The Play and Playground News Center

The Play and Playground News Center is published online every other Monday. At this site you can also access the Playground Professionals Directory with over 1000 playground companies listed. For fun and education be sure to visit The Play and Playground Encyclopedia with over 500 listings of play and playground people, companies, organizations, events, books, health, and safety.

PGP Top Stories

'Climb trees! Drive go-karts!': A few bumps and bruises 'help to develop a schoolchild's character' says headteacher

Children should be allowed to suffer bumps or bruises during their school days to help them build character, a leading headteacher will say today. Christian Heinrich, chairman of the Boarding Schools Association, will tell his annual conference that more time needs to be spent on helping children to develop their curiosity.

The wobbly bridge, or why it is harder to manage risk in playgrounds than factories

“How can we make our playground safe?” It seems a simple enough question. Yet the answer is anything but (and even the question is not as simple as it looks). In fact, managing risk in a playground is much more complex than in a factory or a workplace. The reason for this is down to a fundamental difference in the nature of the task. One way to...

Have Fun in Any Weather

It might be raining cats and dogs out there, but that doesn't mean outdoor playtime is off limits. Be Out There's trusty weather report might have you thinking twice about keeping your kids indoors.

The Toy Insider™ “Springs Into Summer” With The Top Toys For Fun In The Sun!

Consumer toy guide announces hottest toys for summer fun, including items from Fisher-Price, Hasbro, Lego, and more. Find scooters, water toys, great travel toys, outdoor toys, and so much more!

1-2-3-4, Who’re We Gonna Cheer For? Eco-Schools!

Students at Copper Mesa Elementary School raise the school’s Eco-Schools USA Green Flag. National Wildlife Federation is the U.S. host of the Eco-Schools program, an international network of 41,000 K-12 schools in 53 countries.

Finding new ways for our kids to connect with nature

The decision to have a kid is an act of imagining. You imagine a baby, and then the childhood it deserves: a Huck Finn existence in the marshes, frog in hand, alert to wonder. But then there’s the fact that you live in a city, and when summer comes, you still have to work. So you investigate computer camp, fashion camp, Glee camp – camps that look...

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PGP Columnists

Why is Risk and Challenge Disappearing from our Children’s Play Environment?

Kutska’s Korner, A Commentary

by Kenneth S Kutska, CPSI

Why is Risk and Challenge Disappearing from our Children’s Play Environment?

The lack of risk and challenge in our children’s play environment has become a hot topic as more and more risky and challenging play events are removed or not even being considered for today...

Journey to Inclusion

by Mara Kaplan

My Journey

My journey into the world of inclusive play began almost 20 years ago with the birth of my son. Samuel was born with global developmental delays. Over the last 20 years, he never learned to speak or...

Playsafe and Live Well!

by Butch DeFillippo

Spray Parks

With Special Guest Nancy White Ph.D. What could be more perfect for a child in hot weather than running around while water sprays, splashes, trickles and mists around you? What could be more perfect...

Confessions of a Playground Guru

by Jay Beckwith

Where do we go from here?

I can feel it in my bones. There are BIG changes afoot in the world of play. Playgrounds will have to be transformed if they are to respond. Designers, manufacturers and buyers will have to make...

Play is for everyone…at least it SHOULD be!

Have You Heard?

by Anne-Marie Spencer

Play is for everyone…at least it SHOULD be!

Imagine that you are going to a movie with your friends, you’ve heard it’s the most incredibly entertaining piece to come out in years, PLUS its in 3D, and you are so excited you are...

The Outdoor Guide to Play

by Dr John A Sutterby

The Repurposing of a Sand-pile

The first project I did when my wife and I bought our first house a little over a decade ago was to build a sandbox for our two children, Sofia and Andreu. It was a pretty simple thing, some...

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PGP News How One Group Held a ‘Play-In’ To Promote Appropriate Early Childhood Education Lego school promises the building blocks to successful learning Coffee Shop Dave Faulkner reports from Sandbox Summit More PGP News Posts>	Play Children update National Trust list of things to do before you are 11 ¾ The Race is on for Buried Treasure in New Mexico Why “Unstructured” Play is a Good Thing More Play Posts>	Playgrounds Redefining the Playground Is this the world's first playground swing? Best playgrounds for stimulating play in South Jersey More Playgrounds Posts>
Opinion Even Candy Land Isn't Safe From Sexy How Can We Help Children Become 'Upstanders' to Bullying? Do Videogames Cause Stress in Kids? It's Complicated More Opinion Posts>	Projects GameTime Creates Majestic Play Space to Symbolize the Rich Heritage of the Queen City Dragonfly: Sandy Springs, GA New $4M splash park at Independence Lake County Park to open Memorial Day weekend More Projects Posts>	Products New Climbable Letters And Origami A Unique Piece of Equipment is a Perfect Fit for an Inclusive Playground Edgetite™ Paver Edging Spikes Make Installations Stronger and More Secure More Products Posts>
Parks and Recreation To secure future, national parks look beyond aging baby boomers National Park Trust Announces 'National Kids To Parks Day' To Take Place Saturday May 18, 2013 Green space for greenbacks? Critics debate use of $7M in TN tax dollars More Parks and Recreation Posts>	People Goodbye to Dr. Toni Yancey, A Special Member of the Active Living Research Family Markus Persson and Jens Bergensten NHL's Steen invests $1M in family fun park More People Posts>	Press Releases Playworld Systems releases updated version of PlayPod, its revolutionary mobile maintenance tool Chicago Children's Museum recognized for community engagement with $10,000 award Arts & Recreation Webinar Series More Press Releases Posts>
Health and Safety Rides Injure More Than 4,400 Children Per Year Neuroscience Shows Importance Of Breakfast For Kids And Learning Sports And Recreation Safety Fact Sheet More Health and Safety Posts>	Toys American Girls Aren't Radical Anymore Math Can Be Fun and Games! Important! What the CPSC Hasn’t Told You About Toy Safety Regulations May Actually Help You More Toys Posts>	Fund Raising Toy Industry Foundation - Play Connects Athletes Helping Athletes KaBOOM! Imagination Playground Opportunity Funded by the Makers of Children’s Claritin® More Fund Raising Posts>