Sometimes children can act like perfect angels in public – and sometimes they need a little guidance.  But when the child in question isn’t yours, how far could you or should you go to take action against bad behavior?  Talking to the parents is usually a good first step, but other times it’s better to let the kids figure it out for themselves.  Click here for more advice on what to do when out-of-line bullies or even common childhood disagreements threaten your fun at the playground.

DOVER, OH - Two members of a Dover citizens committee working with the Park Board to build a state-of-the-art playground at Dover City Park revealed their recent fundraising efforts to Dover City Council Monday night.

Beth Aljancic and Jody Niklaus, who describe themselves as “two moms who decided that we needed a park and a playground,” are selling holiday yard art to help raise money for the project.

Their committee, known as Building a Dream, Dover City Playground Project, was formed in April and has raised $4,000 so far. Their goal is $325,000 to replace playground equipment with new age-appropriate and handicap accessible equipment over a rubbery, maintenance-free surface.

TUSCALOOSA, AL - In the middle of the ice storm of 1993, Verner Elementary school teachers, parents and community members got together in the freezing cold and built what they thought would be a playground that would last for generations.

They called it the field of dreams.

It had turrets. It had swinging bridges, a tire swing and multiple slides.

But over the last 15 years, the large, wooden playground deteriorated, with loose, rusty nails barely holding together weathered, splintered pieces of wood.

On Monday and Tuesday, the playground was torn down, much to the dismay of some students.

“They were totally devastated,” said Verner second-grade teacher Elizabeth Welch, who brought her students to watch the construction equipment at work.

Verner Principal Beth Curtis had to get on the intercom to reassure the children that even though the playground was being demolished, it would not be the end of their play space.

WHITE LAKE, MI - When the bell rings at 12:15 p.m. at Oxbow Community School, a mob of fourth- and fifth-graders slam through the doors onto the playground for recess.

They race to the best swings, compete for the best soccer ball and scream like they're at a rock concert.
 
Recently, the school got something it's deserved for a long time — a brand new playground structure to replace equipment that came with the school 35 years ago when it opened.

The structure was donated by Laborers' Local 1076 and Employers Cooperation and Education Trust (LECET), an organization that gives back to the community. The LECET program was founded 10 years ago to demonstrate how cooperative efforts between union contractors and union labor could positively impact a community.

KEARNEY, MO - Fifth-grader Andrew Shepherd smiles when he talks about the new playground at Kearney Elementary School. It has a rock wall and three slides — equipment that fits little kids and big kids alike.

“The first day, everybody wanted to play,” Andrew said. “They were pushing their way through.”

The former playground, which had been in place since the 1970s, was designed for younger children.

“There was nothing for the bigger kids to play on,” said Carol Taylor, a mother of a Kearney Elementary first-grader.

In addition to the new playground, Kearney Girl Scout Troop 3101and the AT&T Pioneers, the volunteer arm of AT&T, painted a new foursquare box and a map of the United States on the ground.

COSTA MESA, CA - The Costa Mesa City Council has approved the construction of the city’s first playground for the disabled. The $1.4-million project at TeWinkle Park will be funded through a grant from the state Parks and Recreation Department and private fundraising by the Angels Charity nonprofit.

Costa Mesa will also contribute approximately $200,000 to the project, said Doug Hansen, who founded Angels Charity with his wife, Jennifer, in 2003.

FT. WAYNE, IN - Fueled with the volunteer staples of coffee and donuts, about a dozen people arrived at Waynedale Elementary School early Saturday to assemble and install playground equipment.

While most of the neighborhood seemed to drowse through the quiet weekend morning, workers on the playground stood beside a looming mound of wood chips that was destined to cushion students who will climb on, dangle from and slide down the new equipment.

In the school’s gym, however, that equipment was still in pieces, though placed in neat piles, as volunteers undertook the daunting task of the “some assembly required” project.

Over the years, many American schools have improved amenities for students with disabilities by creating more inclusive classrooms and playgrounds.  Now a California activist is fighting for an even more level playing field - literally.  Rick Spittler knows the benefits of outdoor recreation, and thinks new legislation could help students with disabilities more actively participate in group sports in a league of their own.  To read more about his efforts and hear from his supporters, click here.

