It is not so much the socialized medicine angle, as it is the character of
the Scandinavian. I lived in Norway for a year as a child and have been back
many times, and the reality of it is that they are tough, physically, and
they want their kids to be tough, and they do not pamper them. They have
high universal standards for fitness and for physical activity and they
expect most to be up to these standards. For example, my sister went to a
Norwegian preschool, and during midwinter the little kids were outdoors --
for the whole daily session! The culture thrives on such heroes as the
skiier who cut off his own foot- with the knife that they are all supposed
to carry for just such purposes - to escape being trapped. And so on. Over
the decades of watching them, I have actually been concerned that their
comparative wealth today (from N Sea oil) would make them SOFT, but this has
not happened.
Your geographer bud
Hilary LH

At 08:32 AM 9/3/99 EDT, you wrote:
>Fellow Pinheads:
>
>    Having just returned from a seven week sojourn in Denmark and Norway, I
>must report my observations about children's playgrounds.  There is a huge
>initiative afoot to use all of the elm trees which are presently dying of the
>occursed Dutch Elm Disease, for some socially edifying purpose.  There is
>quite a lot of sculpture being carved from the elms, but the really neat
>product being made is children's playgrounds.  The interesting aspect of
>these playgrounds is that they all include some opportunity for the kids to
>climb as high as 3 meters off the ground.  Most of the climbing structures
>have no safety provisions other than a sand bed around them.  Often as not,
>the climbing area is just a carved post with hand and foot holds like rock
>climbers use for practice.
>
>    I have been amazed to see these play areas with my American fear of
>litigation.  The Scandinavians assume that whatever helps a child develop
>hand coordination and physical strength is it's own justification.  There is
>an attitude that children will fall and that it's good for them to play and
>climb and fall-less than 3 meters.  I found this to be a very interesting
>attitude in a culture which goes to great length to protect the well being of
>it's children.  I suppose that socialized medical care and torte laws may
>come into play somewhere in the whole equation.
>
>Regards,
>
>David J. Dauerty
>
>To The Line Timber Frames
>
Hilary Lambert Hopper

"If I seem unduly clear to you, you must have misunderstood me."  - Alan
Greenspan