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sign Department and inspired by
<br />Brown's book Play: How It Shapes the
<br />Brain, Opens the Imagination, and In-
<br />vigorates the Soul, Norquist sought to
<br />create what his company has now
<br />revealed as the Expression Swing.
<br />"The really significant difference in
<br />this particular invention is it's a par-
<br />ent-child or a caregiver -child experi-
<br />ence," Norquist says.
<br />Inspired Design
<br />The Expression Swing's design in-
<br />cludes a bucket seat for children with
<br />an adult swing seat that allows the
<br />caregiver and child to interact with
<br />each other and observe each other's
<br />facial expressions during play. Ad-
<br />ditionally, it allows for what Brown
<br />describes as "31) movement." "If you
<br />take a 14 -month-old child, massive
<br />things are happening in brain devel-
<br />opment at that time," he says. "Relat-
<br />ed to exploration and movement the
<br />child...has a lot of urge to move with-
<br />in 3D space, with gravity being part of
<br />the equation. The design of this swing
<br />allows the flexibility to have face-to-
<br />face mixed -age play occur in a climate
<br />of 3D movement. That is stimulatory
<br />for good things going on in the brain.
<br />If you have socially comfortable chil-
<br />dren who are safe and well fed, and
<br />they engage in 3D movement in cli-
<br />mate of play, it lights up their brain
<br />and is incredibly good for them."
<br />The swing went through three years
<br />of development and rigorous safety
<br />testing before its reveal in April of this
<br />year. Norquist himself participated
<br />in the testing, putting the Expression
<br />model through its paces with his own
<br />three-year-old granddaughter. "Her
<br />favorite thing to do is to swing with
<br />Papa T.," he says. "We look at each
<br />other, we talk, we have eye -to -eye con-
<br />tact — it's very genuine and hard to
<br />describe. I can tell you emotionally it
<br />is one of the most riveting things that
<br />has happened to me in my life."
<br />A Larger Mission
<br />GameTime's Expression Swing" is
<br />innovative, yet the science underpin-
<br />ning its emphasis on attunement, and
<br />informing its embrace of psychology,
<br />is time -tested. Its release also comes
<br />at a time when play, its benefits and
<br />the consequences of depriving a
<br />child of play is under increased scru-
<br />tiny. Nature -themed and adventure
<br />playgrounds are very much in vogue,
<br />with their emphasis on organic play,
<br />problem solving and good old-fash-
<br />ioned utility for blowing off steam.
<br />Conversely, and simultaneously, the
<br />act of play is being suppressed in
<br />communities across the country. In
<br />January, some elementary schools in
<br />Orange County, Florida, came under
<br />scrutiny for eliminating recess in fa-
<br />vor of more study time, leaving par-
<br />ents to worry over their kids getting
<br />adequate exercise or becoming too
<br />restless. Similar measures have been
<br />taken in Alabama, Wisconsin, Neva-
<br />da and other states.
<br />According to Brown, such mea-
<br />sures are recipes for disaster. "A close
<br />look at the biology and neuroscience
<br />of play reveals it to be a fundamen-
<br />tal survival aspect of all social mam-
<br />mals," he writes in a June, 2014 blog
<br />for the National Institute for Play.
<br />"The linkages from the objective
<br />findings in animal play deprivation to
<br />the clinical findings in humans are, as
<br />yet, unproven. However, the physiol-
<br />ogy and anatomy is similar, and the
<br />inability of play -deprived animals to
<br />deter aggression or to socialize com-
<br />fortably with fellow pack members
<br />is demonstrable. The remediation of
<br />these socialization deficits in the an-
<br />imals by inclusion of play... reveals
<br />the effectiveness of play as a means
<br />of achieving more social normalcy
<br />and nonviolent alternatives..."
<br />To put it simply, play is important
<br />for healthy psychological develop-
<br />ment. "When a child is not allowed
<br />to play, is over -controlled by a parent,
<br />etc., and the urge to play and be free
<br />from within is stopped, whether from
<br />illness, poverty or other circumstanc-
<br />es, there are real consequences that
<br />occur," Brown continues in his inter-
<br />view with Parks & Recreation. "In an
<br />adult you can track play depravation
<br />and relate it to mood shifts, rigidity
<br />in thinking ... The importance of ear-
<br />ly attunement play spans a lifetime."
<br />As play research and child psy-
<br />chology continues to inform how we
<br />view recess time and the value of a
<br />good teeter-totter session at the local
<br />park, both Norquist and Brown fore-
<br />see a trend sweeping the playground
<br />equipment manufacturing industry
<br />that will beget many more mindfully
<br />created products like the Expression
<br />Swing. "GameTime has invested a
<br />tremendous amount of time and re-
<br />search behind the scenes, and I hope
<br />this drives other [companies] to im-
<br />prove methodologies to include this
<br />kind of research," Norquist says. 4
<br />Samantha Bartram is the Executive Editor
<br />of Parks & Recreation magazine (sbartram@
<br />nrpa.org).
<br />WWW.NRPA.ORG I AUGUST 2015 1 Parks&Recreation 87
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