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Aislin loves hanging out at the playground near her school. She made it her personal mission in life to conquer the monkey bars this year. So much so that she spent a few weeks with blisters on her hands and now has hardened callouses! At five years old she has hands like a teamster.
It's far for us to drive just to play in the park, but we are often in the area for swimming lessons. She even asks to go early so we will have time to play on the school playground. Across the parking lot from her school playground is another playground area owned by the Park District. The kids aren't allowed to play over there when school is in session, but if I'm there I allow it. There's a sprinkler and some swings, play equipment and wood chips.
After our recent experience, I am re-thinking my judgment.
We had some time before swim lessons, and were hanging out in the playground. Some kids were playing basketball nearby but there wasn't anyone else on the playground but us. Aislin was wearing her swimsuit and doing her circuit on the monkey bars. I was sitting in the shade not far off. A little while later a young woman came up carrying some equipment -- she was dressed in street clothes (not a uniform) but moved around the playlot measuring things (like the depth of the wood chips) and taking photos. As I watched, she took a few photos of Aislin, too.
Um. Excuse me?
I am generally not alarmist about strangers taking photos of my kids. If someone's at the park taking pictures of their own children and mine are there, too, I don't mind it. On more than one occasion we've been at some festival or other and a photographer with a badge has asked to take Aislin's picture. I don't mind that. I even post photos of my kids for all the world to see on my blog.
But if a stranger just walks up, out of the blue, with no child in sight -- man or woman I might add -- and starts snapping photos of my child alone, you better believe I am going to question him or her!
Which I did.
As it turns out (and I verified this story with the park district staff) this young woman was a technician with Children's Memorial Hospital.
The Injury Free Coalition for Kids of Chicago at Children's Memorial Hospital sponsors a Safe at Play Initiative.
Technicians, like this young woman, visit parks and playgrounds and test the equipment to make sure it's safe for kids to play on. She had a comprehensive checklist and an odd set of tool, including two plastic handles -- one the size of a child's head and one the size of a child's shoulders. She was placing them between the bars of the equipment to make sure that the spaces were small enough to prevent a child from squeezing between them. She took photos of the exposed bolts, splintering wood, and strips of rubber that used to be baby swings. Her data would be used to make a report of recommendations for the Park District in the hopes that improvements could be made.
This particular park, she said, has been in a bad state of repair for years. Year after year it fails the safety inspection. So far, the city has done nothing to improve it. The park district has let it languish, mainly due to the fact that no one in the neighborhood has made any noise demanding that improvements be made.
We are not even talking about aesthetic improvements here, but necessary safety measures!
Last year, a group of parents from the school banded together to form a Friends Of group. They raised a significant amount of money to replace the deteriorating roof on the swimming pool. Hopefully this playground can be the focus of their next project. For my part, I am going to try to get a copy of the safety inspection to include in the appeal for funds to improve the playground.
My dream for this park would be to get a KABOOM playground but I'm not even sure how that would happen.
I had no idea that the Injury Free Coalition for Kids even existed!
Maybe you didn't either? If you have a crumbling, unsafe playground in your area, take it upon yourself to contact The Coalition for a safety inspection.
Amy Hill
alhill@childrensmemorial.org
773-880-3993
Then, call or write your Alderman's Office to let them know that you, as a parent, are unhappy about the conditions in the park. Citizens who care -- who care enough to demand changes, can greatly improve the conditions, safety, and beauty of our parks and playgrounds. These are our public spaces. If we don't the initiative to care for them, who will?
Want more Little Kids, Big City? Follow me on Facebook! I'm also on Twitter @2pinklines.
30 Jun, 2011
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Source: http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/little-kids-big-city/2011/06/is-your-local-playground-safe.html
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