What is the history of the playground

The playground is something many of us consider intertwined with childhood playtime around many parts of the world. The idea of playgrounds developed in the mid-19th century, as people realised increasingly urban areas needed to create space for children to play rather than have them play on streets where it was dangerous. The movement was slow to pickup, however, as few councils and cities provided funds. Today, the playground is a established part of many urban areas around the world.

Early History

In 1837, the concept of kindergarten, with the term coined in 1840, was developed by the early child psychologist Friedrich Fröbel. He realized that children at early ages needed to combine play with learning and that learning was, in fact, intertwined with play for young children. As Friedrich Fröbel developed an early kindergarten in Bad Blankenburg, in modern Germany, he realized the school also needed a play space to encourage his learning-play concept. The first playground was created within the the area of the first kindergarten. The first playgrounds encouraged dancing and activities that were measured for their educational effect. Sadly, kindergartens were banned by the Prussian government that came to power in 1851, suppressing the idea and spread of playgrounds in Germany for decades. In the 1880s, playgrounds did appear again in Germany, which were then called sand gardens.

In 1859, in Manchester, England, the Victorian population in the city realized the difficulties they had with children running on the street and the dangers that could cause for accidents. The city decided that year to build the first purpose-built playground that was not attached to any school. The idea was to keep children busy and give them some space away from the busy urban areas. Nevertheless, many people did not see the purpose of playgrounds, as streets were often not that busy in many areas and there were spaces for children to play in neighbourhoods. In 1886, Boston created arguably the first playground in the United States. However, the idea did not prove popular among many residents in the United States and many saw funds for public playgrounds as a waste. Things only began to change more substantially as the automobile began to be introduced. In 1901, one of the first reports to publish accidental deaths caused on streets was published.The number of children killed astonished people and soon created a movement to create play areas designated for children. Additionally, educational theories in the United States were beginning to see the relevance of Fröbel's ideas on the importance of play and education. These two effects combined to create a playground movement within the United States in the first decade of the 1900s, culminating with the founding of the Playground Association of America in 1906.

Spread of Playgrounds

With the establishment of Playground Association of America, playgrounds spread throughout the United States soon after. However, playgrounds were still very much seen as educational areas as well as for play. Playgrounds tended to be much more formal and required trained supervisors to watch and train children on lessons and activities. Early playgrounds had a somewhat different layout than modern playgrounds. There were separate play sections for different activities; areas were also created for athletic play, including fields for boys and girls. Many playgrounds had shelters and toilet or even bathing facilities. Playgrounds were also integrated as part of urban gardens and parks, with garden plots, shaded areas, and swimming pools all part of formal playgrounds. Playgrounds were almost always supervised and children could not simply go to the playground without prior permission from supervisors of these playgrounds.

Change to playgrounds though began to appear by the next decades in the 1910s-1920s, as manufacturers realized that playgrounds provided financial opportunities for them. They began to create new forms of entertainment for children, with ladders, chains, and climbing areas created. The 1910s-1920s was considered an experimental time for playgrounds, as manufacturers began to develop different forms of equipment for play and activities. In 1922, the first playground slide may have been installed, with Wicksteed Park in Kettering, England installing the slide. Slides had been around since the turn of the century, but they were mostly installed in amusement parks such as Coney Island. After the 1920, the 1930s-1940s saw little development or even expansion of playgrounds, as the Depression and World War II slowed their construction. In the late 1940s-1950s, landscape playgrounds became a new novelty. At this point, the formality of playgrounds began to wane and people began to see playgrounds as places mostly for children entertainment or place to burn off children energy.