DENVER, CO - Denver Parks + Recreation Manager Kim Bailey was joined on Saturday, November 3, 2007, by District 1 Councilman Rick Garcia and other neighborhood supporters for the unveiling of the remodeled Berkeley and Rocky Mountain playgrounds.

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Located in Berkeley Park at 46th and Tennyson, the newly designed playgrounds were first targeted for remodel in the 2006 CIP budget. Because of public input, beloved elements such as the concrete sea monster at Berkeley and the concrete frog at Rocky Mountain Park remain a part of these playgrounds, but have been made safer with resilient rubber surfacing around their base. Originally created in 1967, the sea monster and frog have survived three playground redesigns.

Using these elements as cornerstones, Berkeley playground and Rocky Mountain playground were built with a theme of "Night Sky" and "Colorado Nature" respectively. Night Sky incorporates a space odyssey feel, while Colorado Nature has frogs, lily pads and other elements.

WACO, TX - They say it takes a village to raise a child, but it takes almost that many to erect a children’s center playground.

For two sunny fall days last month, members of Lake Shore Baptist Church joined with the parents and teachers of its children’s center to dig holes, hammer pilings, mix cement and shovel rocks, sand, dirt and wood fiber.

With volunteers from the Baylor Transfer Council and the Freeman Center, they also struggled with installing huge sunshade frames and helping to erect climbing and sliding structures.

The Rev. Dorisanne Cooper said the work crews had no idea “what an incredible community building experience it would be” when starting the process more than three years ago.

ATHOL, MA -  The wait for the re-opening of the Lake Park playground is over, and children who had eagerly awaited the event now have a safer, healthier place to play that replaces the old toxic playground.

Jacob Brissette, 8, is the son of Heather Brissette, who served on the playground committee, which kept fundraising efforts going and kept the project at the forefront. He said he thinks the new playground is a lot better.

He should know. He lives in the neighborhood and played on the old equipment, watched it come down, waited during cleanup and stared at an empty lot for two years, eagerly awaiting the re-opening.

Luckily for Jacob, the new equipment went up in only two days with the help of volunteers. He admits it was hard to wait, even for just two days.

“I like this a lot,” he said with a huge smile on his face while he played on the Mobius climber with a friend Friday. It was the first day the playground was open to the public after an inspection Thursday afternoon.

TUCSON, AZ - Installing jungle gyms or mini-soccer fields in the yard may seem daunting, but carving out play areas for children doesn't have to involve a major construction headache.

Designing a playground outdoors can be as simple as clearing a spot in the yard, making sure it's a safe space free of cacti — and asking the kids what they want to do there.

"Remember, your kids aren't going to walk a nice tight area around a play system," said Walter Koch, a home builder who recently finished installing a jungle gym for his 3-year-old daughter, Alli.

Note: This article is more about building playspaces in your own back yard instead of big, public playspaces.

BANNING, CA - Coalition building is a craft, and Greg Kirwin (akaboomerzoomer) seems to have some talent at it.

The Precious Blood development director, who lives in Banning, managed to assemble a team that included Riverside County Supervisor Marion Ashley, entrepreneur C. Allan “Chuck” Braswell, Beneficial Finance, KaBOOM! and the local archdiocese to finance a doubling of pre-school enrollment at Precious Blood School, 117 W. Nicolet St. in Banning.

Ashley was able to deliver some county funds because the pre-school is universal.

“This pre-school is open to anybody, not just to Catholics,” said Mary Ashley, the supervisor's wife, who toured Precious Blood with her husband on Nov. 1, met students and staff, and had lunch.

Supervisor Ashley said that quality pre-schools are “essential.”

“With so many folks moving into our area, and almost all of them families in which both parents have to work, they can't survive without strong pre-school programs,” he said. “They deserve our help.”

The first step in expanding the pre-school was to build a new playground for tots. Kirwin, whose daughter attends the pre-school, had attended a KaBOOM! playground building seminar and spearheaded the drive to upgrade the Precious Blood tot lot.

