Mothers planning safe-play facility for young

Fortunately, several of the fast food outlets and a mall in New Minas had constructed safe toddler play facilities. He could jump, climb and interact with children his own age for extended periods while we watched him with delight. From my perspective, nothing is more pleasing than laughter, particularly the laughter of a child, and he was so happy.

Play builds the imagination, promotes social skills, advances physical development and helps kids work through emotions. To a certain extent, children need free rein to experiment with the world around them and the emotional world within them. This means they need multiple safe venues to pursue the ‘business of play’.

Pretending, or imaginative play, is one of the cornerstones of a young child's world. Imaginative play gives your child a sense of control as he interprets the dramas of everyday life and practices the rules of social behaviour. During the pre-school years, through constructive peer interaction they learn to negotiate, cooperate, and hopefully share, which is a very difficult concept even for adults.

Different types of physical play help develop different skills. Key is balance, strength and coordination. Gross motor skills, such as running, throwing, and pedaling improve first but fine motor skills aren't far behind. Play also helps kids work through stress and crankiness. Without adequate time for active play, your child may become grumpy or tense or possibly obese.

In our community there are really no publicly accessible safe play facilities for our youngest citizens. A small group of mothers has decided that they will attempt to rectify this deficit. They know that careful planning and thought must go into designing a safe but challenging playground that meets individual needs and interests and age characteristics and abilities of the children who will use the resource.

In collaboration with Digby Area Recreation Commission, Crystal Harris and Elizabeth Conrad have formed Mothers on Playground Society (MOPS). It is their hope to have a venue constructed by next September that will meet this need within our community. To that end they are currently involved in a fundraising initiative to build the fence around their location. For each $20 donation, an engraved plaque will be placed on the fence recognizing the donor.

They will also be seeking funding from various public and private sources to meet the projected budget of $40,000. MOPS will be holding an information and strategy session at the DARC meeting room on Dec. 8 at 6:30 p.m. For more information, please call 245-2916. Kristy@ns.sympatico.ca