Private Playstructures

The decline of public play is a theme of this blog. This author touched on this when trying to figure out why he disliked the plastic play structures so common in backyards:

Children's play equipment and the decline of the American yard
at Slate

...Lurking somewhere, either peeping out from the back or nakedly displayed right in front, some form of children's play equipment, typically in plastic and typically in some bright primary color, will probably be splayed on the grass.

I'd like to raise just one question about this picture of domestic bliss: How often do you actually see a child playing on, or near, one of these devices?

....the fear of injuries and their litigious consequences forced the closing, or banal "post-and-platform" retrofitting, of many playgrounds.
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"Told incessantly to be mindful of lurking dangers and the people who might inhabit the outdoors, [paranoid] parents often defer trips to public spaces. Going to a playground becomes too exhausting for a parent to contemplate." And so instead of a communal play space, each yard becomes a (rarely used) playground unto itself.
....
.... "To a four-year-old, though, the space made by the vaulting branches of a forsythia is as grand as the inside of a cathedral, and there is room enough for a world between a lilac and a wall."

Bruce and Hamilton Playground

Sunday the weather finally broke warm, and on the way home from canvassing, we stopped at this peaceful playground in Northside. The play equipment is so-so, but the site is nice with trees and a nice perimeter fence. Lots of kids out as the sun was setting.

 

Library as Living Room

...and Fountian Square as front yard....

 

In the morning we skated a bit at Fountain Square, and since it was before noon, it was quite empty and the few kids there had races across the rink. The quiet was shattered at noon, when the Jumbotron volume was cranked up for a football game. We left (when Ozzie Osborne's Crazy Train came on) for an inexpensive lunch at Potbellys.

After that, we had a wonderful time at the Main Library. We toured all the new improvements, made crafts and ran into some freinds and said hi to Roxanne Qualls. Afterwards, the weather outside had changed to warmer and bright sunny, and we had an enjoyable walk and then some bike riding in the park.

No Sledding this Year

Not enough snow for sledding this year, at least so far. So in an attempt to show more kids having fun in the city, here are few photos from the past two winters:

Washington Park:

 

Looking at snowman we made at Mt. Storm:

 

Two girls on sleds in Fairview Park:

 

My son climbing hill with sled:

 

Kids at bottom of Mt. Storm hill last winter. University of Cincinnati is in the distance:

 

Bonus pic of ice on trees last year:

 

Kid Play on CAC Curved Wall

Kids love running up this wall at the Contemporary Art Center.

 

But you are definitely not allowed to climb the wall inside, no matter how tempting:

 

[Where: 44 E. Sixth Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202]

Doing Nothing, and Growing Up

"Where are we going?" said Pooh, hurrying after him, and wondering whether it was to be an Explore or What-shall-I-do-about-you-know-what.

"Nowhere," said Christopher Robin.

So they began going there, and after they had walked a little way, Christopher Robin said:

"What do you like doing best in the world Pooh?"

"Well," said Pooh, "what I like best---" and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called. And then he thought that being with Christopher Robin was a very good thing to do, and having Piglet near was a very friendly thing to have; and so, when he had thought it all out, he said, "What I like best in the whole world is Me and Piglet going to see You, and You saying 'What about a little something?' and Me saying, 'Well, I shouldn't mind a little something, should you, Piglet,' and it being a hummy sort of day outside, and birds singing."

"I like that too," said Christopher Robin, "but what I like doing best is Nothing."

"How do you do Nothing?" asked Pooh, after he had wondered for a long time.

"Well, it's when people call out at you just as you're going off to do it, What are you going to do, Christopher Robin, and you say, Oh, nothing, and then you go and do it."

"Oh, I see," said Pooh.

"This is a nothing sort of thing that we are doing now."

"Oh, I see," said Pooh again

"It means just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering."

"Oh!" said Pooh.

.....

...Christopher Robin, who as still looking at the world, with his chin in his hands, called out "Pooh!"

"Yes?" said Pooh.

"When I'm--when----Pooh!"

"Yes, Christopher Robin?"

"I'm not going to do Nothing any more."

"Never again?"

"Well, not so much. They don't let you."

Pooh waited for him to go on, but he was silent again.

"Yes, Christopher Robin?" said Pooh helpfully.

"Pooh, when I'm--you know---when I'm not doing Nothing, will you come up here sometimes?"

"Just me?"

