Children of Gall Hill, St. John and surrounding districts enjoyed the see-saws, slides, swings and monkey bars yesterday, as they "tested" the facilities at their new play park.??

It was built by the National Conservation Commission in association with the Barbados Children’s Trust and National Sports Council.

In his remarks at the opening of the park, Prime Minister David Thompson, commended the agencies for collaborating on the project, noting that it was important to have safe places and sensible locations for children to play and to enjoy their physical environment.

He pointed out that children were not as physically active as in previous years when they played road tennis, football in the streets, or spent time walking in gullies.

"Nowadays, it is often tough to get children out onto the streets because television, computers, and other media that they only absorb and take in, very often compete with the times that our children would otherwise spend running about," Mr. Thompson lamented.

He stressed that given the high incidence of chronic diseases which could be linked to lack of exercise and an unhealthy diet, it was important for children to "get a chance to run around" for social reasons and also for physical activity.??

In his brief remarks, representative of the Barbados Children’s Trust, Sir Kyffin Simpson, observed that more provision was often made for older children. He said that in an attempt to rectify this, the Trust would contribute to the establishment of as many play parks across the island as possible.

gapplewhaite@barbados.gov.bb

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