Too much safety and health is dangerous for children. German playgrounds are perilous to help kids learn how to manage risk.

  • A German professor claimed that safe playgrounds prevent children from learning important lessons about risk management in their earliest years.
  • Rolf Schwarz stated that children should be allowed to come in contact with risk.
  • Insurance companies in the UK have resisted offering insurance to playgrounds that are deemed too high risk to avoid paying out for accidents.
  • Research shows that children who are not supervised by an adult may have a poor understanding of risk management, which could lead to mental health problems. 










German professor claims German playgrounds are dangerous. Children must navigate perilous obstacles and risk injury if they fall. 

Professor Rolf Schwarz, from Karlsruhe University of Education, believes that children cannot learn how to manage risk early in their development.

Professor of motor development and active education for children, who advises playground designers and councils, said that playgrounds are “islands of free movement in dangerous motorised environments.” 

“If we want our children to be ready for risk, then we must allow them to have contact with it.” 

Meanwhile, a professor of risk management at Middlesex University David Ball told the Guardian that playgrounds in the UK ‘have become too sanitised.’

He stated, “If they are only viewed as a series if potential hazards, you’re missing something important.”

This climbing tower, built in 2018 in Ludwig Lesser Park in Berlin, is an example of a growing trend of new playgrounds designed to force kids to conquer difficult obstacles while managing risk

This climbing tower was built in 2018 in Ludwig Lesser Park, Berlin. It is one of many new playgrounds that aims to encourage kids to overcome difficult obstacles and manage risk.

The Ludwig Lesser Park still has some play areas that are less dangerous intended for small children, but more play parks in Germany are being built with danger in mind

The Ludwig Lesser Park still has some play areas that are less dangerous intended for small children, but more play parks in Germany are being built with danger in mind

This announcement comes after a group representing accident insurance companies in Germany called for structures that would help children develop risk competence.

But David Köhler, whose company has built playgrounds and rope-based spiderweb structures since the 1970s, told the Guardian he has pushed for more challenging structures to be built for years.

He said that although children may feel insecure when they first climb into the nets, this is actually what makes them safer.

“When you feel insecure, be extra cautious.” In recent years, our designs have seen a significant increase in height.

Insurance companies in the UK have taken a different approach by refusing to insure playgrounds deemed too 'high-risk' to avoid the cost of paying out on accidents, while researchers have said British kids are generally not allowed to play independently until age 11 (pictured: Gunnersbury Park, London)

Insurance companies in the UK have taken a completely different approach, refusing to insure playgrounds they deem too risky to avoid the costs of accidents. Researchers have found that British children are not allowed to play alone until age 11.

Insurance companies in the UK have taken a new approach by refusing insurance on playgrounds deemed too high-risk in order to avoid the expense of paying for accidents. 

Insurer Zurich Municipal pulled its coverage from several adventure parks in Britain in 2019. The move was attributed to an increase in the cost and number of claims arising out of play-related injuries. 

It was feared that local authorities and councils responsible for paying insurance premiums on playgrounds would just reduce the challenges presented by the structures to maintain low insurance costs.

Meanwhile, the British Children’s Play Survey revealed earlier this year that British society is becoming more protective of children, at a detriment to their ability to manage risk and their overall mental and physical health. 

The research shows that primary-age children in Britain are not permitted to play outside without supervision until age 11, while their parents were allowed to do so at age nine. 

“We are seeing children reaching the end of primary school without having had enough opportunity to develop their ability assess and manage risk independently.

The British Children¿s Play Survey revealed earlier this year that British society is becoming more protective of children, at a detriment to their ability to manage risk and their overall mental and physical health (pictured: safe play equipment in Wiltshire, UK)

The British Children’s Play Survey revealed earlier this year that British society is becoming more protective of children, at a detriment to their ability to manage risk and their overall mental and physical health (pictured: safe play equipment in Wiltshire, UK)

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