Playgrounds are Scary

When I was a kid, I thought playgrounds were awesome. On just about any given day, if we went to a playground, that was the highlight of my day. I can tell from their reactions that the kiddos feel exactly the same way. As great as it is to see the kiddos having a fun, the moment I stepped onto a playground for the first time as a parent,  I was terrified. Playgrounds are scary. For parents, that is, not for the kiddos. And therein lies the problem. By all rights, the little guys should be afraid of playgrounds, or at least some of the attractions at the playground. 

Why is it that every playground needs to have a 6 foot drop without a rail? Seriously, when is that ever a good idea? The worst thing is that, for some unknown reason, those spots are the ones that 2-3 year-olds are most interested in. Hey look, there's an awesome slide, or we could go play on the swings, but no, they want to run up to the dropoff with careless abandon. I swear, I see some playgrounds and I just wonder to myself the whole time how many kids get injured there every week.

Am I just a paranoid parent? I don't think so. I hope not. At least, I always thought that I would be a pretty laid back dad, and in a lot of ways I am. But seriously, playgrounds freak me the hell out.