Abstract:

While play is an important process supporting children’s all developmental areas, spaces where children play have also important contributions to their development in terms of supporting risky play opportunities. In the current study, fourteen outdoor playgrounds in Cankaya, Ankara were investigated to find out the risky play opportunities they afford for children. The Playground Rating Scale and Sandseter’s Risk Categories were used as data collection. The findings indicated that all of the playgrounds observed had very limited opportunities for risky play. The findings also indicated the need for maintenance of equipment in the playgrounds which seemed to be dangerous for children to play. Lastly, the selection of equipment in the playgrounds needs to be reconsidered to offer children more diverse play opportunities and support their development physically, intellectually, and socially.

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