Getting our children active
The health benefits of exercise are well known. Most people now accept that to live a healthy, happy and importantly long life they need to consider the amount and type of exercise they’re doing along with their diet. It’s also well known that Australia is one of the most obese countries in the world. For a lot of people the realisation that exercise is important doesn’t come until they’re a bit older and often it’s too late. What we really need to focus on is getting our children active, because if we build the right habits in the next generation we may just given them a chance to live a better and healthier life than our generation. It’s also important that we try and counteract the impact of the internet, social media and computer consoles because effectively they’re making our children less and less active.
Adventure Playground
The Adventure Playground in Melbourne’s South is a great opportunity to get kids active whilst also developing them socially. The Adventure Playgrounds (APG) are community wellbeing hubs that build positive outcomes for children and young people. They have been referred to as neighbourhood ‘backyards’ and give local children the chance to use their imagination and engage in ‘risk-taking’ play in a supervised environment. The Adventure Playgrounds are staffed during opening times and filled with climbing structures, trampolines, cubbies, natural play spaces and heaps more. They offer programming and excursions and are designed for and best suited to 5-12 year olds. The playgrounds value the role of free, unstructured activity in helping young people to grow and develop. They are based on the fact that play needs to present controlled challenges and risks to young people to aid personal growth – if exercise is fun it’s not hard to see how it will soon become a habit and the benefits will flow on to later in life.
The playgrounds are spaces where children use their imagination, run, climb, create, jump and play with animals (turtles, rabbits, and chickens) and have the opportunity to be children. In today’s risk-averse world, such opportunities are rapidly disappearing. The playgrounds also offer leadership opportunities for young people, by way of assisting to develop programming, sourcing funding and offering mentoring opportunities. With two of the five Adventure Playgrounds in Australia housed within South Melbourne this is a great opportunity for local residents to really make a positive impact on their children’s future. The added benefit is that seeing the kids running around and enjoying being active will probably inspire you to get more active! While the kids are at the playground in South Melbourne you can fit in a Personal Training session!
Opening times
Mon-Fri 3.30pm-5.30pm
Weekends 12pm – 4.30pm
Holidays 12pm – 4.30pm
Street Address: 211A Dorcas Street, South Melbourne
Telephone +61 3 9209 6352
Email: bmeyers@portphillip.vic.gov.au