JOHNSTOWN, PA - By spring, a volunteer group will begin development of a new playground in Johnstown’s West End neighborhood.

The play area is part of a continuing effort to improve the Fairfield Avenue lot that also hosts the city’s skateboard park and a basketball court.

Having already assisted with relocating the controversial skate park to another part of Bheam School playground, West End Improvement Group now is moving forward on the playground project with help from a $2,500 grant.

“It’s going to be really nice,” said Marie Mock, the group’s secretary-treasurer.

The grant, from Community Foundation for the Alleghenies, will assist with landscaping and other site preparation for a playground.

With the help of over 5,000 municipal leaders gathering in New Orleans this week for the National League of Cities annual conference, KaBOOM! celebrated and honored the leadership of the 31 first and founding Playful City USA communities, our pioneers in play, and true role models for all communities across America who want to demonstrate that they put their children first.

The week was packed with exciting events and in KaBOOM! fashion left a lasting impact on both attendees and the local community.

Bob Nardelli    
Chairman and CEO, Chrysler

On Saturday, I had the privilege to be among a group of 325 volunteers who joined the nonprofit group Kaboom to build a playground for the children of the BEST Academy school in Highland Park.

We started early in the morning, warmed by coffee and the generous spirits of 200-plus Chrysler employees, 40 BEST volunteers and over 70 community members. We dug right in and built the main playscape structure, with the crowning glory, the long, twisty slide that took at least 10 of us to lift and mount.

You can read more here . To see photos of the build, check here .

Ruckus Nation is an online competition that challenges participants to imagine innovative products (e.g., games, devices, toys, and/or web-based, digital, or mobile solutions) that will increase physical activity among kids ages 11 to 14.

Hundreds of people from around the world have registered to compete in Ruckus Nation. Now, we're inviting people to serve as judges and help select winners. Judging is an online process that takes place in early December 2007. Think you can help identify the best ideas to get kids moving? Register to be a Ruckus Nation judge!

HopeLab, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the health and quality of life of young people with chronic illness, is sponsoring the contest. There will be more than $300,000 in cash and prizes for winning ideas. People of all ages may enter. Ruckus Nation contestants may even see their ideas come to life: The best product ideas will be prototyped, tested, and broadly distributed to young people.

For more information, please visit www.ruckusnation.com.  To register as a judge, click on "Register Now" and follow the instructions to sign up as a judge.

Please note: You can not participate as a Ruckus Nation judge if you or an immediate family member has entered Ruckus Nation as a contestant.

Ruckus Nation is sponsored by HopeLab (www.hopelab.org) and cosponsored by the Pioneer Portfolio of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (www.rwjf.org).

(I'm sending this to you, but among you, there is a rich well of talent and experience about children, play, and playspaces. Share it -- and, in the process, you might just see some really interesting ideas. Amy)

BURBANK, CA – For the first time in its 30-year history, FAMILY FEUD is hooping it up and fast-breaking for charity with the special sweeps event premiere of NBA Players vs. NBA Mothers Week. The first of five daily episodes will begin airing in national syndication on Monday, November 12th (check local listings), just two weeks after the tip-off of the NBA's 62nd season.

Host John O’Hurley will be on-hand to referee super-sized NBA star sons Grant Hill (Phoenix Suns), Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors), Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic), Cuttino Mobley(L.A. Clippers), Richard Jefferson (New Jersey Nets) and David Lee (New York Knicks) as they go head-to-head against their normally camera-shy moms Janet Hill, Frieda Bosh, Sheryl Howard, Jackie Mobley, Meekness LeCato and Susan Lee. He’ll guide both teams through a series of fast-paced survey questions and answers, but there will be more at stake than family bragging rights -- thousands of dollars in prize money for NBA Cares Community Partners. All money won by the players will go directly to KaBOOM!, a nonprofit organization that helps communities across the country build playgrounds, while their mothers’ will go to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

You don't have to be an NBA player to help make sure the KaBOOM! vision of a great place to play within walking distance of every kid in America comes true. You can donate directly to KaBOOM! here . If you are more interested in donating time than money, then look around your neighborhood. Are there places to play? Check the KaBOOM! Playspace Finder . Are they "great" places to play? Get on the KaBOOM! forums and find out how you can make your neighborhood a great place to play. Become a Playmaker to make even more of an impact .

