what makes a great park/playground

[time4tea]

I'm getting interested/involved in planning for our park, a bit concerned that consultation with all age-groups of children/young people and their parents won't be well done. as my DCs are small, I don't know much about what keeps various age-groups entertained, enthralled in parks, what sort of thing they find beautiful etc...

can you let me know what you liked/loved in parks as a child/young person and what your DCs love currently (if you could add their ages, that would be a great help)

I know there are a few organizations like Playlink that specialise in creative play for children, but also know from experience that there is no knowledge like MN knowledge...

something for the little ones, my son is 15 months he likes the swings but would like other 'stuff' to go on too. Such as a smaller slide....don't know whats out there though!

Good Luck

Toilets nearby and ideally a cafe.

Where we live they have just opened a great new play area and it is great except the whole surface is sand. Ds is short and so has to be tipped upside down every day before coming back into the house to get the sand out of his turnups or the house gets full of sands. Older kids throw it at the other kids too.

I think you need baby stuff located in the same area or very near the older kids stuff as most families will likely have, say, a toddler and a baby and you ideally need to be with tha baby on the small things but keeping a close eye on the older child.

If I asked my 3 year old he would say and ice cream van/kiosk is mandatory at all parks, even in winter.

plenty of seats for the mums

Clean tiolets

Lots of benches for mums (preferable with heated seats in winter

Enclosed so chidren cant escape/ dogs can't come in

A range of equipment sutable for different ages/abilities

Sand = not good, Very squishy flooring = good

Plants, bushes, greeery. I hate conderete places.

Hope it doesn't take you too long to get your park up and running. These things seem to take years around here!

Anything that goes round and round and round is popular with my three, who are 2, 4, and 9.

Enough space for the children to run around and play their own games as well as equipment. DS is 3.4 and enjoys being SuperToby with just his coat hood on his head as much as the slide/bridges/climbing frames etc.

Challenging stuff- his favourite pieces of equipment are the ones that I have kittens about him playing on because they're really meant for older kids but he loves them. (Or maybe I'm just being a PFB sort )

Equipment for different age groups - my girls are 2.7 and they're only just managing the bigger slides. And if you are with your smaller toddlers in the smaller toddlers area you're not so worried about bigger kids marauding across their slides and knocking them over - or if they do you are justified in asking them not to..

Enclosed spaces at top of slides once they get up steps, otherwise you help little toddlers up the steps and then have to run around to the other side in case they step into thin air (why oh why can't the platform at the top be surrounded by rails? Never quite got that it seems so dangerous to have an open drop).

Big sandpit with cover, so it doesn't get filled with cat pee and rain over night! Sandpits I think are great for little ones as well as they are happy playing and mums get to sit down for a bit - always a good thing!

Cafe and clean nice toilets are always a bonus.

football goals, paddling pools, cafe, toilets, separate area for dogs.

areas to shelter in.

challenging play equipment ie high slides, monkey bars etc.

we have one of those play rock things, though my son fell off it and squashed his nose pretty badly, so am undecided about them.

Enclosed area, esp for the younger children

Equipment for all ages - from tiny climbing frames and slides to more challening equipment

Ball areas separate from the play equipment

Area for older children - those old enough to play unspervised - away from the younger children's section

Plenty of seating for parents

Buggy/bike/doll's pram parking spaces

has anybody been to chiswick house recently. They've put ropes and handles on some of the trees so they are great for climbing. Even toddlers can get on the lower branches and bounce. There are also woods for running around in and ducks. - imo has to be the best park we've been to.