i think some people rightly think that parents are overprotective of children. there was that thread about how all men are being treated like predators, and that seemed like a valid point. there's lots of media hysteria, some of it justified, some of it not, regarding the safety of children, and nothing, but nothing, is going to attract women viewers between the ages of 18-45 more than if you tell them their children are under attack, but there are the following things you can do to protect them.
i do think that kids, on the whole, are more coddled than they used to be. i do think that kids should be outside more than inside playing Wii. i do think that being allowed to roam sparks an active imagination. i do think that there are too many rules at school and, say, at the public pool (where i lifeguarded for years, and i did think it was insanely over regulated).
so i understand the impulse, but i don't think that safer playground equipment comes into play here. if you were the unlucky kid who stepped on a rusty nail and had to get shots, or fell off the slide and broke your leg and missed the 2nd half 3rd grade, or got his hand crushed by the metal merry-go-round, i don't think you'd feel so nostalgic.
i view these things like seatbelts and airbags. there's nothing wrong with being safe. there's nothing wrong with not breaking your arm. and i don't see how it impedes fun, but then again, what's fun about stepping on a rusty nail?
seems like that swing mentioned in the first post is loads of fun, until the rotting wood snaps and the child goes flying and breaks his tailbone on a rock and has to miss playing soccer for the rest of the fall.