Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/nothing-ventured-nothing-gained-exploring-childrens-playscapes/5023854/
I grew up with my mom and dad and two sisters in a suburb of Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. We lived in a terraced house with a small garden on a cul-de-sac. My sisters and I played in the garden, which was surrounded by high evergreen hedges. It was a safe place and we spent hours playing in the sandbox, which I am convinced is the smallest one that has ever existed in the world.
When I was six years old I was allowed to play in a wild, “secret” garden at the end of the road. Here, children of all ages came from the local townhouse areas. It was a wilderness with lots of old fruit trees, bushes, and high grass. We climbed the trees and we built caves. There were no adults present, and sometimes it was quite violent. Sometimes we came home with tears rolling down our cheeks and with bloody skin scrapes. But we learned a lot! It was nice to come home and be put in a hot bath together with my little sister and get a lot of care from mom and dad.
When I was eight years old, my family and I lived ...