What is so special about a playground? For kids, it’s the thrill and excitement of being able to climb on equipment and ride down slides that they just can’t do at home. For adults, it’s more about spending time with their children, outside, enjoying the fresh air, away from iPads and computer games. You are helping to keep your kids active and healthy and for little ones, there is the added bonus of tiring them out!

Going to the local playground gives children a chance to exercise, to explore, to meet other children and to have fun. In general, play is a great way to encourage their confidence which helps add to their development and *people skills* as they grow older. Meeting other children teaches them how to share and to get along. Playgrounds are free to play and provide a chance for parents to meet other parents in a relaxed and informal atmosphere.

A playground can be a great place for the whole family, from a baby in a stroller to taking the family dog along for the walk, and while it’s a great time to bond and build a relationship with your children – independent play also strengthens bonds and relationships and fosters learning.

While playgrounds have changed a lot over the years the favourites have stayed the same – tubes and tunnels, swings and slides, monkey bars and imaginative play areas are all popular choices.

It can be hard making a trip to the playground regularly but even if you can get there a few times a month it will make all the difference in your child’s growth and development, while the kids play it’s a great time for you to relax and take some time out too.

If you visit practically any playground around the world you’ll see a range of designs from swings to slides, and you’ll also see a line of children eagerly awaiting the chance for a ride on the slide. By nature, children are curious and fearless when it comes to exploring the world around them – it’s just how they learn. Today thanks to stringent safety guides and rules and regulations the playground slide is one of the last places a child can have a *thrilling ride* without fear of any major injuries.

Ask any child what their favourite playground *ride* is and most will say – the slide. Why do children love slides so much? Playground slides have changed so much over the years – the first playground slides were often made of wood and you can just imagine what the risk factors would have been sliding down a slide made of wood! This danger was overcome when they introduced the metal slide.

Metal slides then presented their own dangers and these days have been banned or removed from playgrounds. Metal slides were prone to rusting they could also become cracked or separate, there was barely any railing which led to countless injuries – a child falling off the side of a slide. Of course, in summer, that hot sun during the day meant a ride down the slide was agonising! Depending on where you live – winter didn’t make a slide any more appealing either.

Today you’ll find most playgrounds are equipped with slides of moulded plastic that are virtually seamless, with non-stick surfaces and safety rails. Thanks to technology and advancements moulded slides offer children a safe, fast and fun slide experience, without the worry of harsh burns on hot summer days. Being plastic and flexible, slides also come in a range of styles, heights and sizes.

If you are old enough to remember sliding down those old metal slides in summer, you’ll be able to appreciate the advancements in playground designs and materials. If you are a parent, you will also appreciate the changes made in safety, you know your child will be a lot safer than you ever were!

Slides are a great way to promote physical activity – it takes effort to climb, slide and repeat.

Slides encourage exploration and confidence while it’s quite exhilarating, it also requires confidence to climb a tall structure and make the fast trip down. It’s a confidence booster for the child who is intimidated by climbing the tall structure – so it’s a challenge to climb, slide and win!

Apart from being invigorating slides are stimulating, children will climb anything to use a slide and in repeating the action over and over they are learning balance and coordination just by navigating their way to the top.