Governors Island Playground Teaches Parents Risk-Based Play

Workshops at The Yard help New York City parents build childhood resilience by teaching them when to step back.

Updated on Oct. 28, 2026 in Child Care

Governors Island Playground Teaches Parents Risk-Based Play

Live Poll

Should schools and playgrounds allow children more freedom to take physical risks during play?

The Yard, a 20,000-square-foot adventure playground on Governors Island, is teaching New York City parents how to foster resilience through risk-based play. Since 2025, the nonprofit play:groundNYC has expanded its mission by hosting family workshops for local parents.

Why it matters

The organization aims to help children build self-trust and resilience by encouraging independent risk management. This approach shifts traditional parenting styles by training adults to limit intervention during unstructured recess or play time.

The Yard covers 20,000 square feet on Governors Island and has served over 100,000 children since its 2016 opening. The nonprofit currently partners with six public elementary schools in New York City to implement its risk-based play model.

The players

play:groundNYC

A nonprofit organization that promotes adventure play and trains educators on the benefits of self-directed, risk-based childhood activity.

Steph Skaff

The executive director of play:groundNYC who advocates for integrating risk-based play into school and home environments.

The details

Playworkers at The Yard supervise the space while allowing children to use tools to build structures, such as forts that can reach 8 feet in height. During family workshops, facilitators ask parents to reflect on their own childhood memories of unsupervised play to better understand how to step back. This method is now being extended to classrooms, where school staff are trained to reduce intervention during recess to foster student self-reliance.

2016: The Yard playground opened on Governors Island.
2025: The nonprofit began hosting family workshops for parents.

The Home Front

This development marks a departure from traditional school recess supervision standards in New York City. It aligns with a broader movement to rethink institutional safety policies in favor of child-led developmental resilience.

Parents can consider incorporating elements of independent, risk-based play at home by providing children with tools for structured building projects. Families interested in the workshop model can monitor the play:groundNYC schedule to join future sessions on Governors Island.

The takeaway

Fostering child resilience often requires parents to intentionally step back from managing every detail of playtime. Reflecting on your own childhood free-play experiences can be a helpful starting point for identifying where to loosen supervision at home.