Parks in India


If we were childless travelers, I doubt we'd have noticed. But since we have two children, one of whom is able to say "I want to go to the park" until you can't bear it anymore, we've had to brave a couple of India's parks.

If you grew up in the United States in the 70s or earlier, you probably recall parks something like the parks we've been to in India. First off, all the equipment is metal. Second, the slides are steep (pitches of 30-45 degrees). Third, though everything was once painted primary colors, the dominant color now is rust.

The teeter totters in the above picture are the type that could really hurt someone. At their apex, the seats are 3-4 feet off the ground. If the person on the low end suddenly gets off, the person on the other end comes crashing to the ground. We managed to keep Claire and Luc from hurting themselves until they ventured to the slides. Except for the torn sheet metal at the top of the slide, and the steepness of the slides, these may have been the safest activity at the two parks we've been to so far. They have handrails the whole way down, and Claire has a pretty good technique for controlling her speed. They let out right at ground level, however, so failing to stop yourself with your feet can result in a sore bum.

The swings are probably capable of decapitating an unsuspecting child (Luc, for example). They are basically metal seats hanging from chains (or, at the second park we visited, splintering wooden planks attached to chains). It's hard to describe how stressful it is keeping Claire and Luc from injuring themselves at these playgrounds. Amazingly, it's also hard to describe how much fun they have. Today we had to lure Claire away with the bribe of another "special treat."

Posted: Sat - December 3, 2005 at 01:50 AM          

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