More than a year later, steady tears are still normal for Janet Bean.

She and John would have been married 25 years in September, but his devastating murder last year, kept the two from celebrating their silver anniversary.

"You never get over it," said Bean, as she wiped her eyes.

She also may never have closure as the murder remains unsolved.

Every day Wanda Simpson walks by the desk where her sister Vicky Lynn Stroud McGraw used to answer phones and think up new business ideas for Simpson's pool supply company.

It's been nearly seven years since Simpson's baby sister was brutally murdered and now someone else occupies the space.

Nevertheless, it will hold lasting memories of McGraw.

"Vicky was a people person," Simpson said. "She was very outgoing and full of life."

Thoughts of the murders often fuel tears of sadness for both Bean and Simpson, but on Oct. 25, it was thoughts of gratitude for the 250 or so volunteers and for country music duo Brooks and Dunn that spurred tears of joy.

See photos of the build here.

Children now have playground equipment to use at Harrison Poolside Park in northwest Corydon, thanks to Boy Scout Kyle Stachewicz and the Leadership Harrison County Class of 2005-06.

The four swings, including two for handicap persons, and a unit that includes two slides and monkey bars, will be dedicated Sunday at 1 p.m. The public is invited.

Kyle, a member of Troop 22 in Corydon, wanted to build a playground as his Eagle Scout project. He had selected an area near the YMCA of Harrison County.

"I wanted a project that would last, that would be meaningful," said the 15-year-old who has been in Scouting since he was 5. A former senior patrol leader, historian and scribe, for his Troop, he now is the Troop's chaplain.

A playground seemed like a logical choice to the teenager who was used to living close to parks that had things for children to do. (The Stachewiczes moved to Harrison County about six years ago from the Chicago area.)

Congratulations, Kyle!

BRENTWOOD, NH — The Recreation Committee and the newly formed playground committee have good news. Members found out the company they had chosen to purchase playground equipment, which is to be installed next June at the Brentwood Community Center, would match funds dollar for dollar for purchasing the equipment. However the equipment must all be purchased and paid for by Nov. 31 when the company's program ends.

"We are really excited about this opportunity," said Recreation Director Donna Gill. "We were not expecting it."

The recreation and playground committees were originally planning to fund raise throughout the fall and winter and hoping to buy equipment to install next spring or summer.

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"The estimated cost for the playground project is $40,000," said Gill. "If we can raise $10,000 by Nov. 31 and the company will match that and we save $10,000."

The playground committee and the recreation committee met recently to discuss and approve several fund-raising options to achieve the goal. The first is a big ticket raffle. The prizes are a big screen TV, second prize is four tickets to a Manchester Monarchs game, and third prize is a $100 gift certificate to Telly's Pizza. Tickets will be sold one for $10 or three for $20. The committee is selling engraved spots on a commemorative granite sign that will be installed at the playground when it is completed as the second fund-raiser. People can purchase a 20 character space for a donation of $100 or more.

"Also Joe from Brentwood Farms Greenhouses will be at the Rec. center on Nov. 29 to offer a boxwood Christmas tree decorating class to residents for $20 and he is donating the proceeds to the playground fund," Gill said.

LAWRENCE, KS - Hillcrest School students, teachers and parents will be getting exercise Wednesday while trying to help keep a traditional Lawrence playground looking good.

The students will participate in the first Hillcrest Hawk Walk at Centennial Park aiming to raise funds to help paint equipment at Hillcrest’s Ryan Gray Playground for All Children, the only wheelchair-accessible playground in the city.

Wednesday’s walk will replace the school’s annual fall fundraiser.

“We wanted to do a walk because it just seemed healthier and more fun than hoisting around boxes of cookie dough,” said Julie Warren-Ward, the school’s PTO president.

