Finding a toddler-safe playground

Now that California is slowly going back to normal, it's time to introduce the wee one to playgrounds! The challenge is to find a space big enough for him to practice walking, sparse enough so we don't have to worry about COVID-19, and contains play equipment appropriate for his age. Of course, the safest approach is for me to make his very own playground at home (expensive!); but being around other people in a public space will benefit him, so we still have to visit public playgrounds.

As of this time, we've visited four playgrounds quite close to home. Here's a quick description of our playground visits:

	Oak Hills	Athan Downs	Matteo's Dream	Blackhawk Plaza
Crowd size (during our visit)	웃웃	웃웃웃웃웃	웃웃웃웃	웃
All-abilities playground	No info	✅	✅	No info
Rubber floor	❌	✅	✅	✅
Toddler (2–5yo) playground	✅	❌	✅	❌

Oak Hills Park

The first time the wee one and I visited this playground (we're talking 3Q 2020), the city government had closed it to slow the spread of COVID-19. After all, it's difficult to keep children from maintaining safe physical distance if they're sharing the same playground equipment. Many months later, we were back, bringing Val along on an afternoon that wasn't too hot. 

It was definitely not crowded, with only one other family in the playground. The child was not even playing on the equipment because he was learning how to use a Scooterboard. So we had the playground all for ourselves. However, the equipment is more appropriate for the 5–12-year-old age group so Val had to really keep our son near him: challenging because our toddler has discovered the joy of climbing (and hasn't figured out how to descend safely yet). Also, the playground equipment is surrounded by wood chips, which concern me because the wee one is currently teething and loves to mouth objects (and might be tempted to chew on wood chips).

As a mom of a toddler who's learning how to walk, another concern for me is that the playground equipment and the wood chips are surrounded by a cement walkway. A clumsy baby can easily trip over the walkway.

Because of the risks for the wee one, we opted to encourage him to walk on the grassy portions of the park. 

Matteo's Dream Park

This playground was built to enable children with physical challenges to play alongside those who don't. It's even considered a good place to bring kids who are wheelchair-bound! The playground is named after—and built because of—a boy named Matteo Henderson. He had cerebral palsy, cognitive development challenges, and blindness. Because of the park's backstory and the intentional design of the facility, I thought that this was a great place for a baby who's learning how to walk. 

At first glance, it ticked all the boxes: the playground was not crowded; there were more ramps than stairs; I didn't see any metal sheet on the flooring of the play structures. Every piece of playground equipment appeared to be safer than those found in other playgrounds. However, when my son started picking things from the floor, I noticed that many hazards were lying around: tiny watch batteries, bottle caps, empty bottles... There were so many choking and poisoning hazards on the floor waiting for their next victims that I felt discouraged about going here until my son's a bit older and wiser.

Though Val likes the safety features in the playground, I was turned off by choking and poisoning hazards that are brought about by the litter on the floor. I prefer to find a different area to hang around in.

Athan Downs Park

When we first visited San Ramon, I noticed that Athan Downs Park was only a few miles away from the City Centre Bishop Ranch. On an afternoon when Val could take a quick break from work, we decided to check the playground out. Quite frankly, I was wowed by the primary colours used to brighten the playground; the rubber flooring that acts as a shock absorber if and when a child falls off a play structure; the cleanliness of the playground; and the sparsity of families hanging around. We had the playground almost to ourselves!

At that time, our son was barely walking (he crawled and stumbled most of the time). However, a week later, he was walking more confidently and was more interested in the big kids' play area than the little "igloo" where we hung out during our first visit (which, in my opinion, is the safest spot for a barely-walking-toddler in the whole playground. 

Our second visit proved to be a bit more exhausting because our child's already more steady on his feet and wanted to follow the bigger kids around. Of course, this also meant that he wanted to climb the play structures more than during our previous visit. It just goes to show how fast a toddler's mental and social skills develop in such a short time. Val was a full-on helicopter parent, trying to prevent the wee one from climbing structures that were not appropriate for his age.

Blackhawk Plaza Playground

This playground is not found in a public park. Instead, it's located in the middle of a complex that has restaurants, shops, a cinema complex, and a museum. What I appreciate about this playground is that the managers clearly stated that the structures are appropriate for children between five and 12 years old. The wee one, therefore, cannot play in this one for the next few years. I'm happy that there's an open turf area facing a pond; this turf area was clean and I felt safe to let my toddler loose (no signs of choking hazards!!!). He walked to his heart's content and finally sat down when he was exhausted. 

There's a lack of shade in this playground/turf area though; so Mommy had to find some shelter from the intense sunlight under a nearby tree. Anna and I didn't mind the sunshine too much but Anna was getting concerned because the wee one's face was flushed from all the walking.

(Just as I thought my son had enough walking during our visit, he proved me wrong by waking up in the middle of the night wanting to continue walking in the playpen!)

There are more playgrounds to see, most definitely. And as we continue to search for a toddler-safe playground, I'm going to keep Blackhawk Plaza's turf area as my favourite among the four that we've seen so far.