Your Public Playground as Your Child’s Gym
Gyms that cater to children are more expensive than the gyms that adults go to. The rates per hour skyrocket because kiddie gyms require a higher ratio of staff per child, to make sure children are safe. Moreover, the equipment requires higher safety standards.
Even with a worsening economy, you cannot take your child’s health and happiness for granted. There is a way to keep your child happy without having to spend a lot. All it takes is a little creativity and a little more quality time with your kids.
Scouting for a location
Contrary to generations of parenting lore, you are not limited to just the playground in your neighborhood. Do a little research—do a little playground hopping.
Let’s put a little system into your search for THE playground. You can start from the one nearest your home; if that doesn’t satisfy your child’s needs then ripple outward. This way, you’re sure not to miss those closest to your place.
I actually recommend picking one that’s a few blocks away, but close enough for you and your child to walk to. This way, you already get exercise just by walking to and from your chosen playground.
What it should have
Some blog posts back, we talked about public playground essentials. Use this as your guide in determining whether or not each playground you check meets your child’s basic fitness needs.
But to stress a point about playground safety, the first thing to consider is whether or not the candidate playground has rubber mulch flooring—the perfect safety flooring. It also absorbs impact, and it’s non-toxic. Colored rubber mulch also plays a big role in making the playground more interesting for your child, making fitness an enjoyable part of his day rather than a chore.
The most important thing however, is to make sure that every trip to the playground you make with your child counts as a fitness program and a chance to spend quality time together.
January 14th, 2009 at 8:14 am
[...] time is fun time. However, you can always incorporate a form of light training that benefits your child’s performance. You can hammer down the importance of warming up and cooling down by [...]