Natural Playgrounds Company Builds Green, Sustainable Playgrounds.

Most playgrounds are gigantic pieces of unimaginative plastic that end up falling apart and needing replacement in just a few years. Kids get bored very easily with them and are always looking for something more exciting to do – thus they do things like climb to the top and jump off or go down the slides in groups of 20. Face it – they really aren’t that great at all. Kids like playing in the dirt or jumping from rock to rock or splashing in water, and that’s why when I found out about a company that builds natural, green playgrounds I just knew I had to take a look. No more plastic and much more wood, grass, and dirt? I am sold.

According to the Natural Playgrounds Company, if you’ve ever climbed trees, rolled down hills, scrambled up rocks, made mud pies, dammed up water, hid in grass, played house in bushes, built snow forts, dug in sand, played in dirt, planted seeds, jumped in leaves, tracked animals, or had fun outside in other, similar ways, you’ve experienced natural play. And since we were all kids once, I am sure we can remember back at just how fun that kind of play was. Using your imagination whilst in nature is a much more positive version of play than sitting inside playing video games is. In fact, a new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that the average kid spends 7.5 hours per day using a smart phone, computer, television or other electronic device. How sad is that? The report is based on a survey of more than 2,000 students in grades 3 to 12 , and it also found that more than 7 in 10 youths have a TV in their bedroom. A TV in their bedroom at that age? It really is no wonder that 1 in 3 kids in the U.S. is now considered obese? They need to get outside and play like kids are supposed to, not stay locked up inside in front of the TV or computer. While we had a swing set when was a kid, our “playground” was the woods and the bike paths up to the library – and they were the best kind. But I digress…

To encourage better play, this company creates playgrounds that are safe, green, sustainable, wildlife attractive, and can even be integrated into a curriculum. Sure beats those plastic “one size fits all” playgrounds. In some research of these natural playgrounds, “children showed a tendency to display more constructive play than children in lower quality settings. As the quality of the outdoor program decreased, the frequency of negative behaviors increased.” Natural Play contributes to the overall physical, cognitive, and emotional development of children, helps them score higher on tests for concentration and self-discipline, helps them experience more diverse play, and helps them exhibit less aggressive behavior, strive toward advanced motor fitness, and become healthier. And all 5,000 children they interviewed want these very same, natural play opportunities, and every time they chose Natural Playgrounds over equipment playgrounds. If I was a kid, I would prefer these outdoor natural play areas over the plastic ones any day of the week!

So if you are considering a playground at your house, work at a school, or are part of an HOA in a community, you may want to check these guys out before you make any decisions on play areas for the kids.

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