"Yes, Pooh."

"Will you be here too?"

"Yes, Pooh, I will be, really. I promise I will be, Pooh."

"That's good," said Pooh.

"Pooh, promise you won't forget about be, ever. Not even when I'm a hundred."

Pooh thought for a little.

"How old shall I be then?"

"Ninety-nine."

Pooh nodded.

"I promise," he said.

Still with his eyes on the world Christopher Robin put out a hand and felt for Pooh's paw.

-The House at Pooh Corner, A.A. Milne, 1928

Construction Play, Men at Work

One of the things that gave me the best childhood memories, was playing in the woods near our house. We cut trails, built forts and made tree houses.

On the other hand, one thing I missed growing up, was seeing grown men build things at their work. We lived, like most Americans amongst lots of other houses, and no businesses nearby. My glimpses of the work world were things like the mailman and garbage man.

My son is so fortunate to see men at work everywhere he looks. I think this is important. However, I would also like him to have the opportunity to play at construction, like I did in the woods. We have talked about building a tree house for example at his grandpa's house. We have also had the idea of surreptitiously constructing play spaces in the public park. During our walks in several city parks we have come upon things like this built by other kids. There are bike trails and ramps in the woods at Ault Park, and we have found rope swings and play forts in other city parks.

There is a movement to build playgrounds where kids can play at construction. They are called Adventure Playgrounds and apparently they are popular in Europe, but are rare in the US because of liability concerns.

I suppose the illegal playhouses built in the backwoods of city parks are eventually removed by park employees, but at least these woods will always be here, unlike the ones I grew up playing in, which were bulldozed long ago.

Please Don't Ban Street Play

 

Photo from "Games in the Street", by Rachel Gallagher, 1976

How warped is a society when laws must be passed to ban children from playing in the street? Think about it. Streets make up a large percentage of the total land surface in the city, and they are owned by the public. Should cars have total monopoly on this public resource? As a child I played many summer days in our small residential street. It is the meeting place of all the kids of all ages, and it is within watch of the surrounding houses.

We should be clear about this. This proposed law has nothing to do with the safety of the kids. The playing going on is on small residential side streets. There are already laws against stopping traffic, and no one has claimed that kids are playing in high-traffic areas. The problem is a bunch of whiny old people who can't remember what it was like to play kick the can or pick-up ball. If there is a problem on a specific street, then talk to the kids, or if they are punks, talk to the police, and they use their judgement and will move them on if needed. There is absolutely no need to outlaw all playing in the street. Why not outlaw play on sidewalks, near streets, or all play in public view? Or outlaw kids totally, as they are always yelling, running and generally disturbing the peace with their balls, bats and bikes. I suspect that this law is actually about race and basketball.

Do you want to live in a city in which car speed is encouraged at the expense of play?

Struggling Ohio Schools Removing Recess

I have heard grumblings about how short recess is at my son's school, and now I see an article about the same issue throughout Ohio. Schools feel they need every minute of the school day to try to improve student scores.

MANSFIELD -- Newman Elementary School secretary Janice Henson said about 20 parents have withdrawn their children from the Central Avenue school since opening day Aug. 28.
...
"On the first day of school, my son came home and said, 'Mom, we don't get any recess here,' " Osborne said. "When I asked why, Ryan said, 'The principal said we are too far behind.' "
...
Osborne said the lack of recess was the only reason she withdrew her son. The News Journal talked to the parents of three other children who were withdrawn because of the recess issue.
...
"In the rudest voice, Mrs. Hinson said, 'I got an e-mail this afternoon that said you wanted a response on recess. We are academically behind. Now what would you rather do -- be academically behind or have recess?' " Osborne said. "I asked her if she realized the kind of poor behaviors she was going to cause and she said, 'Well, we'll deal with that when it arises because I have zero tolerance for behavior issues.' "

Osborne said Hinson told her children at recess also must be allotted time for a drink and a bathroom break, taking away even more classroom time. According to Osborne, Hinson said time is better spent on instruction for a school in academic watch.
...
"The principal came over the loudspeaker and said there will be no more recess forever," said James, 7.
...
"She said until test scores improve, there would be no recess at Newman school."
...

Review: Movies on the Square

I was one of the skeptics. I really thought the old square was fine, and I believed it was a misplaced priority to spend millions of dollars to re-arrange the square. But, I like it more each visit. Mostly it seems to be because of the programming, and the bigger crowds that are there everyday. I am not sure if the programming could have happened in the old square, but that is a discussion for another day.

