We spent the day at a nearby park watching our youngest do dangerous things on playground equipment that’s probably illegal in most parts of the USA.

One of the things I like about Japan is that a lot of playgrounds and parks still have equipment that require a certain amount of common sense and provide a certain amount of danger. Tall jungle gyms–one park we like to visit has a 12 foot tall rope jungle gym; merry-go-rounds; tall slides; swings with no “seat belts”; and balance beams.

In fact, the only thing I see lacking is a tall Witch’s Hat with no inhibitor like we used to have on the playground of Edison Elementary School in Hayden, Colorado. I remember getting a hand and leg smashed every now and then but nothing horrible. We also had a rickety, splintery wood and pipe merry-go-round that could get up to a fair speed. (A good tether ball set would be nice, too.)

The best part, though, was the swings. We’d get swinging as high as possible and then jump out. (Hey, I said a “certain amount of common sense” was required, not a certain amount of good sense and/or intelligence.) I remember one guy coming off the swing with his feet pointing straight up at the sky. He managed to get them down before he landed.

When we visited Florida several years ago, I was appalled at the squishy safe playground equipment. Even the ground had been rubberized. It all reminded me of the play things you put in a hamster cage.

Today, though, I saw one little girl carrying a handful of dirt to show her parents. I saw a boy trying to hit his brother because his brother had knocked him off the raised discs. I also watched my daughter climb and fall off stuff and have a good time doing it. She tried the climbing wall; the swinging log path; the balance beam; the rope ladder climbs; and a few other potentially dangerous things.

The worst thing that happened, besides dirt, was she got chocolate on her butt. We’re still not sure how, but she’s eight, so it’s pretty much expected.