The Shovel

One of the most problematic aftermaths of play is physical harm, which can be induced, mostly unintentionally, by any one participant upon another. However, this does not imply the need for the involvement of more than one person to be any scope of physical danger, as soemtimes it is the very act of play, that in itself leads to harm. I rememeber this piece of news from my childhood about a kid who somehow procured fireworks, and decided to play with them. Things did not go as he had planned, and instead of creating a mesemerzing display of flickering lights in the sky, he ended up with some fireworks going off towards his face and into his eyes, permanently mutilating his vision. Moreover, I can recount numerous incidents from my personal stash of childhood experiences, which highlight how play can lead to physical harm, if not monitored or carefully enacted. My brother was a victim of one such careless act of play, in which me and my cousins were "digging canals" in a soil patch in our back yard. As all the adults were sleeping, we successfully got hold of some gardening tools, including a shovel which my cousin accidentally landed on my brother's finger, almost chopping half of it off. Consequently, we were banned from induging in any form of play for the next few weeks, or at least until my the stiches on my brother's figers had healed. Both of the afore mentioned incidents took place in the absence of adults, which makes me come to the conclusion, that even though sometimes the presence of an adult figure hampers the orginiality of children's play, it is crucial in ensuring that children do not end up injuring themselves or others.