Playground Eras

No school yard is complete anymore without commercial playground equipment. And compared to what we used to play on when I was a kid, it's a far cry from that rusted-out and splintery stuff.

A long while back, there was a playground trend that implemented rustic wooden structures with bolts, hardware and tires. While the tires are a terrific idea because it not only recycles material, but provides a safe place to fall if that should happen to a child. In other words, it's a good place to bounce. But then the wooden stuff was very splintery and bad to run on without any socks or shoes. Numerous times I had to pull splinters from the feet and hands of my kids. It wasn't good. And the floors seemed to erode with the wind and rain and snow.

Then the era of plastic playground equipment was ushered in. Heavy duty Rubbermaid was it. And this is much better and rain and splinter resistant.