A new kind of playground urged for Toronto's kids

A trip back to the good ol' days may be just what Toronto'syoungest citizens need, one citycouncillor argued Thursday.

Coun. Joe Cressy, who representsWard 20 Trinity-Spadina,urgedthe parks and environment committee to look into finding new sites for so-called "adventure playgrounds."

They're open, outdoor areas, often supervised, that have done away with the traditional slides and swings. Instead, kids are given a few tools, perhaps some running water and sand, andthe freedom to createtheir own fun.

The committee agreedto havestaffcome up with some potential sites for adventure playgrounds by the first quarter of 2017.

"Unstructured, free, fun play that's how kids began to play," Cressy told the committee. "Over time, I think perhaps the adventure play elements have been lost.

"We've become so liable-conscious that we've created play equipment that you can go up and down, but nothing else," he said.

Noplaying with matches

Adventure play areasareenjoying a renaissanceacross North America, Cressy said,because it's been shown that less-structured playcreates kids who enjoy teamwork and are adept at problem-solving.

At least one such play areaalready exists in Toronto.

DufferinGrove Park has a large sandyarea that has some basic tools and a water feature, he said, and the children invariably gravitate to the water feature.

As for safety concerns?"Obviously you're not going to put something in there that's harmful,"Cressysaid. "You're not going to have kids playing with matches."