“Can a Playground Be Too Safe?” is an essay written by John Tierney and published in the New York Times on 18/7/2011. The essays highlight the benefits associated with tall jungle gyms and tall slides like facilitating the emotional development, enabling children to overcome fears, being adventurous and thrilling especially with height and speed, the capability to enable children to learn from risks and develop mastery to encounter challenges in adulthood, and suitability as a therapy for anxiety. Some of the risks associated with these facilities like injuries of breaking arms, facing lawsuits by owners when accidents occur, developing fear in adulthood due to falling from the top of jungle gyms and tall slides have been highlighted and found to be less of cons. The main argument advanced in the essay that it is more beneficial to retain tall jungle gyms and tall slides in children and youths playgrounds and that the fear that they are likely to cause injuries whenever children fall is less of a worry. Effectively, the essay has explored the use of anecdotal evidence, and testimonials from experts, comparison and cause-effect to argue out that it is of more benefit having tall jungle gyms and tall slides than eliminating them for fear of injuries.
Analysis
The author is keen to use emotional appeal to succeed in arguing out his case. A good example is found in paragraph (II) when he draws from the testimony of Mr. Stern as saying “I grew up on the monkey bars in Fort Tryon Park, and I never forgot how good it felt to get to the top of them.” By his this testimony from Mr. Stern, Tierney succeeds in appealing to the emotions of the audience by eliciting their needs and feelings. Also, in the second last four paragraphs, the author was wise to use a captivating anecdotal evidence when he recounts the experience Nayelis Serrano had after climbing a jungle gym, her feeling of fear at first and then the mothers encouragement that saw her make it to the top of the gym giving her a unique experience she had never experienced.
Also, the author has gathered lots of testimonies from experts and used them to argue out ideas in support of the argument. For example, in paragraph (IV) he used Ellen Sandseter who is an experienced professor based at Queen Maud University in Norway. The professor approves to the fact that as small children need to be exposed to risks so that they can learn how to overcome them at a young age and when they are grown-ups. “Children need to encounter risks and overcome fears on the playground,” said Ellen Sandseter. Moreover, the professor alludes to the fact that monkey bars and tall slides are adventurous and an effective way to break the boredom that comes with playgrounds that have been established recently.
Besides, Tierney is considerate in his word choice to appear credible throughout the argument. For instance, in the (III) paragraph, Tierney uses words like “fewer physical injuries” instead of physical injuries to credit that the injuries associated with tall slides and jungle gyms remain minimal always and that the benefits are always more. He additionally says, “the evidence for that is debatable” when alluding to the injuries associated with tall slides and jungle gyms.
Discussion
The author has used different methods to develop the argument. For example, the author has used cause and effect in paragraph (IV) when he argues that the elimination of jungle gyms and tall slides from children playgrounds, because they are believed to be dangerous leads to the creation of a generation of youths, stunted emotional development that leads to so much anxiety and fear in adulthood. Moreover, the author has used the comparison to develop the argument. In the same paragraph (III), the author narrates of reports that conclude that anxieties and fears in youths and adulthood that may have been inflicted due to the exemption of children from risky jungle gyms and tall slides are worse than broken bones that may occur during the play. Again, the author has used illustration bu carefully choosing and inserting an image of the jungle gym at the beginning of the essay that attracts and captures the attention of the reader.
Conclusion
The essay is a strong argument that has the capability of convincing the reader to actually attest that eliminating tall slides and jungle gyms from children playgrounds have more devastating consequences than benefits. Some of the strengths utilized to make the essay effective include the employment of reasonable arguments drawn from experts like psychologists and doctors. Also, the use of examples like the experience with Nayelis Serrano in the last four paragraphs appeals the emotion of the audience and leaves them sympathetic that actually the eliminated facilities are beneficial and should be reinstated. The use of an illustration at the beginning of the essay was a good way to capture the attention of the reader. Some of the weaknesses of the argument though include the lack of facts and statistical figures that would appeal more by bringing out numerical figures. Additionally, the author may have considered using more images within the essay to make sure the reader is figurative all through.
Work cited
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/19/science/19tierney.html
