Some child-development experts and parents say decades of dumbed-down playgrounds, fueled by fears of litigation and concerns about injury, have led to cookie-cutter equipment that offers little thrill. "We don't give our children enough roaming space to help them test their limits or to help them become confident in their physical skills," says Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek, a professor of psychology at Temple. "Sometimes when we protect people too much they never learn to take healthy risks."