Swing High!

Today, Marissa and I went out to our city's newest playground, Swing High. It is a universally-accessible playground that accommodates children of all different abilities.

I was impressed. The structure has ramps that go all the way to the top, so kids in wheelchairs can feel like a part of the action. There are about 7 or 8 different slides (Marissa's favorite) and the majority of the ground surface is rubberized. There is a big boat type structure that rocks back and forth and is wheelchair accessible. There is a big sand pit (underneath the big flower) that has lots of different, cool toys for digging and playing. Hopefully we can take Marissa in the sand by the end of the Summer.

Very cool! I give it two thumbs up!

Marissa had a blast on all the different types of swings. She didn't want to leave but we had to after about an hour. I, of course, slathered Rissa up with SPF 50 but forgot some for myself. The 85 degree sun was beating down on us (at 10:00 am!!) and I didn't want to burn to a crisp. But I assured her that we will be back as many times as we can this Summer. I do believe this is our new favorite park!

I am so glad this playground was built. Even though Marissa is not in a wheelchair, she is a little slower in learning how to negotiate playground equipment. She seemed more comfortable running around on the rubberized surface and climbing up on the equipment that was wider, lower to the ground, and had better hand grips.

I can really see kids in wheelchairs loving this park. I pulled this quote from the Swing High website. It is from a child who has played on "less than accessible" playgrounds in the past. This quote sums up exactly why every town should have a park like Swing High.

“At most playgrounds, I have to crawl out of my wheelchair if I want to play. It makes me feel like an ant, with all these giant kids running around me. My wheelchair is my legs. Would you want to take your legs off to play?”