Playgrounds are thought to becoming too "safe" for children, hindering them from the chance of exploration and risk taking.

Tina Dyer, a speaker at today's the City is a Playspace conference, says finding the balance of safety while providing risks is hard, but not impossible.

New Zealand now follows the European safety standard which allows children the chance to climb freely up to three metres.

"We're aiming to prevent death or serious injury, but we're not aiming to stop every injury."

Ms Dyer says as playgrounds around the country evolve they should continue to incorporate more challenging obstacles for children to use.