A UK play expert says Northland children's playgrounds are 20 years ahead of their British equivalents.
Director of Bristol-based non-profit Outdoor Play and Learning (OPAL) Michael Follett visited Okara Educare yesterday and said Northland kids were far more engaged with outdoor play, with a lot more outdoor play space than their British counterparts.
"It's so much better than the UK. It's about 20 years ahead," he said. "There's less pressure for school readiness - letting young children be young children."
He was shocked to see a toddler at Okara Educare pulling a trolley around the playground barefoot. "You wouldn't find UK children in barefeet."
But young children shouldn't be in shoes because of the development of their balance, he said.
"They feel the world through their feet just as much as their hands, and we wouldn't make them wear gloves.
"It's best not to be in shoes until at least 18 months - it's good practice to be barefoot."
Mr Follett specialises in the design of the play landscape, following a long career in the industry, including working as a trained playworker, early childhood education teacher, education advisor, and driving "play buses" around Yorkshire - double-decker buses fitted with play environments for children.
He was invited to come to New Zealand after meeting Toni and Robin Christie, directors of Kiwi business Childspace, at a conference in San Francisco. He spoke in Whangarei on Tuesday night as part of a nationwide tour.
He said the designs of New Zealand playgrounds are much more adventurous and not as safety-obsessed as UK playgrounds.
"That Kiwi thing of 'have a go' - you see that in the design."
He also commends the making of all children's playgrounds in Northland smokefree.
"Smoking and children don't go together," he said.
"And I don't think it's good for children to see adults smoking."
Educare general manager Marianne Walker yesterday showed Mr Follett outdoor playgrounds at the Okara, Norfolk St, Kensington and Hikurangi branches, as well as some non-Educare centres.
"He can see how we are working with the different spaces and he's really pleased to see we've incorporated nature into them."
That was the main focus of Mr Follett's discussion on Tuesday night - keeping the natural element in playgrounds, she said.
"How the textures and changes in nature are shown in the playground."