Several schools have modified fundraisers to be more in line with the district’s wellness policy, she said. The students have asked family, friends and neighbors for donations in recent weeks, and parents have sought sponsorships.

The walk will be a start at funding about $6,000 for the PTO budget and about $15,000 to repaint part of the playground equipment. Warren-Ward said the PTO would re-evaluate how to proceed after the money is counted from the walk.

Drunks swimming in gin, smokers in body bags and dopers living with their parents deep into adulthood. Those are among the public service ads shown in the past.

But the government's new batch of obesity spots declines even to show a fat person, let alone wag a finger for gluttony or sloth.

No one is advocating public service announcements that ridicule fat people; experts say such spots would do more harm than good.

But critics complain that the three new spots premiering this month are a wimpy attack on the costly and deadly explosion of obesity in America.

"It's so namby-pamby I think people will shrug it off," said Michael Jacobson of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington-based advocacy organization.

The campaign discussed in this article is called Small Steps . Take a look. Do you think they are too soft? Log in and comment.

BRICK TOWNSHIP, NJ - Ayear ago, the Drum Point Road Elementary School playground was in desperate need of a face-lift. Rusted swings and slides sat on sand littered with glass and trash.

Today, that playground has been transformed into a recreation jewel that will benefit the school's students and the entire community, thanks to a joint effort between the township, the Board of Education and the Drum Point PTA.

"My hope is that each person will look at the space and envision what the space can be for them," said Principal Susan Genco. "The opportunities to think outside the box are endless."

The playground features a meandering path that leads from the school's building to a gazebo and small amphitheater, which can seat the entire student body of the school, or about 200 adults. Kirk Danielson of T&M Associates, Middletown, designed the playground.

New equipment, including a large jungle gym and swings, now sits on bonded rubber safety surfacing.

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The total cost of the project was $950,000 and was financed, in part, through grants and fundraising by the school's PTA.

"We even got a grant for the trees," said Genco.

CLARKSTON, GA - Clarkston Community Center, 8 a.m.

A soccer field worn thin of grass, piles of 4-by-4 lumber, stacks of concrete blocks, a mountain of black wood mulch and 100 happy volunteers blowing steam into the crisp morning air.

By 4 p.m. last Tuesday, the transformation had taken place.

In spots where parents and kids stood in previous years in hot sunshine to watch soccer or basketball games, there are now eight shade-giving pergolas. Benches, planters and newly hammered-together garbage bins are scattered around the field.

Freshly painted murals on boards brighten the area, and concrete blocks make up new raised planting beds in the community garden.

When the drought and water restrictions end, the soccer field will be graded and resodded.

Mark off project 901 from the list of 1,000 refurbished public playgrounds in the United States.

Home Depot and KaBoom, a national nonprofit that builds playgrounds around the country, have 99 more to go before their deadline of Dec. 31.

LAKELAND, FL - It's tough to resist a kindergartner's plea.

At Crystal Lake Elementary School in Lakeland kindergarten teacher Denise Williams came up with an idea to ask corporate donors to contribute money to build a playground at the school for kindergarten students and first-graders. And she let her children do the persuading.

Williams helped her students write their own letters and draw pictures, and she sent 8-by-10 photos of the class and the existing playground to companies with a request for donations.

"I wanted to tug at the heartstrings," Williams said.

Her plan worked.

Health insurance giant Blue Cross Blue Shield and railroad company CSX each contributed $15,000, Wal-Mart donated $1,200 and $2,500 came from the Votum Foundation, a Lake Wales charitable organization run by developer Larry Maxwell.

The school playgrounds of our parents and grandparents looked a lot different than modern plastic marvels – but although less fancy and new-fangled, they were probably used more often.  That’s because today’s schools have been limiting time spent outside at recess while increasing the rules and regulations that surround playtime activities.  Administrators have begun to recognize the need for equipment that is more age-appropriate, however, which can increase safety and fun for the children utilizing the playground.  For more information on the importance of developmentally-appropriate free play, especially during the school day, click here.