds and German playgrounds? Are "dangerous" playgrounds actually a good thing? And who is to blame for them becoming boring?

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:14 Why German Playgrounds are Awesome
05:27 Blame the “Safety” Officers?
09:36 Blame the Lawyers?
13:34 Blame the Parents?
18:08 The Big Picture
19:30 SOURCES

Want to Watch More Related Videos? Check out:

OBSESSED WITH LAWSUITS? : Germany vs. USA | ...And do you *really* need legal insurance?

Germans Take Their Kids to BREWERIES?! | SHOCKING Kid-Friendly Spaces

Episode No. 158

S𝗨𝗣𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧 𝗠𝗘

[Konrad-zw]

I can understand padded out playgrounds when you're only one bad leg break away from medical bankruptcy. Get your healthcare system together, my American friends.

[K__a__M__I]

My dad was an architect for our local municipality (in Germany) and as such built, designed and renovated many schools and playgrounds. One thing he said that I'll never forget was "when designing a playground I'm building something that would tempt an adult to climb around on, this way a child will have a guaranteed blast playing on it."
And yeah, whenever I see one of those 4 meter tall spiderweb-pyramids I get _the itch_ to climb to the top (I'm almost 40 now), whilst I get bored from simply looking at the american playgrounds. 😂

[AFNacapella]

overheard a playground chat while watching my niece

"my Mom gets sad when my clothes get dirty"
"my Mom has a washing machine"

[KALLER]

My daughter jumped from a playhouse in Kindergarten and broke her foot. The supervisors had forbidden her to jump.
In Germany we call this: "Learning by pain"

But she learned not much, because she said that she just jumped the wrong way from the playhouse. Next time she will do it the right way.

[Blackhole]

Also german playgrounds are regularly and relatively thoroughly inspected. With that check list it will be hard to sue because the argument that everything was as it has to be and everything else is in the responsibility of the person with the child...

[mrnice]

Living life means risk, to avoid all risk means to not be living life.

Many german playgrounds look more dangerous than they are. That rope-climing tower for example has no straight line down from the top, if a child were to fall down from all the way up they'd tumble through the ropes and never reach a dangerous falling speed ... sure, scrapes and bruises but those heal and are an important lesson.

[twestgard]

I was a personal injury lawyer in the US. Based on what my clients told me, I think we could eliminate 90% of injury cases if people had good health insurance. Practically everyone came in because they needed a way to pay the doctor.

ETA: The ACA was designed to leave around 20 million people without insurance, and it overperformed, fluctuating from 30 to 40 million. Then there’s another tranche, similarly sized, that are only nominally insured, meaning that they have insurance that’s mostly loopholes and exceptions. So unfortunately we don’t have an insurance system that would eliminate these lawsuits.

[Mafik]

It's interesting how the US healthcare system distorts a lot of aspects of life.

[Rick]

Small children rarely get injured on playgrounds; there are far more dangers in the home. Children's bones are not yet properly developed and have cartilage, which prevents them from breaking. However, there are hot, sharp, poisonous and electrical things in the home. In US households there are even often firearms that are accessible to children. All of this is much more dangerous than a playground, at least statistically.

[jensvogel]

Playground death compared to school shootings in the US will show the real risks, unfortunately

[Bobrogers]

As a retired elementary school teacher, I fully agree with the points made in this video! A few years ago, I was appalled when the principal of our local elementary school required all children to participate only in a few structured activities at recess. Children need some free play time. And while some supervision may be necessary, we overdo it. Accidents and incidents happen rarely, but the media make a big deal when they do occur. The real world has many dangers that we need to learn to avoid, and keeping a child in a (boring) protective bubble doesn't teach them to cope.

[ssjgohan]

I think there's a really important concept missing from the explanation of risk: you want the child to CHOOSE the risk they're taking, and prevent all foreseeable unintended risks. So a massive safety improvement in recent years has been the requirement to inspect playground equipment (in Europe, at least) for damage that may cause suffocation, constriction and cut risks. Also, you want to design playsets towards an age range. Really small kids should be coddled a bit and play on super-safe playsets with no possible falls further than about 1 body length. Bigger preschoolers still have grab handles and edge guards everywhere and can't fall more than 3 body lengths. Bigger kids? Go absolutely wild. 4, 5, 6 meter tall play structures. Clothes get ripped sometimes. Small groups of 14yo kids congregate in high places to gossip about classmates.

[StephanHoyer]

Hi from Leipzig (Germany). We even have playgrounds where Kids can build their own obstacles. It's called Bauspielplatz and the kids can have lumber, hammer, nails and paint to create their own structures.
To be fair, it's supervised by adults.

[joschafinger]

When I was very little, my favourite "playground" was the forest (read, tiny little bit of woods) around our home. A few hectares of undertended growth of trees, stinging nettles, brambles and suchlike. With a little stream running through it that we used to dam and that was the border we defended, quite aggressively, against the neighbouring gang of kids. With sticks and stones, nothing less.
We used to build huts there, and hideouts in the nettle thickets. When time came for dinner, we'd sometimes have to make up stories about where the bruises came from -the mud stains and occasional tears in our clothes were taken for granted.
I'm doing what I can to enable my toddler to get to have similar experiences as she grows.

[JonasSchwabeland]

I'm German so I only know the German playrounds. But sitll. My favourite "toy" on a playground is the big swing. it is like basket. multiple kids can go onto it and even lie down.when you are alone on it and someone swings it for you and you close your eyes while lying down... such a great feeling. you feel like you are flying!

[TheMoikero]

It is probably more dangerous to drive to the playground in the US than playing on it

[nadinebeck]

Beside playing on playgrounds unsupervised, my sons class (13 year old) is going to England for 3 days and they will be allowed to explore London unsupervised. They learned about the Tube, the areas and what to say and where to go in case of an emergency. Of course I'm nervous but very happy for them!

[rusle]

Local playground had to remove one of the playground equipment due to several broken bones in a few months.
It become a bit dangerous because it was used in a way never thought of and the kids end up flying.
That was the most popular playground equipment.
I live in Norway.

[MelODeon-lb]

This is somewhat similar to the unintended consequence of mandating gloves in boxing back in the day: head/brain injuries went up because boxers could now punch to the head without (as much!) danger of breaking their hands.
Like how the protective gear in American Football, helmets and shoulder armour, became part of the players' offensive techniques, leading to a similar rise in spine and brain injuries.

[conniebruckner]

My Austrian husband said his childhood playgrounds were "construction sites" until they got chased away.
My school playground was designed by a German couple, I loved the swings. There were 3 different sizes/heights, and the trapeze. There was a heap of blocks we would build up and try to climb on.