Bringing family back to the park: families that play together, stay together.

It's a no-brainer that family recreation plays a vital role in the development of family health, function and strength. Poll a sample of recreation professionals about why they are in this industry and you will hear many responses, one of which will likely be that they feel passionately about the positive influence recreation can have on people.

This type of feel-good statement keeps us going through the day, but is there any real proof that what we are doing helps our community? As people who influence recreation design, we have a direct effect on the quality of the environment, which in turn has a dramatic impact on the duration, frequency and success of family visits.

One of the key elements required for family development is simply time spent together. This is where our opportunity lies, and where we must ask, "How can we, as recreation professionals bring families together more often?"

A University of Michigan study regarding children's use of time indicates a trend toward structured play (programmed sports and art activities), and notes a decrease in the amount of free time available to children. As parents' schedules become hectic and more regimented, so do their children's. This trend can be seen through an increased demand for programming and activities of recreation providers to supplement a family's ability to recreate together. Knowing this, it is imperative that family needs are not overlooked when designing facilities and programming.

It is no secret that activity promotes physical and mental health. This widely accepted statement is supported by countless studies and is one of the cornerstones of organized sports. Recent trends toward reducing obesity in children, and even legislative efforts to promote physical activity such as the Get Outdoors Act, clearly indicate that recreation improves individual health, which is the basic platform for improved family health.

Walk the Talk

Communication is the key to many different forms of success, and relationships that help each other communicate more effectively are essential to family function. A recent study from the Canadian Parks and Recreation Association concludes, "In modern society, leisure is the single most important force developing cohesive, healthy relationships between husbands and wives and between parents and their children."

Although the complete answer to strong family function does not lie solely within recreation, family recreation advocate Ramon Zabriskie says, "Researchers have utilized the Family Leisure Activity Profile to examine a broad sample of families from parents, youth and family perspectives. Findings from all three perspectives indicate that families with more joint leisure involvement have higher levels of family functioning than those with less family leisure involvement."

Like most things, practice makes perfect. Communication and interaction between siblings and parents are no exception. Recreation environments provide a neutral, safe and fun arena for these interactions to occur. The Minnesota Family Strength Project indicates that strong families are healthy families. Of the five themes that were found to contribute to family strength including spirituality, communication, physical and mental health, time spent together and physical and emotional support, the last four can be directly obtained in a recreation environment.

Properly planned recreation environments offer opportunities for achievable success and recoverable failure. Successes like traversing a playground suspension bridge or failures like a strikeout in baseball are potential points of family contact, communication and strengthening. Yet, with all the benefits of family recreation, why aren't our parks filled to capacity with people every day?

Our world has changed dramatically in the course of one generation, creating a sharp increase in marriage statistics yielding single parent households and a predominance of two-income families in dual-parent households. This makes it increasingly difficult to find one of the key ingredients for family life: time together.

In the words of comedian Dennis Miller, "The television beast are us whole." A 2003 survey by the American Association for the Child's Right to Play found that kids prefer the television over outdoor recreation. Combine these thoughts with our children's increasing involvement with the Internet and video games, and it is no wonder that leisure to today's youth does not mean hiking with a sibling.

What is Family Recreation?

Family recreation, in general, is families participating in leisure activities together. The three types of family recreation illustrated in photos on these pages all have benefits, but Adjacent and Interactive have the most potential for results, and should serve as goals when developing recreation environments and programming.

To be successful, families must implement the physical, social and emotional elements into their lives. Physical elements are the most commonly recognized forms of recreation involving gross and fine motor skills, which need development, and conditioning at all ages. These elements, including items such as playground equipment, trails, ball fields, restrooms and benches, are most frequently the only elements provided.

Social elements involve children's need to interact both positively and negatively with other people, in an environment where the consequences of their actions are not fatal. These elements encourage sharing, helping each other and storytelling. Reinforcement from other family members regarding actions taken will form lasting impressions about how to interact socially.

Emotional elements are most often overlooked, but recent University of Illinois studies indicate that even a small patch of grass or a tree in a hostile urban environment can have a positive effect on people. An emotional experience instills a memory in us, whether it is of your first homerun or the leaves changing color. An emotional attachment connected to a place through memories will bring us back.

And yet, there are some things as humans that we just won't do. We won't go to a place that is not safe, doesn't take care of our needs or is unappealing. These can be resolved by providing simple comforts that are sometimes neglected. The needs of the end user must be considered for an environment to be a success.

Careful site selection--Starting at a project's inception, the site you select sets the stage for all other improvements. A park site should by easy to find, part of some natural or manmade beauty, near parking or within walking distance of the intended users and compatible with the adjacent land uses.

Safety--Family members must feel safe or they will go somewhere else. A park site should provide some lighting, protect from dangerous site conditions, handle vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic effectively, and provide visual supervision opportunities from both inside and outside the park.

Comfort--If there is something to see or do, people will come to the park, but the length of stay and frequency of visits are determined by how comfortable they are made. Be sure to include refreshments, restrooms, easy access, shade and a comfortable place to sit.

Simplicity--It should he easy for all members of the family to navigate the site no matter what their abilities are. A park site should include short distances (+/-200'maximum) between access points and primary activities, barrier-free routes for strollers and people with disabilities, a vehicular drop-off and clear signage.

Interest for all ages--If we want everyone to come together, we need to provide for everyone. The activities at a park should be of interest to toddlers, elementary school, pre-teen, high school, adult and seniors. In addition to each age group being represented individually, ideal settings will encourage interaction across age groups.

Attention-grabbing--The site and its natural features, improvements, programming, activities and facilities must be of interest. They must be worthy of our attention. There must be some reason to remember the park and to want to come back.

Achieving Success

We know that families can improve in health, function and strength by taking part in recreational activities, and that we can make a difference through site planning and design, and thoughtful consideration of our guests. Bring these simple guidelines to the table next time you begin a project and review them at each decision point to ensure they are still being addressed, and you will be on your way toward Creating Better Places[R].

Strategies for Success

The quality of all components of a park must be worthy of our attention.

Provide for our inevitable biological needs using the 3R's:

* Refreshments

* Restrooms

* Resting places

Enable family members for supervision by offering:

* Shade/sun options

* Comfortable seating

* Hang-outs close to the action and/or on the sidelines 

* Opportunities to watch multiple people at the same time

Facilitate contextual storytelling and learning through interpretive signs, programming and amenities:

* What is special about this place?

* What can be learned or discovered right here?

* What games or challenges can occur between us?

Take advantage of natural amenities. If you don't have nature, create it:

* Topography--one of the least expensive design tools

* Vegetation--an easy item to do in phases

Arrange your park for the family by providing:

* Multi-generational amenities in close proximity

* A buffer of loud sports from young ears

* The all-important gathering space

* Boundaries

Add water, water and more water to instantly create a memorable experience:

* Fountains

* Streams

* Splash Pads 

* Sprinkler play

Encourage cooperative play:

* Amenities that need two or more people to work

* Informational signs to help adults engage children in conversation

Provide "break-away" amenities:

* Interesting walking paths

* Open-ended play and exploration

Be passionate about maintenance:

* Everyone wants to think that someone is looking after the space. This implies that the space is important enough to care about.

* Maintenance can make or break a project visually, and will go a long way toward keeping it safe.

Don't forget about your staff:

* People can make a difference with regards to comfort and perceived safety.

* People are memorable

* A smile goes a long way and is contagious.

Provide sensory interest:

* Interaction with nature

* Interaction with people

* Interaction with the family

What's the family gimmick? What keeps them coming back?

* The facilities must be worth looking at.

* The activities available must be worth going to.