Child Centred Design – A “Good Boy or Girl”

“A “good little boy or girl” may not be a healthy or happy boy or girl!”

Carl Rogers

Although simple, these may be the most important words I have read in many years of learning about psychology, studying wellbeing and travelling the world to explore Eastern and Western philosophy regarding self development.

I don’t think it is any great secret that most Psychology refers back to childhood; the way we play, the way we learn and our interpretations of experiences and events help to create the people we become, determining how we see the world and how we live.

This is not a philosophical discussion and so I will keep this brief.

If you are a designer of soft play equipment or you manage or own a soft play centre (or if you are a parent), please take a moment to read this.

My (brief) take is as follows:

· Our role as players in the soft play industry is to provide play experiences that help children to experiment and play safely, without judgement or being told they are “good” (because the opposite of this is “bad”); play centres are not there to obtain conformity

· Our aim should be no less than to create an environment where Children are able to foster a “positive self regard”

How do we do this?

· Become the venue where almost anything goes; ethos, “all you cannot do at home.” Make a mess, be noisy, draw on the walls, run around, throw things, break stuff, paint outside of the lines, laze about….whatever!

· Limit the number of rules that you have written on the wall (for my taste, there are far too many rules and posters on the walls of play centres). Instead, during the design process, design your service with children in mind, use subtle but intelligent service and product design to encourage freedom of expression but limit dangerous or detrimental behaviour (e.g. bullying)

· Include images of children playing and positive messages on the design of the walls, on membership cards and menus; subtly remind people that this is a PLAY centre and that this is the time of their lives (I accept that you and they won’t always feel that!!)

· Train staff to interact and engage with children, to encourage and support (but not too much, part of the play and learn process is to fall down and try again)

· Design Soft Play Equipment to be challenging but not too difficult; ideally, you want to create a play experience where the skill and confidence of the child is approximately consistent with the capability of the child

· Provide flexible and varied play experiences, the more personal the better

· Design play experiences to engage the heart, the heart, the soul; inspire use and exploration of all senses in as varied way as possible

· More often than not, adults will get in the way of children playing either because they just don’t get it or they are embarrassed. Allow and encourage interaction but lower the level of anxiety for adult and child by letting go of the idea that this mess is occurring in your living room!

· Try to not set standards for play or achieving (the potential resulting “conditional” sense of worth is just not worth the possible upside); I love the idea that play should be “activity without purpose” or in adult terms, the activity is the purpose.

Think like when building a sandcastle knowing that the sea will soon come along and wash it away; enough pleasure is derived from the activity itself that the inevitable destruction still makes it worth doing

In summary, it’s pretty simple.

Provide the space, set the stage, limit rules and encourage freedom to create, to express, to fall and learn but in a safe and friendly environment. We call this process, "Child-Centred Design."

ShareAndComparePlay.com is the Indoor Play Supplier Comparison Website that Saves Play Operators £10,000s. The only source of independent reviews on every Supplier to the Play Industry, ShareAndComparePlay.com works to revolutionise the Play Experience for Children and to enable Businesses to profitably understand and meet the future needs of Families.