14 August 2013

Giulia wants better playgrounds with "a mother's touch"

| johnboy
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The Liberals’ Giulia Jones is banging the drum on playgrounds:

Playgrounds are vital to the life and development of communities across

Canberra, according to Member for Molonglo Giulia Jones. Today Mrs Jones said some playgrounds are in urgent need of an upgrade and many need fences so that mums, dads and child carers can have a chance to relax whilst watching their children play.

“What these playgrounds need is a mother’s touch,” said Mrs Jones.

“Canberra has some wonderful playgrounds but not many that are fenced enough to give parents a real break.

“There are two playgrounds in Rivett that both suffer from neglect, aged equipment and peeling paint.

“The new ‘nappy valley’ of Canberra, Gungahlin, has only one small children’s park, which is situated between two busy roads with no fence and very little equipment.

“Canberra has many good children’s parks, but even the wonderful new playground at the Arboretum has no gates on the two openings of the perimeter fence which means carers are stressed about their children’s safety the whole time.

“It seems that parents have not been asked what is really needed. I think the Government is focussing on the city to the lake lifestyle pictures, but not on the lives of kids and parents in the suburbs. I think the Government could do better,” concluded Mrs Jones.

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wildturkeycanoe2:41 pm 16 Aug 13

sepi said :

A couple of calm kids 3 years apart sounds pretty easy to manage. At those ages you can get the older one to watch the younger one, or just let the older one look after themself and focus on the littlie.

Lots of people have 3 kids under 4. Some kids are well behaved, but just run like crazy. Other kids have no fear and try to surf down the slide when they can barely walk. Others like to terrorise other people’s kids.

You can’t run in two directions at once, let alone 3.

Guilia’s ‘mother’s touch’ is a bit off, but she is onto something with the fence idea. It is common in other states, why not here? Just build one, and see how popular it will be.

It isn’t so you can ignore your kids, it is so you can actually climb the slide with one of them, or lift up to the monkey bars, without the other two disappearing into the distance.

Is it up to the taxpayer to make the world “kidsafe” to suit the few people out there who are crazy enough to have multiple children at once? How on earth do these parents do the shopping? How do they even get the kids to the playground safely from the car, or from their house if they walk? Having difficulty controlling so many children at once is a lesson sorely learned, but shouldn’t be society’s problem.

A couple of calm kids 3 years apart sounds pretty easy to manage. At those ages you can get the older one to watch the younger one, or just let the older one look after themself and focus on the littlie.

Lots of people have 3 kids under 4. Some kids are well behaved, but just run like crazy. Other kids have no fear and try to surf down the slide when they can barely walk. Others like to terrorise other people’s kids.

You can’t run in two directions at once, let alone 3.

Guilia’s ‘mother’s touch’ is a bit off, but she is onto something with the fence idea. It is common in other states, why not here? Just build one, and see how popular it will be.

It isn’t so you can ignore your kids, it is so you can actually climb the slide with one of them, or lift up to the monkey bars, without the other two disappearing into the distance.

It’s ok folks, they’ve been steadily removing the fun – I mean dangerous bits – from parks for years: the Weston Park Mouse House and tree houses; the ‘highwire’ and swing at the Kambah ‘Adventure’ Playground; the big slide at Wanniassa Shops…in my local park they even removed the low-hanging branches so you can’t even climb the trees.
You could probably leave your kids there all day and be reasonably confident that they wouldn’t hurt themselves…

wildturkeycanoe8:34 pm 15 Aug 13

peebus said :

miz said :

Looks like wild turkey has never had the experience/responsibility of taking several children of differing ages to the park at once, on his own.

Actually I think his comment was incredibly well justified. If your children are too much to handle out in public together, maybe teach them how to be.
My mother coped just fine with 2 young children at the park when I was a wee-chap. Why’s that you ask? Its because I was disciplined as a child – I knew right from wrong, and as a result she was able to take me out in public without having a breakdown like many of the parents on RiotAct seem to have.

Soooo wrong you are. 3 children, approx. 3 years apart in age. I have enjoyed and still delight in taking them to the park, from when they were in strollers until now when they can almost go to the park without supervision. I’ve been to parks all over Canberra and elsewhere in rural N.S.W. I have never had to run after any of them because they decided the road was a more interesting place than the slippery dip, statue or maze of rope netting. Even though they went different directions sometimes, they were insecure enough not to leave sight of me or each other, probably because they were told not to leave my sight. No, I didn’t crack a whip or smash skulls to imprint this. I just told them the realities of what might happen should a stranger snatch them or what a moving car could do if they ran out in front. If you can’t handle two unrestrained children under 4 years of age in a public space without the need for safety barricades, then you have a serious issue that shouldn’t be the responsibility of the taxpayer to rectify. Positive parenting [whatever that is] and a bit of discipline, combined with actually spending quality time with your kids at the park instead of sending emails on your i-phone, is what children really need. Fences aren’t the answer.
Perhaps Giulia shouldn’t worry so much about the lack of fences, rather, to make a bold assumption [as seems so popular on Riotact] with her own and husband’s full time jobs taking up so much of that “quality time”, should we be concerned at who IS looking after the runaway kids?

justin heywood8:17 pm 15 Aug 13

poetix said :

What annoys me about the OP is the idea that a mother can automatically design playgrounds. What?

