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Decade for Childhood

The Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) and Alliance for Childhood joined together to launch a 10-year initiative, the Decade for Childhood 2012-2022, during the Global Summit on Childhood held in Washington, D.C. in March of 2012. Concerns about the rapid cultural and technological changes currently occurring combined with the ongoing problems of poverty, neglect, and abuse prompted the need for a platform to support a global conversation about childhood and the threats to the healthy development of children.1

1. “The Decade for Childhood.” Association for Childhood Education International. < http://www.acei.org/programs-initiatives/the-decade-for-childhood-2011-2021.html > 11 April 2012.

DeGroot, Edward

Edward DeGroot was a key player in the playground movement through his development of Chicago's South Parks, his national committee contributions, his lectures, his teachings, and his writings. A contemporary in the recreation field, Lebert Weir was impressed by Edward's “quiet power, fine personality, and executive ability.”1

1. Butler, George D. Pioneers in Public Recreation. Minneapolis, MN: Burgess Publishing Co., 1965. p.

DeKoven, Bernie

Bernard (Bernie) DeKoven is a “fun theorist” who designs games, teaches games, writes about games, helps people improve their games, and advocates play and fun.1 He is also an author, workshop facilitator, and presenter.

1. “It's Never Too Late – Confessions of a LEGO Game Consultant.” LEGO. < http://parents.lego.com/en-gb/LEGOAndSociety/LEGO®%20Game%20Consultant.aspx > 16 Jan. 2012.

Design for Play

Richard Dattner wrote Design for Play, an illustrated book of play spaces and philosophies which create an “environment where play, learning, and the human spirit are nurtured.”1 Written in 1969, Richard first explores the philosophy of play, the social importance of play, and the psychology of play before discussing the challenges of designing for play for all children and in a variety of spaces.

1. Dattner, Richard. Design for Play. 1st paperback edition. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England: The MIT Press, 1974. Print. p. 137.

Designated Play Surface

A designated play surface has been defined by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in its Public Playground Safety Handbook as “any elevated surface for standing, walking, crawling, sitting, or climbing, or a flat surface greater than 2 inches wide by 2 inches long having an angle less than 30 degrees from horizontal.”1 The definition refers to the smallest surface that a child might be able to access and attempt to play on. This identification is mainly for the protection of younger children from potential hazards.

1. “Public Playground Safety Handbook.” U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Section 1.8 Definitions, p. 4.

Detroit Mower Gang

The Detroit Mower Gang was formed to rescue abandoned parks in the city of Detroit, Michigan. Because of the economic downturn that greatly affected Detroit in 2009, city government was strapped to sufficiently maintain many of the public city parks. Rather than allow them to be overrun with weeds and become unusable for children, Tom Nardone decided to do something about it, one park at a time.1

1. Nardone, Tom. “Tom Nardone – Mower Gang Leader.” Mower Gang.com. < http://www.mowergang.com/page7/page7.html > 29 March 2011.

Detroit Testing Laboratory

In 1995, the newly formed International Play Equipment Manufacturers Association (IPEMA) was looking for an organization to provide third-party physical validation of compliance with the safety standards in the ASTM International (ASTM) F1487, F1292, and F2075.1 These safety standards involved playground equipment and playground surfaces. IPEMA turned to Detroit Testing Laboratory, an independent A2LA accredited, testing laboratory based in Detroit, Michigan.2

1. “Press Release.” Detroit Testing Laboratory, Inc. < http://www.dtl-inc.com/pdfs/press/DTL-Inc_Receives_5-Year_IPEMA_Certification_Extension.pdf > 15 Sep. 2011.
2. “Welcome to Detroit Testing Laboratory, Inc.” Detroit Testing Laboratory, Inc.

Dickie, George

An early playground and recreation leader, George Dickie was influential on the city, state, and national levels. He began as a part time playground director and rose over the next four decades to be the executive secretary of the Federal Inter-Agency Committee on Recreation.

