Parks and playgrounds: Let the twain meet
COMMUNITY PARKS CAN BE TRIFURCATED WITH SLIDES AND SWINGS IN ONE SECTION, PAVED TRACKS IN ANOTHER AND A GAME COURT WITH NET FENCING IN THE THIRD. LET’S LEAD OUR CHILDREN AWAY FROM PLAYSTATIONS TO THE PLAYGROUND
The world is our playground or so it is famously said. But then, why aren’t we playing enough? Being a typical Gen Xer, I consider playing to be an act of recreation undertaken by humans in communion with nature. For the uninitiated centennials, being a human means using your four limbs and not just the fingers for texting and gaming. And nature is earth, sunshine and fresh air, not artificial lights and air-conditioning.
There was a time when soiled clothes and a sweaty brow used to be a telltale sign of a day well spent on the playground. Though we still classify games as indoor and outdoor, but that’s where the semblance ends. While the indoor genre has grown by leaps and bounds, outdoor games are battling a multitude of threats.
I am not going to launch into a tirade against technology or its legit offsprings, namely the computer, mobile and other gadgets, for enslaving our youngsters. This concern is already being voiced on many platforms, advocating outdoor games for a healthy mind and body. We all agree that it’s imperative for children to engage in real, not virtual, games. Kids must play outdoors but the million dollar question is, where? Yes, that’s the question troubling me these days and that too when I am blessed with a postcard perfect park in front of my house. A paradox, isn’t it?
An adolescent, my son is well past the age of enjoying swings in the park and too young to take a stroll on its paved tracks. He likes to sweat it out in a game of football, badminton or occasionally indulge in cricket. But this is a classic case of where there’s a will, there’s not always a way. Daring to venture in the park with a ball or racquet proves their nemesis as they are constantly shooed away by one too many self-appointed guardians of the galaxy (read park). Children are chased like petty criminals and their weapons (sports equipment) impounded or destroyed, lest they trample the grass under their feet or accidentally hit a walker. At last count, one of these vigilant gentlemen has enough seized footballs to host a FIFA Society Cup.
It’s not that I am averse to the luxury of a green oasis amid the jungle of concrete or insensitive towards the safety of strollers. But I vehemently oppose the destruction of playgrounds in the name of ornamental parks. I resent the hostility elders exhibit towards youngsters, and the absolute disregard for a child’s right to play. In the absence of a play area, where do our kids play? On the unsafe streets teeming with maddening traffic, fancy sports academies or the apology for a playfield that a majority of schools boast of?
Why can’t parks and playground coexist? It’s time the twain meet.
Community parks can be trifurcated with slides and swings in one section, paved tracks in another and a game court with net fencing in the third. The local administration can identify unused government land and convert it into common playgrounds for neighbouring localities. Do whatever it takes to restore children’s right to play. Before outdoor games are relegated to history by their on-screen versions, let us lead our children away from playstations to the playground.