Originally Posted by e.j.:
I was thinking this the whole time I was watching the video!
I love her philosophy of letting kids learn by play and like many of her ideas and enthusiasm but there was a lot there that wouldn't work for me since I have mixed ages - and lots of safety regulations to follow! I'm not sure if it was in this video or in another of hers that I looked at after viewing this one but she seems to shrug off the possibility of a child getting hurt in that environment - that it's no big deal; just a part of being a kid, exploring and learning. While I know that's true, I also know that many parents - and licensing - wouldn't necessarily shrug it off and I'd be held liable for any serious injury that happened on my watch. As I watched the boy splashing around in the water in the ditch area and listened to her describe the climbing structure made of rope and how some kids fall through it, I was thinking how much fun it would be for a kid but what a potential nightmare it could be for me as a provider.
I also agree with the others who mentioned the mess and clutter. I'm not a neat freak and I could work there if it were a separate building, away from my house but I couldn't live with the old car, broken electronics, crates and buckets filled with "junk", etc laying around my yard and home.
One can see this video so many different ways. If you look at the aspect of a child's learning and development, it clearly is a terrific place!! IMO topnotch! But yeh, safety issues would make licensing go nutso. And as someone brought up, the boy in his underwear, I can see myself being hauled into court now over suspected abuse.
But if we only watched this video(as I did the 1st time) through the eyes of the value of play, this whole place is a goldmine. And for a kid to be let loose with opportunities that they normally wouldn't have at home, they'd be in heaven.
As for the mess, I admit that would be a hard one for me. But perhaps we can take away an idea or 2 from it to use in our own homes.
Last weekend I attended an all-day conference about 'being outdoors'. The trainer discussed risk-taking versus hazards. She said you remove the hazards(broken bottles, nails and all that) and the kids will learn to take risks according to their current abilities(such as climbing that rope structure thingie). I was never very good at letting my owns kids learn by falling and crying and I'm probably worse with others' kids. But it does their self-esteem wonders when they can master something despite the risk. Now if we can only convince dcps and the state of this concept instead of keeping every child in a bubble.