Fannin Luke D, Thayer Zaneta M, Dominy Nathaniel J
Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA.
Graduate Program in Ecology, Evolution, Environment, and Society, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA.
Evol Med Public Health. 2024 Aug 19;12(1):143-155. doi: 10.1093/emph/eoae017. eCollection 2024.
Play is an essential part of childhood, and growing attention has focused on the potential health benefits of 'risky' or 'thrill-seeking' play. Such play behavior is readily observed on any playground, where it can sometimes lead to injuries--most often from fall impacts--that require medical attention. Monkey bars account for ~7% of childhood arm fractures in the USA, an alarming statistic that raises difficult questions over its costs and benefits. Many authors view monkey bars as a public health hazard, but it is plausible that our childhood impulse toward thrill-seeking play is a result of selective pressures throughout our primate evolutionary history. Indeed, emerging evidence suggests that the developmental benefits of thrill-seeking play extend into adulthood, outweighing the occasional costs of injury. Disparate and consequential, these dueling perspectives have fueled debate among health professionals and policymakers, but with little attention to the work of biological anthropologists. Here we call attention to the hominin fossil record and play behaviors of non-human primates, providing a novel perspective that bolsters arguments for the adaptive significance of thrill-seeking play. The moment for such a review is timely, for it commemorates the centennial anniversaries of two playground icons: the jungle gym and monkey bars.
玩耍是童年的重要组成部分，人们越来越关注“冒险”或“寻求刺激”的玩耍对健康的潜在益处。在任何一个操场上都很容易观察到这种玩耍行为，有时它会导致受伤——最常见的是跌倒撞击造成的——需要医疗护理。在美国，攀爬架导致的儿童手臂骨折约占7%，这一惊人的数据引发了关于其成本和收益的棘手问题。许多作者认为攀爬架是一种公共健康危害，但我们童年时期寻求刺激玩耍的冲动很可能是整个灵长类进化历史中选择性压力的结果。事实上，新出现的证据表明，寻求刺激玩耍的发育益处会延续到成年期，超过了偶尔受伤的代价。这些截然不同且影响重大的观点引发了健康专业人员和政策制定者之间的争论，但很少有人关注生物人类学家的工作。在此，我们提请关注古人类化石记录和非人类灵长类动物的玩耍行为，提供一个新的视角，支持寻求刺激玩耍具有适应性意义的观点。进行这样一次综述的时机很及时，因为它恰逢两个操场标志的百年纪念：攀登架和攀爬架。
