When I was little, my father used to bring me to the playgrounds near our home. We had three options – one with a slide, fireman’s pole, swings and large sandpit; another made of stone, with tyre swings; and finally, the one at our local McDonald’s, with a ball pit. I never did master the fireman’s pole, but my father always patiently helped me “slide” down it.

Now that I have two toddlers, we too spend many happy hours in playgrounds. Here in Brisbane, we are spoilt for choice. There are various new features which surpass the playgrounds of yore.

Waminda Street Park, Morningside

Swings

One of my favourites is the parent-and-baby dual swing, where you can sit facing your child and swing in tandem. It often elicits great delight.

I have a treasured video of my son giggling with glee on such a swing in the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens. Alas, it is currently under repair, but we located another at Waminda Street Park in Morningside, which also features a digger in the sandpit.

There are similar tandem swings in New Farm Park, Merthyr Park, Carindale Recreation Reserve and Biami Yumba Park at Fig Tree Pocket.

Slides

McDonald’s Indooroopilly

Another firm favourite is, of course, the slides. Whether covered or uncovered, they provide a rush of exhilaration.

Now, my children enjoy climbing back up the slides from the bottom, as I did when I was small. Apparently, this is fantastic exercise for their hamstrings and strengthens core muscles.

Brisbane City Botanic Gardens

We came across an interesting slide with rollers at the City Botanic Gardens. A friend commented that it looked like something her family farm had for fruit and vegetables. My son was fascinated with the bumpy sensation.

I bought a small slide off Gumtree, which the toddlers now use at home to climb up to their change table (and sometimes, they use it as a ladder to access shelves and table tops).

Sometimes my husband or I would go down a larger slide with our tots, but this has to be done carefully to avoid leg injuries.

Tunnels, Bridges and Hamster Wheels

My daughter loves roaming through the tunnels of Hercules Street Park, near Brisbane Airport. It makes for some awesome photos!

She also enjoys confidently crossing the bridge at the Hills District All-Abilities Playground in Leslie Patrick Park, Arana Hills, an extensive honeybee-themed play area with seven slides (including one with rollers) and large egg-shaped swings for disabled children aged 5-12 who may need more upper body support while swinging.

Another fun feature is human-sized hamster wheels. We had a go on those at another playground in the area. Unfortunately, the site was destroyed by arson shortly thereafter.

Pedal to the Metal

An amazing feature we found in Perrin Park, Toowong is the pedal monorail. My toddlers are too short to pedal yet, but they enjoyed holding on while we pedalled or pushed them around the circuit. There are some other parks with this epic feature, such as Pine Rivers Park in Strathpine.

Warning: The pedals at Pine Rivers Park seem to be locked in tandem, unlike those at Perrin Park, which move independently; my son sustained a bruise and bleeding from being hit by a pedal because he is too short to use the pedals, but tall enough to be hit. He has to wrap his legs around the section below the handlebars to keep them safely out of the way. In the end, we had far more fun and less stress in the many other sections of Pine Rivers Park! There is a pedal coaster that spins in a tilted circle as two people pedal furiously away on either end.

We also discovered a couple of playgrounds with toddler-sized helicopters. The one in Wendy Turnbull Park, Bracken Ridge, comes with pedals for a good workout (they don’t seem to actually perform a function, so parents can exercise by running in a circle pushing the helicopter). There is another in Neal Macrossan Park, Paddington, a well-appointed playground that we stumbled upon on our way to Ithaca Pool.

Themed Playgrounds

I appreciate how some playgrounds come with fun themes, such as outer space, trains, ships or dinosaurs. It fires the imagination for some fabulous playtime.

Climbing equipment and flying foxes are also great features that foster independence and develop motor skills.

I especially like “Froggy Park” in Orleigh Park at 40 Hill End Terrace, West End, where the terrain has been sculpted so children can ride their bikes or race their toy cars over bumps. The Bill Brown Sports Reserve in Fitzgibbon has a whole section of undulating paths just for bicycles and scooters. (It is also home to Hidden World Playground.)

Indoor playgrounds, such as those at Macca’s, Hungry Jack’s or Bunnings, are weather-proof and come with refreshments for additional enjoyment. IKEA even provides a free hour of supervision at their play area, Småland.

A word of caution: my children have fallen sick after visiting playgrounds — we have experienced unhygienic practices, like a kid spitting on the ground and another child coughing in my son’s face. Bring the hand sanitiser or be sure to wash everyone’s hands thoroughly after each visit to avoid subsequent days of woe.

Also, most playgrounds appear clean and well-maintained, but one in Petrie was covered in obscene graffiti. I was just glad that my children are as yet too young to be aware or curious about such scrawls.

Invented just over a century ago, playgrounds are a splendid feature of the urban landscape, and a fun way for your children to exercise and learn social skills like turn-taking. Make some marvellous memories with your kids at the neighbourhood playground today!

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Image courtesy of Adobe.