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Playgrounds Aren't for Children or Writing Essays !

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Ever wonder why playgrounds are so generalized to children only? Well, I have, and I think it's the trend of seeing children playing which forces us to think that it's meant for them only. What staggers me most is the fact that when you reach your mid-twenties, you aren't expected to be seeing enjoying yourself as freely as you would in your teenage years. So why's that so? Why does the notion of enjoyment and its expression limited to a particular age group only? I think I know why.

A major culprit has to be our society's tradition enforced ever-so-commonly about sticking and aiming for life's goals and advancing in a career path without any or little opportunities for recluse. But today, we'll be shifting our attentions towards a lesser-known contributor to the problem - the absence of playing equipment for older generations.

We've established already that older generations require play-time just as much as children do and the absence of suitable equipment in parks and playgrounds is a major contributor. The fix is easy and difficult at the same time too. Easy, because the obvious way of rectifying the matter would be to have playground equipment for older children and adults placed in parks and playgrounds with ones meant for younger generations. And it is difficult because not many companies make such play-structures and encouraging older people to frequent such locations where they are placed is a tedious and arduous task in itself. Not many people would want to leave or squeeze a few hours out of their already-busy routine to play, so that change has to be on smaller and more effective grounds.

However, some companies have started installing play-structures big and strong enough to accommodate average-sized adults and it's no surprise when we see parents hop on them with their children to make "fun" and family treat.

Could gyms provide the service?

This is a question that pops up almost every time whenever this topic is discussed and my answer remains the same - it depends. It depends on how you're planning to use the gym-space for recreational purposes and like most of them, they're used to gain fitness and to bulk up or size down bodies only. And no, none of the time spent at the gym for these reasons count as recreational since they aren't fun at all. When was the last time you saw somebody cuffed to head to the gym and dead-lift 150 pounds? Never.

But, and it is a big one, if you are modernizing gyms and aiming to provide activities other than, or alongside, fitness ones, then yes, gyms could be used for recreational and fun purposes. We've already seen examples of people including pool tables, badminton and squash spaces in gyms and they are all great ways to get new-adults and older people to have fun on a regular basis like children.

So what's your opinion on this and do you believe that adults need to stop perceiving playgrounds as "children only" zones? Let us know by commenting below.