Crude populism.

What annoys me is the idea that parents can design/train their kids to be ‘well behaved’. Some kids are wilder than others despite their parent’s best efforts – it doesn’t necessarily mean that the parents are lazy or don’t care. Conversely, a well behaved child is not necessarily a ‘beaten’ one. You get the child that comes out, and there’s only so much you can do to change their nature.

Parenting is a tough job. I was the complete expert on it until I had my own.

“a mothers touch” seriously?

Someone buy Giulia a can of paint if it means so much to her.

What annoys me about the OP is the idea that a mother can automatically design playgrounds. What?

Crude populism.

miz said :

Looks like wild turkey has never had the experience/responsibility of taking several children of differing ages to the park at once, on his own.

Actually I think his comment was incredibly well justified. If your children are too much to handle out in public together, maybe teach them how to be.
My mother coped just fine with 2 young children at the park when I was a wee-chap. Why’s that you ask? Its because I was disciplined as a child – I knew right from wrong, and as a result she was able to take me out in public without having a breakdown like many of the parents on RiotAct seem to have.

sepi said :

Wait til your 10 month old is 2 and can run, and your 3.5 yr old is hanging off the edge of the slide by one fingernail, while the 2 yr old is running for the road as fast as they can, and then tell me a fence wouldn’t be helpful.

If you have 2 or 3 little kids then you really can’t take them anywhere close to a road and let go of them.

If you can’t handle your kiddies… don’t have them! I’d suggest buying a turtle… much cheaper, better behaved, and much much easier to catch if heading for the road!

Looks like wild turkey has never had the experience/responsibility of taking several children of differing ages to the park at once, on his own.

No playground at Dickson maccas – they took it out and put in mcCafe for the daramalan students.

Aside from which, the great outdoors is kinda nicer, and even a bit of grass is quite pleasant.

McDonalds and Monkey Mania have fenced playgrounds for those that are unwilling to use a public playground that isn’t up to their standards.

Fencing of playgrounds isn’t just needed so “lazy parents” can relax. There are a significant number of families who have children with higher needs than some of the perfect parents commenting here – which means taking them to an unfenced park can be a daunting prospect. A fence with a gate, or even just a barrier to a road etc can make a difference for those families and give their children access to facilities that we all take for granted.

Grimm said :

sepi said :

Wait til your 10 month old is 2 and can run, and your 3.5 yr old is hanging off the edge of the slide by one fingernail, while the 2 yr old is running for the road as fast as they can, and then tell me a fence wouldn’t be helpful.

If you have 2 or 3 little kids then you really can’t take them anywhere close to a road and let go of them.

Was never a problem for me….
But then, I disciplined my children. If I yelled stop, they damn well knew to stop.

Yeah, lets fence in more parks so inattentive, lazy, neglectful parents can sit around ignoring their children rather than doing some actual parenting and supervising them. Will there be rolls of bubble wrap and tape at the gate to the parks as well?

By ‘disciplined’ I’m assuming you mean ‘beat’.

sepi said :

Wait til your 10 month old is 2 and can run, and your 3.5 yr old is hanging off the edge of the slide by one fingernail, while the 2 yr old is running for the road as fast as they can, and then tell me a fence wouldn’t be helpful.

If you have 2 or 3 little kids then you really can’t take them anywhere close to a road and let go of them.

Was never a problem for me….
But then, I disciplined my children. If I yelled stop, they damn well knew to stop.

Yeah, lets fence in more parks so inattentive, lazy, neglectful parents can sit around ignoring their children rather than doing some actual parenting and supervising them. Will there be rolls of bubble wrap and tape at the gate to the parks as well?

sepi said :

Wait til your 10 month old is 2 and can run, and your 3.5 yr old is hanging off the edge of the slide by one fingernail, while the 2 yr old is running for the road as fast as they can, and then tell me a fence wouldn’t be helpful.

If you have 2 or 3 little kids then you really can’t take them anywhere close to a road and let go of them.

I agree, we definitely need some more off leash areas for our kids.

It doesn’t really matter if people think parents ‘should’ want fenced playgrounds.

the fact is parents do and there is huge demand for one, as shown by the popularity of Cafe injoy, partly becuase it has a tiny fenced area the size of a bathroom, with two little plastic forts in there.

some people love this, whereas it does seem a bit kiddy-jail like. But a normal playground with a big fence all around it, and a gate – heaven.

I am two minds. I think fences help for those parks near busy roads, however the playground at the shopping centre in Batemans Bay is an example of a badly fenced in play area – that really is a kiddy jail, and it is a seething mass of children at the height of summer.

sepi said :

Wait til your 10 month old is 2 and can run, and your 3.5 yr old is hanging off the edge of the slide by one fingernail, while the 2 yr old is running for the road as fast as they can, and then tell me a fence wouldn’t be helpful.

If you have 2 or 3 little kids then you really can’t take them anywhere close to a road and let go of them.

I disagree.

