Are new, super-safe playgrounds producing less well-adapted kids?

A new generation of American kids is growing up on playgrounds without monkey bars, merry-go-rounds, and other dangerous equipment, as the threat of litigation and hundreds of thousands of emergency room visits convinced some states, cities and schools to make playgrounds safer.

Well, that seems good--kids are safer, right? The New York Times' John Tierney suggests that maybe things aren't that simple in a provocative feature article. He points to the research of Norwegian psychology professor Ellen Sandseter, who argues that the abolition of monkey bars and other risky play equipment may be a disservice to kids who need to learn to cope with danger and thrills to grow up to be normal adults.

Though it's likely the movement to make playgrounds safe has saved some broken bones, Sandseter's research says risky play actually prevents kids from growing up with certain phobias, including a fear of heights. She argues that the usually minor injuries that kids suffer on less-safe playgrounds may be less severe than stunting the emotional development of kids with over-safe play.

"Children need to encounter risks and overcome fears on the playground," Sandseter of Queen Maud University in Norway told Tierney. "I think monkey bars and tall slides are great. As playgrounds become more and more boring, these are some of the few features that still can give children thrilling experiences with heights and high speed."

In a paper published in the journal Evolutionary Psychology, Sandseter cites research showing that children who experience a fall between the ages of 5 and 9 actually have less of a fear of heights as adults than children who never fell. She concludes in the paper that risky play leads children to confront their fears and grow up to be less anxious adults.

"Even though highly active and risk taking children experience more (albeit minor) injuries, this article suggests that these children will benefit psychologically from natural adaptive fear alleviation and the anti-phobic effect of risky play," she writes.

The safer equipment was in part a response to evidence that lots of kids were getting hurt on playgrounds. In 2006, a slew of school districts even banned the game of tag during recess, fearing kids would run into each other and get hurt.

The National Program for Playground Safety says that more than 200,000 children were treated for playground injuries at emergency rooms each year between 2001 and 2008, and that about half of those mishaps occurred on public playgrounds. Most of the injuries were related to falls, which spurred officials and schools to set height limits and remove climbing bars. The organization recommends no equipment be more than 8 feet tall.

Interestingly, research in Pediatrics suggests that parental supervision and softer playground surfaces--like wood chips--don't decrease the likelihood of injuries when children are playing.

At least 16 states have adopted laws mandating that all playgrounds meet the NPPS standards.