white paper
Play Value: The Influence of Playground Equipment
How playground equipment can influence children
Key areas of childhood development, such as social, cognitive and language development, are not the usual center of attention in playground research. As a result, the KOMPAN Play Institute set out to investigate to which extent play structures with a wide variety of activity panels influence these important areas of childhood development.
Research from the KOMPAN Play Institute shows that playground equipment positively impacts the development of reception age children. Play panels provide extra play value and can be used to advance the development of children’s social-emotional and cognitive development.
Read the findings of the KOMPAN Play Institute to know more about what kind of playground equipment educators and park planners should invest in for their particular user groups - and why.
Definitions of cognitive play behaviours
Functional play: Play which centres around enjoying the physical sensation that a certain activity provides, e.g. sliding
Constructive play: Manipulating objects to create something, e.g. building with Lego
Explorative play: Focused examination of an object, e.g. examining stones on the ground
Dramatic play: Symbolic, pretend play, e.g. dressing up as doctors
Games: Playing games that have rules, e.g. hide-and-seek
Webinars and white papers about play
A Design Checklist for Success with Inclusive Playgrounds
Equality in play – Survey on playground use in children with disabilities
Climbing activates tween girls - How to increase tween girls' physical activity
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