Drug syringes and suspicious characters
SOME parents have become wary of bringing their kids to playgrounds after finding their conditions to be below par.
Mother of two boys, Jasmin Choy, has even found drug syringes in a playground.
“It is very thin, something that some parents may not be able to notice,” says Choy, who is an administrator of Facebook parenting group Malaysia Education Info.
She says an added danger is the exposed rusty metal in many playgrounds.
“Based on my experience, parents will accompany kids to the playground and they know which ones are faulty. So they will stay away from it.
“Such unused playgrounds will then become wasted resources,” says Choy, 46.
She also notices the uneven flooring in play areas, which could put children at risk of injuries.
Suggesting that playground sets be equipped with awnings to provide shade, Choy points out that doing this will enable kids to play much longer.
“I was in Sydney with my kids and I loved the awnings used to keep the sun away. I think kids need that.
“Playing builds imagination and muscles,” she says, adding that playgrounds in Australia also came with fences to prevent the little ones from running out onto busy roads.
Tailor and father of two Lee Kian Loong finds public parks to be rather rundown and isn’t comfortable with the idea of bringing his children there.
He says he normally brings his kids to the private playground in his guarded community, which is well-maintained.
“Most public playgrounds do not look safe, especially if the equipment is rusty.
“Who knows if the metal chains may break while your kid is sitting on the swing?” he says.
Lee, 33, also claims that some public playgrounds are frequented by suspiciouslooking characters, which may put off families from going there.
Fomca secretary-general Datuk Paul Selvaraj says the poor state of playgrounds should be addressed quickly as Malaysians want their children to play in somewhere safe.
“I have seen many playgrounds in dire conditions. Often times, the equipment is rusty, while some are broken and have sharp edges jutting out.
“The springs on see-saws and rockers are sometimes uneven, making it questionable whether they can bear a child’s weight,” he says.
While resident associations can lodge complaints about the bad conditions, he says it is up to the local authorities to act on them.
“Local councils should make playground safety a priority.
“People will avoid playgrounds which are defective as parents won’t feel safe bringing their kids there.
“This defeats the purpose of why they are set up in the first place,” Paul says.