Learning Through Play in Northern Europe
- Cat
- May 5, 2017
- 6 min read
Our days and our travels tend to lean more toward activities adults enjoy and finding a balance for our 4 year old while not making the entire trip revolve around him has been a challenge. Anyone travelling with children knows that there is an obvious correlation between the number of museums visited and the whining and foot-dragging of the child (and to be honest, sometimes the adults!). These parents also know that finding a great playground/park on your journey immediately resets your child and gives you at least a few more adult stops in your day!
PRO TIP: Compromise. Our 4 year old learned this early on - we've been traveling since he was 6 weeks old - and he's now an expert level negotiator (much to our chagrin sometimes but luckily he still thinks 12 is smaller than 3 so he usually negotiates himself a full dinner with the number of bites he agrees to). The trick to a successful trip is to incorporate enough kid-friendly fun so they are happy, but enough adult time so you stay sane! Every child is different so find what works for your family.
We've been to hundreds of parks and playgrounds around the world and can honestly say that in general, none compare to those of northern Europe - specifically the Nordic and Scandinavian countries. They are modern, they move, they are TALL(!), and they challenge - all things children need to engage in outdoor play, but also for learning. In fact, there are several studies that actually found that taking risks and coming upon challenges (and overcoming them) are necessary in children's play in order to fully develop - I know, seems backward but the study actually has some great insights! In fact, one of the studies even found that the lack of this risk or challenge could lead to anxiety! You can read these studies here and here. The modern US playground is often boring - with very safe, standardized sets. While it may engage a child for a trip or two, repeated visits tend to get shorter and shorter with the child becoming bored. NPR published an article indicating that children's play is a critical component in the development of a better brain.
While I am not a scientist, I am an observer and I do like to research. I have found a staggering number of studies and articles linking play to creativity, brain development, social skills, and more. Interestingly, most of those studies have taken place in Nordic and Scandinavian countries...Why is the US so against letting our kids be kids? Scaling down a park to the bare minimum for safety reasons? Preparing our kids for the standardized tests over citizenship skills?
I could go on about the failures of my home country when it comes to the education system, but this post is about parks and how awesome they are in northern Europe. So, without further ado, here are some of the best parks we've found so far in Sweden and Finland. If we've left any out, let us know! We'd love to visit them and update this post!
Also, if you are interested in Finland's view/stance on children and education, you should watch The Finland Phenomenon, a documentary about why they don't start school until age 7, why they test infrequently and with non-standardized exams, why they don't believe in homework, and how they rank worldwide in education systems (we definitely have some things to learn!).
Related Blog Posts with Playgrounds Visited:
Top 5 Places to Find Parks/Playgrounds in Northern Europe - Specifically Scandinavian and Nordic Countries
Every Corner - Truly, in these countries, there is a park or playground on just about EVERY SINGLE CORNER. They range from tiny to enormous, simple to elaborate. These playground epitomize the studies cited above for risk and challenge. Kids playing here are learning so many important skills. If you can keep yourself calm enough to let them run free and stop hovering (this was a hard thing for me!), you can watch the transformation yourself! These are the playgrounds that get the most use, that have busy parents stopping with their kids between the grocery store and the house, and have the most kids at any given point in time. Parts move, buttons can be pressed, musical sounds are abundant and overall, these are always a guaranteed winning stop in your itinerary. WHile it may look like there are no kids out on the playgrounds because of the cold, I can assure you, there were plenty - I usually try to keep out as many people from my photos as possible. The Finns actually have a saying, "There's no bad weather, just the wrong clothing." They encourage kids to get out when it's cold, and simply bundle them up. Even schools walk their kids several blocks to the park to play daily. Click through the gallery of images.
Museums - This one might seem fairly normal, as many museums have begun to cater to families with children. However, most of the museums in the states that are not specifically children's museums, have limited play facilities. Not so in northern Europe.
Shopping Centers and Gas Stations - This one is odd, but we have found most mall-type shopping centers have an indoor playground for kids. THey range from simple to complex, but there is almost always an area for kids to run and play inside these area. Gas stations themselves are wonderful here - most off the highway are either ABC's or Neste's and offer a grocery store, fast food joint (Hesburger), bufet and made to order food, as well as a play area. And some of them are downright FANCY!
Hospitals/Offices - Even in stores and waiting rooms of offices, including hospitals, you'll find a place for children to stay busy.
On Trains - This is by far the most interesting to us, and most exciting for G. Imagine, playing inside a train car whilst rocketing through the countryside at 100 miles per hour?! These play cars are usually fairly simple, and have only a slide, some toys and books, but when you have an antsy child on a long trip, they are life savers.
Have you found any amazing parks in your travels? Let us know about them!
Ready to book your trip to Europe to see these parks and more for yourself? We travel often and therefore have experienced good and bad booking companies. We recommend the following for your booking needs:
Hotels.com - We've used Hotels.com for years and have nothing but great things to say about them. They are reliable, honest in their descriptions and we haven't been disappointed in a booking yet. Their customer service is also supreme. I've made a few mistakes on dates on NON-REFUNDABLE rooms before and they've straightened everything out with no problem!
Expedia (but only in Europe) - We don't use them often in the US, but we may try again when we return. We've found their prices to actually be a bit lower than Hotels.com in Europe for some reason.
TripAdvisor - We ignored this site for years and again, only after being in Europe really started to ay attention. Their reviews are wonderful, but they now have booking search capabilities with prices that compare multiple search sites. This is great for us because time is precious. I used to spend hours on multiple sites comparing prices before finally booking. TripAdvisor does that for you transparently (and more companies are beginning to use this idea) and you can book from your choice directly on their website.
Disclaimer: The booking websites above are sites we use regularly and trust. We have had nothing but good experiences and customer service with them, and therefore, can confidently recommend them. That being said, if you click the affiliate link from our website and book, we do receive a small commission. Will it buy us a year off? No, but it will allow us to have a cup of hot cocoa in our next destination and bring you more amazing content! You will not pay any more for the hotel, rental car, flight, etc. by using the link than you would had you typed it into your browser manually. We appreciate your trust in the services and products we may recommend from time to time.
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