Randy, Heather and their two sons Ethan (7 years old) and Colton (5 years old) spent two weeks of their summer attending the Park n Play programs in their local community. This family lives in the Killarney/Glengarry Community.
Park n Play is a free drop in program held outdoors at various community sites across the City. These programs are a partnership between The City of Calgary and the Community Associations. There are a variety of activities included in this program from active games and activities to arts and crafts and many special guests. There was a Creative ArtVenturers Van that visited many sites to help kids use their imagination to create and learn about art. This program also incorporated the message of GO2, encouraging kids to build physical activity into their daily routines to help create a pattern that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. Her sons GO2 stickers lived on their hats for most of the summer.
Why was this community program important for your family?
They were able to walk to a program in their community rather than being driven to an activity. It provided an opportunity for the boys to be interactive with other kids, even in the summer when a lot of families go on holidays. Heather feels it is very important for her children to play with other kids in an environment that keeps them active all day.
The variety of activities that were included in this program encompassed all aspects of healthy living beyond physical activity. Ethan is a very scholastic child. He enjoys the creative expression, healthy eating trivia games and art programs. Her other son Colton is very active and is the athlete of the family. This program provided Colton with his outlet to be physically active and play games.
The visits from the Tummy Tamers provided the kids with healthy snacks and nutritious lunches. Her sons would not normally eat pretzels or a plain loaf of bread. However, since they had been given to them and they were their own, they really enjoyed them.
Ethan met a friend he had not seen since kindergarten. Park n Play is a great opportunity to re-new old friendships and also to create new friendships. It creates a sense of community and gives it that small town feel.
Staying active as a family
Heather and Randy know that both their children need to be active every day. They value getting out and being physically active as a family. Kids are not given as many opportunities to be kids and just play. A lot of programs and activities are too focused and kids are not getting enough of the imagination play. They often head out as a family on weekends and go for hikes and walks. One of their favorites is to head to Weaselhead and do some bird watching. Ethan brings his bird book. This past weekend they took a Sunday drive and went to the Big Rock out in Okotoks. The kids spent the day climbing all over the rock and being active. Heather and Randy call them hikes but to the Ethan and Colton they are adventures. One day they walked 6 km and the boys were not even tired. By making the adventures interesting they don’t even realize they are doing physical activity.
For Heather and Randy they recognize it is very important for their children to be well balanced in all their life activities. If they are eating healthy, sleeping well and provided opportunities to be active they are happy children. More importantly families do not have to spend a lot of money to be active. There are so many local parks and playgrounds that don’t cost any money and they are close to your home. In addition, with programs like Park n Play that are free and in the community it provides an opportunity for families that do not have a lot of resources with a place to go.
Visit our activity tips for additional ideas on making active play interesting.
