1970s Playground Equipment: Exploring Danger and Bans

Author: Austin Stanfel

The Weirdest Banned Playground Equipment

To increase kids’ safety and fun, playground equipment is constantly updated and modified. However, taking a look back at the now-banned playground equipment can help illustrate the improvements that are needed and how far we’ve come.

Here, we’ll look at ten of the most outrageous pieces of banned 1970s playground equipment that have been outlawed and probably never should have been.

Why is dangerous 1970s playground equipment banned?

Old, dangerous 1970s playground equipment can be prohibited for many reasons, but safety is the main driver. Before becoming a norm in the schoolyard, playground equipment did not previously have standards or safety tests. To protect kids from harm, playground equipment must now abide by rules.

A playground can occasionally be harmful due to the materials used. For instance, it was fairly common to find wooden playgrounds all over the place in the 1990s and 2000s.

But children frequently get splinters on wooden playgrounds, and sometimes very bad ones at that. Because of this issue and the increased maintenance required for wooden play areas, wood is no longer the material of choice for playgrounds.

Other materials, including wood, are no longer used in play areas because of the dangers they pose. Concrete, gravel, lead paint, and heavy metal objects can result in blood poisoning, lead poisoning, concussions, abrasions, and other health problems. Standards for a safer play environment for everyone have been established thanks to complaints from parents.

Likewise, children with disabilities have trouble using older playground equipment. Since then, this inaccessibility has been reviewed, leading to playground redesigns that enable more kids of various abilities to use them.

Safety Standards: Then vs Now

Safety regulations are used to prioritise some factors while ignoring others in the past. For instance, playground equipment from the 1920s and 1930s concentrated on removing rivets that could trap clothing, skin, and hair.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has since broadened these requirements in a variety of ways, such as by providing rubber mulch for playground surfaces to help avoid head injuries.

Parents all throughout the world, as well as the CPSC, have realised over time that kids don’t always use playground equipment as it was intended. Because of this, there is a higher chance of harm.

In the past, manufacturers of 1970s playground equipment did not think about what would happen if a child fell off their equipment. To keep their devices from falling on the kids, they frequently fixed them on concrete.

These days, both the equipment’s durability and the surface it sits on are taken into account. Similar to this, standards that cover the configuration, components, and general design of the equipment need to be carefully considered before being approved.

Top Ten Banned Playground Equipment

You can get an idea of how far we’ve come regarding safety from these top 10 instances of prohibited playground equipment.

Swinging Gates

Swinging gates consisted of a gate made of metal or wood that was affixed to a single pole. The plan was to swing yourself and your gate around the pole while holding on to the connecting bar. On occasion, a board to stand on was attached to the bottom of these gates.

Sometimes, though, they didn’t, and the rider had to cling on for dear life, possibly using their toes as a grasp in the space between the gate slats.

The lack of control with swinging gates was a concern. Children would jump up and try to cling on, but it was difficult to stay on because of the abrupt motions of the gate. Additionally, if a lot of kids crowded the area, one or two of them might get struck by the gate as it swung.

This banned playground equipment (gates) was frequently made of metal rather than wood, and being struck by a large piece of metal is dangerous even for adults.

The swinging gate has been replaced by less dangerous swinging machinery in modern times.

Giant Strides

The Giant Strides, a modern variation of the traditional maypole, became quite popular in the 1930s. An upright pole with ribbons fastened to the top was a maypole. These ribbons were available for kids to grab, and they could dance around the pole while weaving in and out of one another.

The upright pole was left intact by the Giant Strides, but rope swings connected to a rotating device took the place of the ribbons. Similar to the popular amusement park, Dangler Swings, the concept was for kids to race around the pole and leap into the air for a brief moment of flight.

Unfortunately, this banned playground equipment required lots of coordination and cooperation to be successful. Children could easily crash into the center pole or each other, leading to bruises, abrasions, and even concussions. Eventually, the Giant Strides were no longer trustworthy as a playground staple.

Unfortunately, for this prohibited playground equipment to function, a great deal of organisation and cooperation was required. Children could easily collide with one another or the centre pole, resulting in bruising, abrasions, and even concussions. The Giant Strides eventually lost its reputation as a reliable playground mainstay.

Log Swing

The log swing was made up of a long seat with two handles that could swing back and forth in a straight line, just like a log. But it could also sway wildly from side to side, one end guiding the other.

The lack of control offered by this mobility could be pleasant for the rider, but also posed a risk to any unwary onlookers. Additionally, it made it easier to bash into the equipment’s legs, increasing the risk of harm for anyone swinging.

The practice of having numerous kids pile on at once was also very common at the time. A log would be used as a swing, and up to fourteen kids may fit on it. Due to the increased risk of falling off and the decreased amount of control the log had due to the crowding, the swing became more dangerous and unsafe playground equipment.