Also … http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-kinnear/5-things-parents-need-to-stop-saying-to-non-parents_b_3573670.html

Wait til your 10 month old is 2 and can run, and your 3.5 yr old is hanging off the edge of the slide by one fingernail, while the 2 yr old is running for the road as fast as they can, and then tell me a fence wouldn’t be helpful.

If you have 2 or 3 little kids then you really can’t take them anywhere close to a road and let go of them.

Madam Cholet11:45 am 15 Aug 13

There are many parks around the place that seem to be perpetually fenced off – but with the fencing of those doing the upgrading – so you can’t actually get to the equipment. Unfortunately the fencing seems to be there for really long periods of time, so much so that you abandon going to these particular parks. I would imagine that a lot of the fencing is related to vandalism of the equipment as well as standard upgrades.

Not that you always need equipment. Kick a ball or fly a kite as we have been doing lately.

Mr Evil said :

Gee, Gulia’s really onto the big issues in Canberra: first it was the scourge of abandoned suburban petrol stations – now run-down, unstress-free suburban playgrounds……

What a ficken waste of several thousand votes this useless, freeloading, disabled carpark-abusing blimp really is!

Yes, as every Canberran knows she should be focused on the important issues in our lives like gay marriage, asylum seekers and climate change.

screaming banshee said :

Yes, how can we possibly be expected to take our kids somewhere unless we can lock them in and ignore them?

This +1. With 2.5 year old and a 10 month old, I find it incomprehensible that she wants a fence to substitute for, oh hell I don’t know, WATCHING YOUR OWN DAMN KIDS.

A chance to relax while watching their children play? Lady, your priorities are skewiff. Put the soy latte down along with your smartphone and engage with your goddamn children at the park.

Buy a map, lookup the location of the parks at Yerrabi Pond, Forde, Crace, and Springbank Rise, and you will see Gungahlin is already well served for children’s playgrounds.

If you want a fenced off area where your loved one can run free, try the dog parks at Forde and Springbank rise. But a word of advice, it is still appropriate to watch those you are responsible for there too.

>There are two playgrounds in Rivett that both suffer from neglect, aged equipment and peeling paint

There’s also a “new” one close to the Rivett shops. Between Nealie Place and the Reformed Church. Rivett Community Park

So new it’s not on Google Maps.

I’m ambivalent on this, but there are better examples in the other non-Rivett Weston Creek suburbs.

wildturkeycanoe6:57 am 15 Aug 13

“many need fences so that mums, dads and child carers can have a chance to relax whilst watching their children play.” Wrong. The whole point of supervising the children and watching them is to prevent them from going AWOL. If they want to relax, let the kids out in their own backyard where there are fences and the parent/carer can relax in front of their favorite TV show. Parks and open spaces are beautiful outdoor areas that do not require prison-like walls due to the laziness of those in charge of their young-uns. They are locations where kids can run around freely, exploring the grass, climb trees and throw sand in each others’ eyes. Put them in a cage, seems to be the way to raise kids nowadays. Either that or keep them bound in captivity in front of the TV or i-pad. If the carers were to actually play “with” the kids instead of dumping them, like they do at the kiddie play areas at the shopping mall, we might have a slightly better adjusted generation in the future.

It makes a world of difference to potential residents of a suburb if there is a nice local park – and not only for children, but because it is green space.
re playing areas for children, it would make a HUGE difference if there was more seating with *actually shady* trees. Gum trees don’t cut it in the shade stakes.

screaming banshee6:18 am 15 Aug 13

Yes, how can we possibly be expected to take our kids somewhere unless we can lock them in and ignore them?

Mr Evil said :

Gee, Gulia’s really onto the big issues in Canberra: first it was the scourge of abandoned suburban petrol stations – now run-down, unstress-free suburban playgrounds……

What a ficken waste of several thousand votes this useless, freeloading, disabled carpark-abusing blimp really is!

Hit the nail on the head! +1

Gee, Gulia’s really onto the big issues in Canberra: first it was the scourge of abandoned suburban petrol stations – now run-down, unstress-free suburban playgrounds……

What a ficken waste of several thousand votes this useless, freeloading, disabled carpark-abusing blimp really is!

I do wonder if some of the suburban parks have fallen off the master spreadsheet deep in the bowels of TAMS. I’m a little reluctant to draw attention to my local one, in case they decide to demolish it instead of sprucing it up…

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd9:44 pm 14 Aug 13

All of Weston creeks parks are hot trash. Most of them the same ones I played on growing up 20 odd years ago. Nearly all powder coat is gone and tan bark is non existent. I have seriously considered taking a angle grinder to my local one so my kids can at least get a nice fresh playground as both canberra connect and tams don’t seem to give a damn.

Wow – I agree with Guilia. Kiddy parks throughout NSW and Vic are often fenced and it makes a park visit sooo much more pleasant and doable. In the ACT, if you’re outnumbered by really young kids the small suburban parks near roads are a deathtrap.

“Canberra has many good children’s parks, but even the wonderful new playground at the Arboretum has no gates on the two openings of the perimeter fence which means carers are stressed about their children’s safety the whole time.”

What total rubbish.

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