Metal Slides and Sunshine Don't Mix

And still they were on every playground back in the day

It hurt going down. Actually, it burned. (Reddit)

“Burn, baby burn!”

And boy, did we ever.

Burn.

On the metal slides.

Back in the day.

Yes - if you grew up in the 60s, 70s and even some of the 80s, you know of which I speak. Playground fare back then included all manner of dangerous “play” things, including slides made of metal and merry-go-round-type contraptions that were engineered to invoke the maximum amount of inner-ear turmoil as possible. Vomiting after spinning quickly in the hot sun wasn’t a thing…until it was.

It was fun, though, right?

In a time of extreme caution (not that that’s a bad thing) us Gen-Xers can look back at an era when slides burned and seat belts were optional.

The humble playground has experienced a metamorphosis in the past few decades. What was once considered standard fare for child’s play now elicits shock and horror at even the mere thought of a play structure that is not ISO 1000 certified.

Metal and sunshine.

Gawd, no!

We can’t have our kids burn on the way down, can we?

Well, we can, but we won’t - at least not in this hyper-aware, helicopter parenting world in which we live.

Ouch! This burned on the way down! (Elena Kalashnik/istockphoto)

There was a general philosophy by parents of our generation that “kids will be kids” and, ironically, that a little pain wouldn’t hurt (it did). These experiences - falling off a playground carousel, burning our lower extremities on the way down a shiny metal slide that had been baking in the July sun; these experiences were meant to “toughen up” any kid that was worth her salt.

Pain?

No problem.

Vomiting?

“Just sit this one out for a bit, son - you’ll be fine!”

This vintage carousel looks worn now, but in its heyday, it contributed to many a child’s experiences of vertigo, nausea and general queasiness. It spun us with abandon, faster and faster as our friends accelerated its motion in an effort to, hopefully, make us sick.

Kids enjoy doing these kinds of things, you know?

Back in the day, vintage carousels contributed to many a child’s experiences of vertigo, nausea and general queasiness. Vomiting was a rite of passage.

This vintage carousel was likely vomit-inducing in its day. (Wikimedia)

Of course, there was the much-loved and equally frightening teeter-totter (or “see-saw,” depending on where you grew up).

Fear came in the form of anticipation: you never knew if your partner on the other end of the equipment was going to unexpectedly get off when you were up high, leaving you to crash to the ground, painfully. We all experienced being on the losing side of the equation and, while it hurt, it seared an indelible memory into our collective brains: fear was fun.

Anticipation….

Oh, my aching head!

And speaking of anticipation, one was certainly waiting for the good times to come to an abrupt end while climbing on the monkey bars. Back before “playground hygiene” was a thing, all climbing structures were made of metal - not plastic - and many of them were very, very high. In addition, there was no soft padding, foam or similar to break any potential fall. A fall from such structure could - and did - result in bruises, sometimes sprains and often head injuries. Concussions were probably more rampant than our parents knew during these times. Who talked about Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs) back then? Kids did fall, did hurt themselves and did suffer the consequences. That is, many days, weeks or years after the incident occurred. Immediately following the fall, however, they’d often get back in the saddle for another dance with danger. If the child was dazed from the fall and hesitant, there was no shortage of friends encouraging them to ignore their symptoms and to keep climbing.

If - and I say if - the parent(s) were anywhere close by, they’d invariably encourage the kid to get back on the play structure as well.

“You’re fine!,” they’d shout from the sidelines. They may have even been smoking a cigarette. In public. In a playground. Unashamedly. How times have changed.

What could possibly go wrong?

What all of this reminiscing makes me realize is that us Gen-Xers were strong and resilient. We still are.

What all of this reminiscing makes me realize is that us Gen-Xers were strong and resilient. We still are. Probably because “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” We burned our butts on the way down slides that exuded the heat of hot coals. We spun and spun on crude playground merry-go-rounds, giving our inner ears an extreme workout and nausea a home. In more extreme cases, we vomited. We bashed our heads on the ground after falling from the monkey bars, and we limped away from the teeter totter after being unceremoniously dropped.

With a 21st-century lens, this all sounds quite shocking.

“Where were the parents?!” a younger soul may ask.

“What about the safety protocols?!” yells another.

Neither of these questions were even a thought back during a time when kids would be kids, they’d get hurt and they’d get on with it. They had to. There was no other option.

And here we are. Perhaps a bit more bruised and beaten so many years later. We’re living in a world where the slightest bit of risk is analyzed, deconstructed and in many cases, used as a reason to ixnay the fun.

Because, isn’t that what kids are supposed to have? Fun? And isn’t it the job of grownups to ruin it?

It was fun from kid’s perspective and it may still be. Though it’s probably harder for the adults in the room to make things worse. After all: every possible risk has been examined and eliminated before any child can enter, either said room, the playground or anywhere else.

What a shame.

Memories of yesteryear are now just a playground in my mind.