Last night, I spent what I would call a perfect urban evening on the square. I call it perfect because it was stress free to be in a public space like this, with little kids. I didn't have to hold their hand all the time. It wasn't too loud so that I couldn't talk to them in a normal voice. And when they played loudly, it just added to the mix; it didn't disturb others.

There were people in formal dress, and people who were probably homeless. But they all mixed fine. Kids ran around, young couples took photos of each other at the fountain, old men smoked, college kids sat and had a beer together and this mixed up group had a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

The things that help make it work:
1. Free movie: Nemo
2. Lots of kids. Some in pajamas and sleeping bags. They had a blast.
3. Lots of playing in "The fountain", and the newer squirting fountain.
4. Free iced coffee.
5. Popcorn and beer, for a couple bucks.
6. Diverse, laid-back crowd.
7. Perfect weather, clear, cool, mist from the fountain.
8. Kids meeting new friends, playing, even dancing, laughing and giggling.
9. Clean, easy to use restrooms. (The old ones were underground and hard to find).
10. Downtown Ambassadors, taking care of business.

I don't like a public space to have a giant TV. I don't like to go to the square and see a bunch of people looking up at a screen. But somehow the screen is not obtrusive to me in the daytime. I think because the sound is not too loud, and it is up high. Yet, for a movie is works smoothly. Easy to hear and see. People can be walking around and kids can be playing at the periphery, cars are driving by on the street, but it is not distracting, if you really want to watch.

We got there a little early, and people were hanging out, some watching football, others getting settled for the movie. Kids are tossing coins (and barbie dolls) in the fountain:

 

A perfect example of the diversity of the crowd. Here is Melvin Wilson, with his free Caribou Iced Coffee. He is the kind of guy, I would never meet at an event that had paid admission. He is a Vietnam vet, lives in some kind of group home, but a sincere guy, who loves to yuk it up with kids. We sat and talked for half and hour. I'll probably never see him again, but it was fun.

 

The crowd, settled and watching the movie and illuminated by some weird blue lights, that kind of make the granite sparkle:

 

Our beautiful fountain:

 

After the kids movie, the "more adult crowd" started taking over (for Jaws). And they looked like a fun group too.

The Best Kite

 

This kite sits in our glove compartment, and is super easy to fly. No messy assembly like the paper and wood kites I got from the local hobby shop as a kid. Ours cost about $15 at Joseph Beth, but they are available on the web etc. We have gotten lots of use out of it, and it shows no sign of wear. Comes with spool, string, and collapsible parafoil kite; all rolled up in a 3"x6" bag.

Crumpled Slide

 

Hanna Park
[where: McMicken and Dunlap Streets, 45202]

Water Wall at Fountain Square

 

Since I temporarily have no camera, here is a cell-phone photo of kids playing at the water-wall during the movie Saturday night.

The Dutch have the Happiest Children

According to UNICEF, the Dutch have the happiest children on earth. Actually, the report only studies the worlds richest 24 countries.

How does a country with liberal marriage laws, a drinking age of 16, legalized prostitution, and legalized drugs achieve this? How do they do this with no backyards? After all, this is one of the most urbanized and densley settled countries in the world.

I skimmed through the report, and it has to do with the great public schools, the large number of children who live in families with both parents, and who eat together every evening. Parents are encouraged to take 4 day work weeks so that daycare is only needed 3 days a week.

In a related AP story today it is reported that Americans are no longer the tallest people on the planet. Quote:

"In some ways it gets to the fundamentals of the American society, namely what is the ideology of the American society and what are the shortcomings of that ideology," Komlos said. "I would argue that to take good care of its children is not part of that ideology."

city kids play in mud too

Rinsing off:

 

Children "roam" space shrinking

 

Article in a UK newspaper

"I was able to go out quite freely - I'd ride my bike around the estate, play with friends in the park and walk to the swimming pool and to school," said Mrs Grant, 36.

"There was a lot less traffic then - and families had only one car. People didn't make all these short journeys."

Today, her son Edward spends little time on his own outside his garden in their quiet suburban street. She takes him by car to school to ensure she gets to her part-time job as a medical librarian on time.

While he enjoys piano lessons, cubs, skiing lessons, regular holidays and the trampoline, slide and climbing frame in the garden, his mother is concerned he may be missing out.

