Children of Truong Son ward (Sam Son city) play at the newly built community playground.
When the playground becomes a luxury
Ms. Vu Thi Hang in Dong Ve ward ( Thanh Hoa city) shared her fear every time her child has a summer vacation: "After school, my child just stays at home, watching YouTube and playing games. At first, I forbade him, but then I had to give in because there was no place for him to go out and play."
Ms. Hang’s house is not near a park, and the entertainment facilities are expensive and far away. “I used to take my child swimming, but the pool was always crowded, and it took a lot of time to keep an eye on him. Once he almost drowned because he bumped into another child,” she said.
Worrying about her child’s dependence on screens not only affects her physical health, but also makes Ms. Hang afraid that her child will lose the ability to communicate, have few friends, and become irritable. “If children cannot run and jump, how can they develop comprehensively? I wish every neighborhood had a public playground for children to play safely every summer afternoon,” Ms. Hang said.
Sharing the same concern, Mr. Tran Van Luc in Bac Son ward (Bim Son town) has two sons in primary school. When summer comes, because there is no playground near their house, the two children often go out to the sidewalk to play soccer or run around. “The playground is only about 1 meter from the street, and there is a lot of traffic. I work all day, and at home, only my grandmother takes care of me, so I am always worried,” Mr. Luc shared.
Once, his eldest son was hit by a motorbike while chasing a ball rolling onto the road. Luckily, he was not seriously injured, but from then on he was even more haunted.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Luyen in Louis apartment building (Dong Huong ward, Thanh Hoa city) has an 8-year-old daughter. Although living in a modern residential area, the playground is too small, has no exercise equipment, is located next to a main road, and has no fence. “I took my daughter there a few times but felt very unsafe. Cars drove close by, there were many people passing by, and she couldn’t play anything but run around. Now she just stays home watching TV or playing alone,” she said.
According to Ms. Luyen, not being able to communicate and play with friends has made her daughter withdrawn, quiet and passive. “She used to be very active and agile. But since last summer vacation, I have noticed that she is reluctant to interact and is no longer interested in participating in group activities.” She used to take her daughter to life skills centers, but the busy schedule and high costs made it impossible for her to maintain this for long.
Listen to children through action
No one denies that children deserve to play, laugh, and breathe fresh air instead of being confined within four walls or hugging electronic devices. However, for many families, the question of “Where to let children play this summer” is always unanswered when public land funds are shrinking, new parks and playgrounds are still vacant lots, or patched together with some degraded equipment. In that picture, it is fortunate that in many places, small efforts have contributed to warming up the childhood sky for children.
For example, in Sam Son City, in recent years, the movement to build playgrounds for children in wards and communes has had many positive changes, contributing to realizing children's right to healthy play and entertainment. Typically, since the beginning of the year, the Youth Union of Truong Son Ward has coordinated with businesses to organize the inauguration of a children's playground at the Trung Moi Residential Group Cultural House. With an area of 50m2 equipped with basic exercise equipment such as slides, swings, seesaws, the project is not only a meaningful gift for children but also a testament to the spirit of volunteering for the community of young people. Next, the city government's trade union presented a sports and exercise facility to Quang Vinh Kindergarten with a total cost of 38 million VND contributed by officials and civil servants. The playground is 100m2 wide, covered with artificial grass, equipped with exercise equipment to help children develop comprehensively physically and mentally...
Not only in Sam Son, in Nhu Thanh district, the “Life Skills Festival” organized by World Vision in 4 communes attracted nearly 1,800 children to participate. The skill stations and physical games at the event brought joy of “learning through play”, helping children practice thinking, connect with the community, opening up a model of playground combined with learning that should be replicated...
Such models show that with just an open policy, flexible coordination and perseverance from the community, the playground does not need to be too big, just needs to fit the needs. When designed appropriately, managed and protected by the community, the playground will be a safe, healthy space, even becoming a "medicine" to heal the immature soul and nurture the personality of children.
According to authorities, the root cause of the lack of playgrounds stems from a planning mindset that does not consider children as the center. Land funds for cultural and sports facilities are often narrowed or combined with other projects, lacking specialization. Many localities, although having public land funds such as old cultural houses, public land..., are stuck in procedures for converting functions, leading to delays or missed opportunities to renovate them into community playgrounds. In addition, investment funding for public playgrounds is often fragmented, unsustainable, mainly in the form of "campaigns", not ensuring long-term maintenance.
To solve this problem, the relevant agencies need to recognize the urgent need to build playgrounds, and at the same time change their planning mindset, placing children at the center of urban and rural infrastructure development. Legal regulations also need to be more flexible, creating favorable conditions for localities to easily convert public land into public playgrounds. Along with that, the budget needs to be allocated stably, prioritized annually instead of following the movement. Mobilizing businesses, social organizations and people to contribute, manage and protect playgrounds also needs to be encouraged and expanded.
Children do not ask for big things. They just need a clean yard, a simple slide, a fun seesaw and loud laughter with friends. From these small and simple things, a healthy, confident and happy generation will grow up steadily. Don't let summer be just a blank memory in the journey of children growing up, let's listen to children with practical actions, today and for the future.
Article and photos: Tran Hang
Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/dung-de-tre-khat-khong-gian-tuoi-tho-nbsp-trong-nhung-ngay-he-252692.htm
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