The Never Ending Benefits of Playgrounds - The Potential Ability Group (TPAG)

February 13th, 2019Melissa BarnesActivities & Ideas, Early Development, Nature & Outdoor Play, Play & Socialising

There have been huge improvements made to a number of playgrounds around South Australia over the past few years. Many of our old favourites such as the St Kilda Adventure Playground and Jubilee Adventure Playground in Noarlunga have had face lifts, while others like Marshmallow Park and Morialta Nature Playground have been built from scratch, becoming instantly popular with children of all ages. With our attention being drawn to new and exciting play spaces I wanted to explore the benefits of playgrounds for the developing child, and encourage you too to get outside and explore the play spaces around South Australia.

When thinking of the benefits of playgrounds I began with asking my children why they enjoy playgrounds. Out of the mouth of babes, these were their responses; what a great place to start.

“Because you can explore, you can swing, climb and jump. You can have adventures and meet new friends.”M, Age 9

“Because they are fun!”S, Age 7

It is a well-known fact that children learn through play. Therefore, play spaces that are developed to promote opportunities for children to explore the environment, socially connect with others and challenge themselves with physical movement are in turn encouraging our children to learn about themselves, one another, the environment and how their bodies work.

There are three major areas of learning and skill development that can be associated with playground play. These include:

Development of physical skills

(Fine motor, gross motor, coordination, balance): Through constant movement challenges and opportunities to practice and master physical skills.

Social skill development

(Communication, sharing, negotiation, empathy, play skills and cooperation, building relationships and building resilience): Through interactions with familiar and unfamiliar people, sharing equipment and cooperating with others.

Cognitive skill development

(Creativity, imagination, planning of movements, risk identification and assessment, communication, memory and attention): Outdoor play spaces also provide a source of stress release as being able to play within the natural environment promotes positive wellbeing, decreasing stress, anxiety and aggression while increasing social interactions and relaxation.

To further break down how playgrounds benefit our children I have focused on the specific benefits of this common playground equipment item:

Overhead Equipment: Includes trees, monkey bars, climbing frames, spider web climbing apparatus and flying foxes. Helps to develop:

Upper body strength

Required for the development of good postural control allowing children to sit on the floor or at a desks and complete academic tasks.

Bilateral coordination

Required for all tasks that use both sides of the body at the same time. E.g., dressing, tying shoe laces, cutting with scissors and dancing or playing sport.

Hand/Grip strength

Needed for developing handwriting, pencil grip, scissor skills and dressing.

Motor planning and sequencing of movements

Required for the completion of complex motor movements, like participating in cooking, sports and self-care tasks such as dressing.

Problem solving

Required for everyday life, developing and maintaining relationships, completing academic activities.

Independent identification and assessment of risk

Increasing the awareness of where the body is in relation to others, problem solving, awareness of self-safety.

Hand eye coordination

Required for handwriting, scissor skills.

So, what are you waiting for? Grab the kids; slip, slop, slap and head out to explore some of SA’s wonderful play spaces.

Here are a few of our favourites:

Playground	Suburb
Keith Stephenson Park	Mount Barker
Marshmallow Park	Adelaide
Jubilee Park Adventure Playground	Port Noarlunga
St Kilda Adventure Playground	St Kilda
Hazelwood Park	Hazelwood
Bonython Park	Adelaide
Stirling Playground	Stirling
Tusmore Park	Tusmore
Loxton Pioneer Playground	Loxton
Monash Adventure Playground	Monash
Tintinara Adventure Nature Playground	Tintinara
Adelaide Zoo Adventure Playground	Adelaide
Morialta Nature Playground	Woodforde
Princess Elizabeth Playground	Adelaide
Mitcham Reserve	Mitcham
Heron Way Reserve	Hallett Cove

References

Harati, R, 2018. Making the Most of the Outdoors: What parks and playgrounds can offer your child. Exceptional Parent, 48/6, 16-18.

Shasta Children and Families First Commission: ‘Research Paper: The Benefits of Playgrounds for Children Aged 0-5’ viewed 31st December 2018, http://www.imaginationplayground.com/images/content/2/9/2999/The-Benefits-of-Playgrounds-for-Children-Aged-0-5.pdf