Teeter Ladder

The combination of monkey bars and teeter-totters was deemed advantageous for athletic development by the manufacturers. The framework was made up of two ladders that were fastened to a horizontal bar many feet above the ground. Both ladders were positioned, one above the bar and the other below. Depending on the amount of weight on either side, either ladder might tip up or down, resembling an upside-down teeter-totter.

A single child could swing their way up either ladder from end to end, but once they reached the middle, the ladder would tip abruptly. A ladder could be used as a teeter-totter by two kids on either end, but it was very easy to slip off.

Given that teeter-totters are now mostly superfluous, it is obvious that this design has likewise fallen out of favour.

Poised Safety Swing

The Poised Safety Swing was not as safe as its name suggested; it was designed to propel the swinger into a lake or swimming pool. The device had a tall ladder, which you would climb to access the swing. You may swing down from the ladder and up into the air with a foot release. You had the option to either keep swinging or jump into the lake at this moment.

Users believed this swing was secure as long as it launched the swinger into at least four feet of water when it was first introduced in 1927. However, launching could be challenging since if the swinger didn’t leap correctly, the swing could hit them.

If you lose control, you might also accidentally hit the swing’s frame. If the mechanism holding the seat in place as you climbed on it broke, you might tumble from the ladder and completely miss the water.

Racer Slides

A racer slide was a necessary component of every traditional playground. The tall, all-metal racer slides were designed to satisfy any child’s thirst for speed. Sadly, despite being quick and adrenaline-pumping, they weren’t safe. Because of their height (some were up to thirty feet), which made the plunge exceedingly dangerous, they were both narrow and simple to fall out of.

Children may fall between the rungs of the ladders leading to the top, landing on the pavement below. Many times during the summer, the slides themselves become excruciatingly hot, which causes some kids to get burned.

These days, slides are much shorter, more forgiving, and frequently made of plastic rather than metal. They are no longer frightening or dangerous to climb, and coming down doesn’t cause skin scorching.

Witch’s Hat

A witch’s hat resembled a merry-go-round, but it was shaped like an A in capital letters. The structure was supported by a single centre pole, and its outer frame would rotate. Kids could play outside while holding onto the frame as it swung around the pole or running around the exterior.

The witch’s hat, however, was abandoned because it was too dangerous 1970s playground equipment item. Little ones could easily fall through the frame and land inside because there was nothing to stop them. Until the device slowed down and stopped, they might knock their heads on the pole or get imprisoned.

Additionally, there was nothing to prevent them from falling off on the outside, where they may have hit a concrete floor at a high rate of speed.

Although they have been redesigned for greater safety, similar equipment is still present in playgrounds today. The entire structure is much more difficult to move, meaning it can’t reach dangerous speeds. There are also more handholds to prevent kids from falling off, floors to prevent kids from falling into the equipment, and floors to prevent kids from falling into the handholds.

Animal Swings

The swings were made of heavy metal and shaped like various whimsical animals. Most of them were chicks or ducks, and most of them had vibrant colours. They were first designed as adorable structures that appealed to small children. Unfortunately, they were more dangerous than entertaining because of their large size.

Managing their path may be challenging because the animal swings are attached to the swingset with flexible chains. If these swings veered off course, you might end up colliding with your neighbour or the swing set leg itself. These swings could weigh as much as 80 pounds.

Additionally, the weight of the swings caused issues for passersby. A child could easily sustain a concussion or worse if they were to cross in front of the swing while it was in motion and get hit by a rooster or sheep.

Also, the paint that was applied to these swings frequently flaked off, creating a risk of paint slivers. These animal swings, though once common, are no longer found on playgrounds today.

Barrel-of-Fun

This now-banned playground equipment was initially developed in the 1920s and had a good reputation. The barrel-of-fun was made out of a huge metal barrel that freely rotated around a metal bar that ran through the centre of it.

The concrete slab that the barrel was attached to sat two feet below the barrel. You could try to hold on to it as it spun endlessly, perform somersaults over it, or even try to run along the top of it as it whirled, much like a log roller.

This device wasn’t a safe toy even though it claimed to have a smooth surface that wouldn’t catch on hair or clothing. Especially since it was perched so far above the earth, the concrete that kept it in place was a hazardous surface to land on. Additionally, it was nearly impossible to cling onto, and the speed at which it could spin meant that youngsters could be thrown off at amazing heights.

Conclusion

Over the past century, there have been significant improvements in the safety requirements for playground equipment.

While many previously permitted devices of unsafe playground equipment have been outlawed as a result of these modifications, playgrounds are now safer and easier to access for kids worldwide.