Where Have All The Swing Sets Gone?

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In Andover, Mass., safety inspectors closed the sprawling Dragon's Lair dreamed up and hammered together by local parents and kids in 1985. Last year parent volunteers raised $100,000 and bought standardized pieces for a less fanciful construction. "It's not as good as the old one," says Paul James D'Ambra, 8. "I liked the bridge that you could crawl through and the slide and the tires and the secret passages."

It doesn't have to be that way, say playground researchers. They wish American designers would take their lead from northern European "adventure playgrounds" that feature running water, gardens, toys and pieces kids can put together and take apart themselves. Such playgrounds are inexpensive to set up and not particularly dangerous, but they do require the supervision of full-time play leaders, something American park departments haven't included in their budgets since the 1960s. The proliferation of sterile, static playgrounds is a symptom of American parents' obsession with control, says environmental psychologist Hart. "What's unfortunate is this paranoia about children's safety and the idea you can manage risk by removing challenge. Kids have to learn how to make their own behavior safe." And if they don't find some risk in their playgrounds, he is concerned that they will seek it in much more dangerous places.