Insights

Swings, teeter-totters, merry-go-rounds, and slides are the most liked playground structures.
Playgrounds aren’t designed for adults.
A narrow age group of children only uses playgrounds.
Parents want to play with their kids but feel they can’t.
Both parents and kids enjoy swings.
Teeter-totters don’t work unless two people of the same weight play together.
Playgrounds should be colorful.

What’s your name, and do you have kids?

What are you doing?

Dee: I ‘m pushing my baby on a swing.
Chad and Carrie: We are sitting and watching our children play.
Mary and Sue: We are all sitting together, socializing, and watching the kids play.
Shannon: I am sitting and watching my student play.
Andres: I am watching and playing with my granddaughter.

What do you play on?

Dee: I don’t play on any of it, but I would swing before anything else.
Chad and Carrie: We don’t play anymore. The playground is too busy, the playground is too small, and I don’t want to take a spot away from a kid.
Mary and Sue: The swings because it feels like flying. I also like chasing the kids around.
Shannon: I like the swings. I don’t like things that spin.
Andres: I am a little old to play much anymore.

What is your Childs favorite thing to play on?

Dee: The Swing, she is too young to use any of the other playground equipment.
Chad and Carrie: Zip-lines, they play tag together and climb on everything. Climbing and jumping off.
Mary and Sue: My 4-year-old likes slides, merry-go-rounds, and climbing. Our younger kids love the swings and the vertical spinning thing. They don’t stay on the spinning thing very long; they get too dizzy. My thirteen-year-old son gets bored going to the park with his mom and sisters because there isn’t anything for him to do.
Shannon: Things that spin, the merry-go-round, and the platform swing
Andres: She likes the teeter-totter.

What did you play on when you were a little?

Dee: I played on the swings, teeter-totter, and the slide.
Chad and Carrie: Giant hamster wheel and the swings, she always wanted to get higher.
Mary and Sue: The Swings.
Shannon: When I was little, I liked the monkey bars; they made me feel like a gymnast.
Andres: I enjoyed the swings and monkey bars as a kid.

What do you think are the three most iconic playground fixtures?

Why have these playground icons continued to be successful?

Dee: They are simple.
Mary and Sue: They are simple, and everyone can do it.
Shannon: People can always make them more fun. People like to push things to their limits.

Do you see any playground problems, things you would change?

Dee: The playground colors here are dull. It’s brown; it should be bright and colorful.
Mary and Sue: I wish there were more seating, some parents come with their friends and want to sit together and talk.
Shannon: The merry-go-round is slippery plastic. It is hard to hold onto and is very hot in the summer.

What equipment can you play on with your child?

Dee: The swing, I push her in it, but it's also the only thing she can do at this age.
Chad and Carrie: We scavenger hunt with them sometimes but the playground is too small for me, I don’t fit in the slide.
Mary and Sue: I can push my kids on the swings, but other than that, the playground was designed for a very narrow age group and wasn’t meant for adults.
Shannon: I understand the danger of being a helicopter parent. It’s important to let her socialize and play on her own.

Do you wish there were more for you to play on?

Dee: Yes, I would love to do something too.
Chad and Carrie: Yes, but in the south, it gets so hot, sometimes I have to sit and cool down.
Shannon: I wish I could play too, but I need to watch and supervise.
Andres: I wish I could ride the teeter-totter with my granddaughter, but I am too heavy.

Other Comments

Chad and Carrie:

There is a gap between kids that too old to play at the playgrounds and not old enough to drive and spend time alone with friends. This gap seems to be filled with video games and potentially leads to social issues.
Boys are level up oriented, they see a goal, and they have to reach it. They also like to push things to the limits.
Our boys think you should add trampolines to your playground idea to bounce higher.

Mary and Sue:

Kids like their parents to push them on the swings, even if they can do it themselves because they like the engagement with the parent.
The teeter-totter isn’t very safe because if the person on the bottom gets off, the person on top falls.
Parents can’t teeter-totter with their kids because of the weight difference.
Both kids can’t quickly get on the teeter-totter because one side is up in the air.