Interesting question and depending on whom you ask, the answer
will always be different. Ask the 7 year old and they will
invariably say that all manner of things are common, like music,
fashion, food, TV, media, music heroes and sport. Ask the 15 year
old and the answer is bound to be ‘nothing’. Ask a 15
year old to take their 7 year old brother or sister to a play-park
and the reaction will be ‘yuk - no way’. Ask the 7 year
old and the 15 year old individually to play on the same piece of
play equipment and you may be pleasantly surprised!
SMP Playgrounds designs a range of outdoor play equipment separated
into 3 age-related sectors: Early Years, Junior Play and Senior
Equipment. However, SMP has developed a new product that actually
cuts across the age boundaries between juniors and seniors,
appealing to the 7 to 15 year old age group. Whilst the 7 to 15
year age group is very broad, in the hands of SMP it eclipses into
a new genre, where cool becomes the by-word and the ages meld into
one. Children in this 7 to 15 years age range demand challenges,
excitement, stimulation and most of all differentiation from the
smaller children. Understanding these developmental characteristics
and play needs, however broad and demanding, has enabled SMP to
design and build a range of kit that 7 year olds and 15 year olds
flock to.
Children are usually divided up into age groups both by adults and by each other; however, this needs to be seen from a slightly different angle, one that measures the level of supervision. What you might call a classic public playground facility is where younger children will be taken by their parents, grandparents and supervisors. This is an area that SMP identified as being well catered for. The key observation here is that the adult supervisor is the main influence to children visiting these types of facilities.
As the age bracket for play equipment moves upwards, a new style of playground appears that appeals to the older children and the ‘tweens’. This is where a new generation of product lines such as SMP’s Nexus range sits comfortably. Although, still mainly based on ‘play’ activities, Nexus focuses on such experiences as climbing and exploring and excitement through movement and challenge. An older child may well be the demanding force in visiting this play space as it’s fun, cool, and more exciting than others around. However, there will probably remain a level of hands-off supervision by adults nearby.
Child development and learning research is commonly used by the most reputable play equipment manufacturers to set the parameters for skill types and the challenges or activities that the equipment can provide. This type of research can also suggest ways in which children of a certain age or development stage might react to shape, colour, or texture.
However, SMP takes this a step further as there are many other factors that will affect how children interact with their play environment and how they act within play or sports spaces. One key current social trends is ‘KGOY’ – Kids Getting Older Younger, also known as ‘age compression’. This is now a well-documented social trend and is partly responsible for creating what the toy industry terms ‘tweens’. These are children who fall into the 8-12 years age bracket and are marketed to as a specific consumer group. Now the 8 year olds of days gone by are the new 13 year olds, with the 13 year olds becoming the new 16 year olds. The kids of this age group are forming close-knit social groups, which operate within a mature and complex social hierarchy. They all desire a place of their own to play, and this must satisfy their need to belong.
The youth culture that these kids are a part of has made them incredibly brand aware, much less interested in traditional toys and pastimes and far more switched on by technology. Technology now forms a major part of children’s entertainment, social interaction, information gathering and brand awareness. This is something that is only going to increase and SMP believe that for any product to be successful there must be a link to these cultural desires and many other strong influences such as fashion, music, sports, magazines, the Internet and computer games. Changes in trends, fashions and technology happen at an ever-quickening pace which means that ‘tweens’ demand change in their social and play environments to meet the expectations set by these influences.
In September 2004 SMP launched the Nexus range, breaking into a market that was only just being considered by the play industry. The ground-breaking designs of the first Nexus models were perceived as truly innovative and exciting, leapfrogging anything else that the market had to offer, with the focus being on exploration rather than dictating play functions. This was built upon as SMP expanded the range throughout 2005-6. The key to the success of Nexus was in understanding what it was that kids in this target age bracket considered cool, what they spent their time doing and researching into the influences that come from all around them.
A strong current trend bought-into by millions of ‘tween’ age and teenage kids is adrenalin sports, especially snowboarding, skateboarding and surfing. Here one can see the strong presence of big brand names and all the obvious links with showing off and being cool. From these key influences, SMP developed and launched the latest addition to the Nexus range in September 2006. This was Freeride, a perfect example of a new product that has taken on board all of these important factors to offer both the style, functionality and the aspirations that will easily resonate with ‘tweens’ at an age where being cool and showing off is all important. This has moved the idea of ‘playing’ well away from young children’s play areas and into an arena where tween kids will actively seek out and visit park facilities they can call their own, getting them outside, socialising with their peers and being active while away from the TV. Parks must have this ‘unsupervised’ appeal to succeed in attracting our young adults to them.
Bridging the age groups between a traditional industry divide of Juniors (typically 6-10 year olds) and Seniors (usually considered to be 10 years+) was a strategic key objective for the Nexus range. The success is easy to see when kids are observed playing on Nexus. The older children are naturally attracted by the dynamic look and the fact that is it clearly not something for the ‘little kids’, with a challenging mix of activities as well as a cool place to hang about. The slightly younger ones naturally aspire to join in with this and although some functions may well be difficult to master at first, this does keep them coming back time after time until they can achieve their goal.
To learn more about SMP visit www.smp.co.uk
The Association of Play Industries Federation House Stoneleigh
Park Warwickshire CV8 2RF
T +44(0) 24 76 414999 ext 208
F +44(0) 24 76 414990
E api@api-play.org
Association of Play Industries (API) : Federation House : Stoneleigh
Park : Warwickshire : CV8 2RF
T +44(0) 24 76 414999 ext 208 : F +44(0) 24 76 414990
: E api@api-play.org W
www.api-play.org
