I feel sorry for children these days.I think in many ways they miss out on a lot of excitement and opportunities for character building that was such a integral part of my childhood. For example...have you looked at the modern play grounds that are built for children these days? They are covered in plastic....no high slides....swings that are locked so they cannot fly any higher than a foot off the ground. All the precautions... so no one gets hurt.
But I think the risk of getting hurt is all part of the fun....I spent many an hour in the play park in Keynsham, Bristol, being scared to death by my grandfather as I clung on for grim life while he pushed the roundabout at 60 miles an hour. You knew if you fell off the 9 foot slide onto the solid concrete that you'd break your neck but hey....that's what gave you a thrill.
So I was very pleased to find a good old fashioned play park at Anderson Park in Invercargill when I was there a couple of weeks ago. It has a proper round-about, see-saw and swings...all creaking wood and rusty iron. I had a wonderful time playing, and thank goodness there was no-one around to see me. I have decided that I cannot cope with the "thrill" in the same way as when I was 5 years old but it was liberating to swing up into the sky......us adults should play at a play ground far more often than we do!
4 comments:
I remember getting grazed (from falling down on monkey bars), whiplash (minor ones, of course - being bumped from behind at the rollerskating rink), and thigh burns (from sliding down a metallic slide platform warmed by the sun).... all in good fun, of course.
I think children are too mollycoddled these days.
Remember "Keynsham, spelt K, E, Y, N, S, H, A, M"?
I grew up in Brislington. And I remember falling off a swing and banging my head on the hard ground.
Wait, maybe that explains things...
Nice to know you still harbour that childish innocence and creativity inside you. Keep on keeping on. Regards.
@classydale I was lucky...I never broke any bones as a kid considering all the play surfaces were concrete.
@Chris Fancy that...we're from the same part of the world. Keynsham is a great place, being that it's half way between Bath and Bristol...two great shopping centres!
@Rajettan Getting more and more childish as I get older! :)
Post a Comment