This is also partly true of backyards, and tends to limit children's use of such spaces. Unkempt garden areas with a wider range of insect life and a less disciplined ecology have greater fascination for children. Landscaping, especially by public authorities, tends to be for 'show' rather then for use. At the other extreme, the yard can be devoted entirely to children's use, often with the consequence that only the hardiest vegetation survives. Children are looking for challenge in complex manipulable environments and are particularly attracted to natural landscapes.
Parents seek to minimise dangers to children.
These result in negotiation between parents and children over suitable play spaces. Generally girls' territories are more heavily restricted than boys by parents. In 1883 school inspectors complained that school playgrounds were neglected bare areas with no trees or vegetation. One of the most influential books on school playgrounds of the time suggested in 1874 that boys and girls should be separated by a six foot wall, and that boys needed most of the play area. Play was an extension of the class room with discipline and formation of character paramount.