Children need an environment with the opportunity to engage in open, free play where they’re allowed to self-organize. It’s really a central part of being human and developing into competent adulthood.

Experiments and studies have monitored and tested kid’s play areas. In unstructured playgrounds, children are up to 18% more physically active than America’s cookie cutter ones. These playgrounds are also less expensive and actually found to be safer.

This kind of free-range fun is not just good; it’s essential. Free play helps shape who we become, and it should be embraced, not feared.

Reference - “Free to Learn, Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life”, by Peter Gray