At the age of 22, George earned his law degree from the University of California in 1906. While attending school he was a part time playground director for a church in Alameda, California. After graduating he supervised a boys' club in Oakland, California as he began building a business career. During the summers of 1907 and 1908 he was hired by the Parks and Playground Committee of the Oakland Club, a progressive woman's organization, to be a playground instructor.

Directional Awareness

Directional awareness is one of many perceptual motor skills that children learn as they become mobile. Motor skills are combined with perceptual, sensory skills, such as visual, auditory, and tactile abilities, to develop increasingly complex behaviors. Perceptual motor skills include body awareness, spatial awareness, directional awareness, and temporal awareness.1

1. Frost, Joe L., Sue Wortham, Stuart Reifel. Play and Child Development. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 2001. p. 164.

Dirty Dozen

The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) is committed to promoting safe play environments for children. When the National Playground Safety Institute (NSPI) was formed as part of NRPA, the NPSI Board of Directors along with their instructors prioritized a list of what they considered to be the top twelve safety issues that result in playground injuries. The list they compiled is generic in nature and easily understood as a reference for educators, parents, and caregivers as well as agency professionals. Published as The Dirty Dozen, the pamphlet has changed in appearance over the years but the content has remained the same.

Dodgeball

The game of dodgeball has been a popular childhood activity on the school playground as well as in physical education classes for years. Originally, the game was played primarily by elementary school children, but in recent years it has become a popular game for older children and adults in the form of dodgeball leagues and tournaments.1

1. “How to play DodgeBall.” Cool Games Live. < http://www.coolgameslive.com/Kids-Backyard-Games/Kids/Outdoor-Games/How-to-play-DodgeBall/menu-id-53.html > 23 June 2011.

Dramatic Play

Dramatic play is a form of symbolic play where a child pretends to take on a role of someone else, imitating actions and speech from earlier observed situations. When another person becomes involved in the play, it is called sociodramatic play. The elements of reality and make-believe are involved as children imitate real-life people and situations they have experienced, but because they are unable to imitate exactly what they have observed, make-believe enters their play.1

1. Frost, Joe L. Play and Playscapes. Albany, NY: Delmar Publishers Inc., 1992. p. 81.

Drawstrings

Drawstrings, particularly on hoods and necks of children’s clothing, can become entangled on playground equipment and cause death by strangulation.1

1. “Public Playground Safety Handbook.” Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), 3.2.1, p. 14.

Duncan Toys

The Duncan name is synonymous with the yo-yo which began with Pedro Flores in 1928 and his Yo-Yo Manufacturing Company. As an immigrant to the United States, Pedro thought of marketing the Philippine traditional wooden toy, the “yo-yo,” which he played with as a child. Though many cultures had a similar toy, it was the Philippine Tagalog language that gave it the yo-yo name, which meant “come-come.”1

1. “Duncan Toys Company – Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on Duncan Toys Company.” Reference for Business, Company History Index. < http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/37/Duncan-Toys-Company.html > 27 Jan. 2011.

DuraPlay Inc

DuraPlay is a rubber poured-in-place safety surfacing company based in Wimberley, Texas. They provide safe fall surfaces for playgrounds, theme parks, and childcare centers addressing the reality that 75%-80% of playground injuries result from falls to unsafe surfaces.1 They also provide poured-in-place surfacing for no fall zone areas, such as pool decks, spray grounds, walkways, and jogging paths.

Darren Toomey, who founded DuraPlay in 1999, was on one of the first crews to install poured-in-place (PIP) surfacing in the United States. Ten years later, drawing on his hands-on installation experience, Darren created a full-service company that installs anywhere in America.

1. “About Us.” DuraPlay. < http://www.duraplay.net/about.htm > 21 Dec. 2011.

Dynamo Playgrounds

Dynamo Playgrounds has been in business since 1993 and has corporate offices in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and Gijang-Kun, Busan, Korea. They have built playgrounds in some 50 countries on 5 continents around the world, in Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Canada, and many sites throughout Europe and Australia.