Stimulating Creativity in the Park

A new children's park in Tuen Mun is for all ages and got input from kids

For a cosmopolitan and wealthy city, some Hong Kong kids are the saddest in the world.

In 2017, Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service released a report that found as many as one in 10 primary school children were suffering from serious depression. Also in the same year, a Chinese University study found less than half of those aged between two and 17 had an hour of physical activity per day, the internationally recommended level.

Many government-run playgrounds look like this

But all is not lost yet. The Hong Kong Architectural Services Department has designed the first barrier-free play space for children in the city. NGO Playright Children's Play Association spearheaded the project that took four years to realize.

It's located in Tuen Mun Park and it's almost the size of a football pitch and includes a water zone, sand area and built-in musical instruments for children to stimulate their creativity.

The government did a survey in 2016 of 1,200 children, two-thirds of which felt the current playgrounds aren't very fun because they didn't have very challenging facilities that were also generic.

Researchers believe this is probably because the playgrounds were designed by adults who wanted to minimize risks, that Paul O'Connor, research assistant professor at Lingnan University's Department of Sociology and Social Policy, believes is disastrous for children. 

The swings here aren't like the generic ones in other parks

"Young people in Hong Kong are conditioned not to fail. They are asked to play safely, to follow the rules and colour within the lines," he says. "Kids' playgrounds in Hong Kong are rubbish; the same tiny swings and slides. Kids need a greater space in which to fail."

The 43-year-old O'Connor is an avid skateboarder, and he says over-protecting children can leave them unable to deal with setbacks later in life. "Kids who are given space to deal with failure, get away from screens, make real-life friends, and learn a host of creative skills along the way," he says.

For the Tuen Mun Park, the NGO Playright collected ideas of what the park should be like from children, and even appointed some of them to be advisors on the project.

When the park was completed, the children were reportedly touched because they felt like the adults were listening to them.

A water zone is included in the Tuen Mun Park

Perhaps that's a lesson we can all take from -- we should be listening to everyone regardless their age. Even kids can teach us too.