Unless you are a regular child care blog or article reader, you certainly do not know the history of the development of amusement parks in the world.
In other words, you must support the safety measures such as reducing the equipment structure, laying wrapping cushions, and reducing the probability of children falling from high places in the current amusement park. However, some people worry that such a safe amusement park will make children feel bored.
These debates on security and its impact seem to be of some significance to keep pace with the times, but in fact, there are no new arguments. Because these issues have been debated for at least a century, let's take a look at the development history of the amusement park with these issues.
1859: Park Amusement Park in Manchester, England
The idea of letting children develop their social and thinking abilities through playgrounds originated from the playground attached to German secondary schools. However, in fact, the first playground to provide public and free access was in the park in Manchester, England in 1859. As time goes by, the playground was regarded as a basic public facility and began to be built in other countries in the world.
1887: The first amusement park in the United States - Golden Gate Park Amusement Park in San Francisco
At that time, this was a pioneering move in the United States. Amusement parks included swings, slides, and even goat carts (similar to ox carts; goat drawn carts). The most popular and popular one was the merry go round, which was all built with "Doric poles" (this merry go round was replaced by a wooden merry go round in 1912). The merry go round was so popular that the World Expo held in New York in 1939 was a great success.
1898: Amusement Park for Saving Souls
John Dewey (a famous American philosopher, educator and psychologist) said: Play is as important to children as work. Organizations like Outdoor Recreation League hope that children in poor areas can also enter the playground. They have donated slides and seesaws to poor areas, and even sent professionals to guide children how to use entertainment equipment safely. Let the poor children enjoy the fun of play, and help them grow and develop more healthily.
1903: Government built amusement park
New York City built the first municipal amusement park - Seward Park Amusement Park, which is equipped with slide and sand pit and other entertainment equipment.
1907: Amusement Park Goes Nationwide (USA)
In a speech, President Theodore Roosevelt stressed the importance of playgrounds for children:
The streets in the city cannot meet the needs of children. Because of the openness of the streets, most of the fun games will violate the laws and regulations. In addition, the hot summer and busy urban areas are often places where people can learn to commit crimes. The backyard of the family is mostly decorative turf, which can only meet the needs of younger children. Older children want to play exciting and adventurous games, and these games need specific places - amusement parks. Because games are as important to children as school, playgrounds should be as popular as schools, so that every child can have a chance to play in them.
1912: The beginning of the playground safety problem
New York was the first city to give priority to the construction of amusement parks and regulate the operation of amusement parks. At that time, there were about 40 amusement parks in New York City, mainly in Manhattan and Brooklyn (Manhattan had about 30). These amusement parks are equipped with slides, seesaws, swings, basketball stands, etc., which can be played by adults and children. At that time, there was no instruction manual on the safety of the amusement park.
McDonald's in the 1960s: a commercial amusement park
In the 1960s, the children's playground became a very popular investment project. The playground can not only make money, but also drive the surrounding industries. Many people also blame McDonald's because it has opened many amusement parks in its restaurants (nearly 8000 as of 2012), which may make children addicted to it.
1965: The demise of the visionary playground
Another amusement park with unique design was hit - New York City rejected the groundbreaking Adele Levy Memorial Amusement Park designed by Isamu Noguchi and Louis Kahn.
Adele Levy Memorial Amusement Park in Riverside Park, New York City, is also the last piece of work in the playground designed by Noguchi, which was jointly completed with Louis Kahn. Its appearance has aroused people to rethink the form of the playground. Its design is suitable for children of all ages, and is full of artistic atmosphere: beautiful and comfortable, but unfortunately it has not been realized.
1980: 1980s: public litigation and government guidance
In the 1980s, because parents and children often had accidents in the playground, lawsuits continued. In order to solve this increasingly serious problem, industrial production needs to comply with the Public Amusement Park Safety Manual (the first edition of the manual issued in 1981) formulated by the Consumer Commodity Safety Protection Commission. The "Introduction" section of the manual reads:
"Is your playground safe? Every year, more than 200000 children enter the ICU ward due to accidents in the playground. Most of them are caused by falling from a high place. Using this manual can help you check whether the design of the playground and the game equipment have potential safety hazards“
This manual is very detailed, such as the site selection of the amusement park, the materials, structures, specifications, etc. of the equipment used in the amusement park. This is the first significant instruction manual to standardize the design of amusement parks.
In 2000, four states: California, Michigan, New Jersey and Texas passed the "Amusement Park Design" Act, which aims to ensure that amusement parks are safer.
2005: "No Running" Amusement Park
Schools in Broward County, Florida, have posted "No Running" signs in the amusement park, which has caused people to reflect on whether the amusement park is "too safe".
2011: "Flash Playground"
In New York, the amusement park more or less returns to the original point. Previously, children played on the streets. The New York City government has seen the same form as the popular "flash shop" and opened a "flash playground" in underserved communities: when appropriate, close a section of the road as the amusement park, hold some sports activities, and arrange some coaches or athletes to join with the public.
New York was very satisfied with the result of this measure, so they opened 12 "flash sports fields" in the summer of 2011, and recruited some professionals to teach citizens to practice yoga, rugby, etc.
Post time: Oct-22-2022