Designing Play Environment: Designing Future

It is completely right to say that ‘children’ determine the next generations. The children are not staying as they are forever; they are growing to be adults, and adults have power to make changes. Basically, if we want those changes, the shift of our future, to be good, we have to raise them well from the start. The play environment takes an important role on children’s health, education, and social interaction. It is one of the spots that would boost the quality of the children, the quality of our future, to be exact.

Children’s health is in more and more danger because of the new settings. The percentage of obese kids flies up across United States across this decade, and it might relate to the fact that they stop coming to play outside. However, the real problem lies inside their brain. Richard Low’s Last Child in the Woods came up with the studies that lacking a contact with nature creates a mental malfunction called ‘Natural Deficit Disorder.’ The book also states that by having children play outside, the disorder eventually subsides.

Not only preventing and curing diseases, the power of nature in the play environment also boosts the brain function. Study shows that the students who have contact with nature have better class performance than the ones that do not. The science lies in Steven Kaplan’s theory of ‘the mental‐fatigue restoration.’ By creating the play environment that attracts children to play in the nature elements, it will boost up their educational quality.

Playing in the play area also creates the opportunities of social engagements. Children from different homes will meet each other and have social interaction. These create a strong development on social skills for children, as well as the strong social bond between parents. The bonds will weaver altogether and become a strong social establishment in the community the play environment is located.

Designing and Cooperating a playing environment is not an add‐on on a community park. It is not only something to put on the advertisement to attract people into a design. It is crucial, and its value lies from now on to many generations ahead of us. A good design of a play environment will be a part to shape a great world in the future by creating effective children who will be powerful adults who can change the world to the better place than anybody can imagine.