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This has been a hectic holiday period
There is a prolonged drought in our state. Water levels in dams are dropping at 0.4% a week even with a desalination plant in full run.
There are level 2 water restrictions right now, which means that sprinklers aren’t allowed. Watering gardens are only allowed by watering cans. Gardens all over the state are turning brown. People are collecting buckets of water after washing to water their grass.
A big part of Summer holidays is the heat – and filling time with the kids is water play, in backyards, parks, lakes, public pools and beaches.
This year our travel plans were overturned when the NSW fires spread towards the South Coast communities. We couldn’t go as the conditions for fire and smoke grew. For those that went around Christmas, they have been ordered by the rural fire service to evacuate ahead of ‘extreme’ fire conditions this weekend.
We’ve found ourselves in our home city over the full holidays, without the means to organise an alternative place to travel to.
It almost seems trivial in comparison, but with the rest of Summer with the kids, and thinking about water, the following are a few quick ideas of things to do.
Share facilities
There are many suburban homes with family sized pools. This summer due to the water restrictions many have given up maintaining their pools. It is quite rare that all of these pools are used. Wouldn’t it be great if we could as a society share the use of pool facilities. In a block with a dozen pools, wouldn’t it be great to have a few in operation to share, and use the rest of the land for productive urban farming and a solar plant.
Shopping Centres
Although I dread going into retail centres, there is a time to go into these black holes to top up on food, take part in occasional leisure ie ice skating, movies and bowling, and take in the air conditioning.
Clubs and Hotels
These are generally well setup for kids. The one we go to has a nice bistro with an adjacent kids play for various groups. The play equipment would be out of reach for any individual, and is a good place for the kids to safely play with others. We have a go to when the weather gets too hot to play outside.
Parks with water play
I’ve taken part in park design for architectural work. A big draw is the kids water play section. We research the big children’s playgrounds around and see the scope of kids play, along with adjacent change facilities and cafes. We bring along towels for each kid and a change of clothes, same as we would for pools. Kids water play are a lot of fun, teaching them to dart around, and anticipate different watering patterns.
Public pools with kids play
There are top of the line water theme parks like sea world and wet and wild. They are good for older kids. Younger kids tire out, and generally couldn’t last the full day to make it worth it.
A cheaper alternative is the public pool. We are within driving distance of the pool built for the Sydney 2000 Olympics. This pool has a decent sized kids water play, with whirlpool and various level water slides.
These elaborate pools cost 100’s of millions of dollars and can be accessed from a modest entry fee. If less people had private pools, and more people used these types of facilities, we would as a society have better use of resources.
Lakes / Beaches
Usual go to’s for cooling off in Summer. This year has been less appealing due to bush fires, and widespread smoke pollution
Craft supplies
Check your home for craft supplies including paint, paper, glue, canvas’s, templates for hama beads, yarn etc. Have a few projects for the kids to attempt over the holidays
Avoid the screen
The easy and lazy answer to occupying the kids is with screen devices. To avoid this type of overload, fill the day with early morning park play, duties, craft and board games. Confine screentime to a regular period of the day. Late afternoons work for us, as they are after kids naps and at the time of day when we give up as parents.
Cultural things
School holidays are great to go to museums, galleries, shows and demonstrations. They also generally have very good air conditioning to protect the artwork, as well as yourselves.
Holiday Programs
Holiday programs are a good way for the kids to learn things like sport, art, music or electronics. There are holiday programs that also go to interesting locations. It can be more cost effective for the kids to experience these things in holiday programs, as they can bundle and share the resources.
Playdates
Sometimes it’s good to find refuge in your closest friends. Identify your friends with similarly aged kids, and organise a get together. Generally the kids will entertain themselves.