She said: "He can go out in the crescent but he doesn't tend to go out because the other children don't. We put a bike in the car and go off to the country where we can all cycle together.

"It's not just about time. Traffic is an important consideration, as is the fear of abduction, but I'm not sure whether that's real or perceived."

She added: "Over four generations our family is poles apart in terms of affluence. But I'm not sure our lives are any richer."

Raising Children in Captivity

A BBC article laments that parents don't let their children out to play with freinds:

Adrian Voce, from the Play England project, said it was unfair to blame parents as they only had their children's well-being at heart.

"Compared to the well-being derived from being out and about and socialising and growing and developing, weighed up against real threats to your child's safety - real or perceived threats - it's a no-brainer for parents," he said.

"They'd rather their child was short of a few friends and over-weight than dead on the road."

We are rearing our children in captivity - their habitat shrinking almost daily.

In 1970 the average nine-year-old girl would have been free to wander 840 metres from her front door. By 1997 it was 280 metres.

Now the limit appears to have come down to the front doorstep.

"You might get kidnapped or taken by a stranger," says Jojo.

"In the park you might get raped," agrees Holly.

Don't they yearn to go off to the woods, to climb trees and get muddy?

No, they tell me. The woods are scary. Climbing trees is dangerous. Muddy clothes get you in trouble.

Daniel Ransohoff

 

At UC, in the mid 1980's, I took a class called Uban Lobbying. It was taught by a man with real passion about Cincinnati: Daniel Ransohoff. His class consisted of him talking about the strengths of the city, about how geographically it was a peneplain, and how we all needed to get out there and meet people and make things happen. Each class, he would bring in a speaker to talk about the history of their company in Cincinnati. Unfortunately, at that time, I wasn't thinking of staying in Cincinnati, and I did not care much about the speakers.

However, Danny was a great personality, with his scarf and hoarse speaking voice, and of course, his passion. I remember towards the end of the quarter, I discovered a bunch of his photos that he had taken in Over-the-Rhine and other inner city neighborhoods in the 40's and 50's. After class, I walked up to him and asked him if he ever took photos of kids in the city neighborhoods anymore and he said something to the effect that food stamps had emphasized starchy foods and made the kids less photogenic.

I beleive his photos are in storage at the Cincinnati Historical Society, in the Museum Center. I wish they were either published, or scanned for ease of browsing. The photo above is a scan of a print I own. I recognize one or two of the buildings. Look close, if you know OTR, you might see where it was taken.

Let Kids Outdoors!

Fear keeps too many children inside all the time:

At a PTA meeting, during a discussion of traffic problems around the school campus, I asked what we could do to encourage families to walk or bike to school. Other parents looked at me as if I'd suggested we stuff the children into barrels and roll them into the nearest active volcano. One teacher looked at me in shock. "I wouldn't let my children walk to school alone … would you?"

"Haven't you heard about all of the predators in this area?" asked a father.

"No, I haven't," I said. "I think this is a pretty safe neighborhood."

"You'd be surprised," he replied, lowering his eyebrows. "You should read the Megan's Law website." He continued: "You know how to solve the traffic problem around this school? Get rid of all the predators. Then you won't have any more traffic."
...
Our hyper-anxiety about the safety of children is creating a society in which any outdoor activity that doesn't take place under the supervision of a coach or a "psychomotor activities" mandate from the state is too risky to attempt.
...
A child is almost as likely to be struck by lightning as kidnapped by a stranger, but it's not fear of lightning strikes that parents cite as the reason for keeping children indoors watching television instead of out on the sidewalk skipping rope.

And when a child is parked on the living room floor, he or she may be safe, but is safety the sole objective of parenting?
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Which scenario should provoke more panic: the possibility that your child may become one of the approximately 100 children who are kidnapped by strangers each year, or one of the country's 58 million overweight adults?

L.J. Williamson, LA Times

Games in the Street

 

What good is playground equipment for children over 5 years old? The padded, plastic and rubberized stuff that Cincinnati Recreation Commission installs is only fun (read: challenging) for children ages 2-5. Then they post a sign that says "this playground intended for children ages 5-12".

What use does a 12 year old have for a three-foot long slide? They would rather be playing on the street like the photo above.

Photo from book "Games in the Street", by Rachel Gallagher, 1976 Brooklyn