\u201cThis is supposed to be a playground for toddlers,\u201d she states.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I refuse to believe that anyone with a 2-year-old signed off on this.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, there\u2019s nothing out of the ordinary about this mother\u2019s reaction, Hewson explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese kind of reactions are common, it\u2019s almost like verbal processing as someone\u2019s trying to understand something they\u2019ve never seen before,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOften the reaction of the public, at least early on when I first opened the parks, was this kind of dismay and outrage.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut then the kids, you know, embrace the thing and it translates to the carer or parent, \u2018Oh, actually, no, this has been very well thought out\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Acting Lord Mayor Roshena Campbell, who heads up the planning department for the City of Melbourne Council, has told news.com.au that, despite parents\u2019 initial fears, the \u201cSouthbank Boulevard Play Space has been an incredibly popular destination\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth local families and visitors across Melbourne enjoy the space and we have always put safety first,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery element is firmly secured and thoroughly tested in consultation with child safety experts.<\/p>\n
\u201cResearch has shown the benefit of risk-based play to build confidence, resilience and problem-solving skills. We are incredibly proud of this award-winning playground that supports children\u2019s development.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hewson added that his \u201crisky play\u201d projects aren\u2019t actually dangerous, they capture the \u201cfeeling of precarity because they imitate decaying natural forms, when in reality they\u2019re just as, if not more, solid than the standard set of play offerings\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to prepare the kids for the real world, and what is the real world made out of? Hard materials that don\u2019t care about you. You know?\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t mean that you try and make stuff for kids to bash their heads on. That design in Southbank has been carefully done so that, you know, stuff\u2019s not in the running zone, and you don\u2019t accidentally run into things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Koval\u2019s video was flooded with comments from those trying to explain that this type of play, where the child is challenged by a thrilling or \u201crisky\u201d activity, is crucial for healthy development, as discussed in a 2024 report that delved into \u201cnavigating the balance with injury prevention\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cTeacher here, this is risky play. So important for child development. Children need opportunities to independently assess risk, manage fear and deal with failing and struggle,\u201d noted one.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat might look haphazard is actually the result of years of expertise, material investigation and a deep passion for allowing kids to truly play,\u201d added another.<\/p>\n
As one mother mused: \u201cRisky play is extremely important. There should be more! Build confidence with every step.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, some shared concerns with Koval, declaring: \u201cYou\u2019re not wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot normal and not okay. As an architect and mother I say this is a very dangerous set up for toddlers,\u201d raged another.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s just a hospital visit waiting to happen,\u201d stated someone else.<\/p>\n
Koval has since addressed the feedback to her video, which has been viewed 211,000 times, telling news.com.au the reaction shows there needs to be \u201cmore education\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat really stood out to me was how divided people were,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome parents shared the same concerns, while others strongly supported the concept. I also had a few parents reach out privately with stories and photos of injuries their children had experienced on similar playgrounds.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean these spaces shouldn\u2019t exist, but it showed me that the concerns some parents have come from real experiences, not just our fear or imagination.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hewson added each of his parks in Australia, which are also located in St Peters, Leichhardt and at the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney and one in Wollongong City Centre, are designed to be inclusive for all ages.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was trying to focus on all the different age groups, so if you look at some images on my website, you can see all ages use it,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the other thing, I\u2019ve stopped the playgrounds, just called them parks, because I don\u2019t know why we\u2019re trying to alienate big sections of the population.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sign up to Herald Premium Editor\u2019s Picks<\/a>, delivered straight to your inbox every Friday. Editor-in-Chief Murray Kirkness picks the week\u2019s best features, interviews and investigations. Sign up for Herald Premium here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThis is supposed to be a playground for toddlers,\u201d she states. \u201cBut I refuse to believe that anyone…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":489322,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[74,27518,3595,13849,33965,213006,11676,37772,78,1899,101,123,117,111,139,69,3766,34522,3168,8214,213,86844,223,1961,22187,416,6923,35111],"class_list":["post-489321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-after","tag-asking","tag-by","tag-citys","tag-designed","tag-divide","tag-hell","tag-horrified","tag-in","tag-kids","tag-left","tag-melbourne","tag-new","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-parents","tag-playground","tag-shared","tag-sparked","tag-sports","tag-terrifies","tag-the","tag-this","tag-unusual","tag-video","tag-what","tag-zealander"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=489321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489321\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/489322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=489321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=489321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=489321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}