THE CITY AS A PLAYGROUND

I thought that kids actually do not need any artificial playground, the city itself is a true real playground. There is no need to entertain the kids, just bring them into the city and they will find something to do.

Am I right or not? Is the city interesting for kids? What is particularly interesting for them? I have questioned 26 kids aged from 6 to 12, personally or through their parents. Children of 6 years are independent enough from the parents and have sufficient self-awareness to show their own interest in the world and ask questions. Starting from 12 years of age, they are already autonomous and their relationship with the city is determined rather by teenage concerns and wishes than by an interest in the place they are living in.

The children were asked the following two questions:

1. What do you find interesting in the city, what are your favourite places, where do you like to stay and why.
2. Let’s assume you have got a guest, a child of the same age as you and he or she has never been to Irkutsk. Where would you take that child to show him or her the city?

I think the second question allows us on the one hand to learn something about the child’s interests that, for some reason, it does not recognise as its own interests, and on the other hand it gives us a more comprehensive picture, thanks to taking a look from another point of view.

Some of the answers were predictable, some of them were surprising. The interests of a child are determined by its age and, to a lesser extent, by its sex. One should consider that I have conducted the survey in summer, therefore the children talked about places they usually visit when it is warm. However, ice slides and the New Year’s tree were mentioned a couple of times as well. Besides that, I have questioned people from my own circle of contacts, and this limitation certainly influenced the results. However I think that the findings might represent general tendencies for all Irkutsk families and are not income-dependent.

And now, what is interesting for kids in the city?

Artem, 8 Quite often the children say the Eternal Flame when they actually mean the Lower Esplanade. Eternal Flame is easier to remember than the fact that this part of the Esplanade is called the Lower Esplanade. Here one can bike and roller skate as well, smaller kids love the playground with swing, slide and bouncy castles.

The children mentioned different fountains as favourite places in the city. Smaller kids like the idea of getting wet completely or in parts; the older ones appreciate the beauty of sprinkling water and the setting. The leading fountain is the splash fountain close to the Museum of Irkutsk History. To be honest, I've seen many adults who couldn't resist and tried to cross the fountain before the water mode changes from calm to full power. When three 8-year-old boys, being very hungry after a stroll around the old city and hence hurrying to the next café, were passing by that fountain, the desire to visit it turned out to be stronger than their hunger.

These places are not really for children, however, they are on top of the list of children’s favourite places. Why? These are simply great places for climbing! Kids don’t wonder why and for what purpose there is a tank and military vehicles in the city.

I have asked my 7-year-old son Timur where it is more interesting to climb, at the playground or on the tank. Timur’s answer was very clear: "On the tank! At the playground it is boring!"

I have to say I was puzzled by the answers of the kids on what is interesting for them and where they like to go. I expected answers like "I like to walk on the streets gazing around and looking into things". I thought that childish curiosity by nature would bring them into hidden streets and corners, basements and housetops, would make them spy and question. I was convinced that all children are explorers by nature. But in fact, the children do not explore the city.

They use the city in order to satisfy their needs to move, to communicate, to see beautiful things.

Sometimes they don’t even notice the city, because the backyard where they spend time with their friends quite satisfies their interests and they do not need more: all they need now is concentrated here. Perhaps children are physically and psychologically not able to see more.

And quite often, children tend to consume the city. On the one hand, they copy their parents, on the other hand, they do things and act within boundaries set by parents. How often do we adults just walk around the city, out of curiosity and joy? Of course, evolution brought us the crazy pace of life, and one has to have remarkable inner resources to resist this speed, not everybody is ready for that. Often we simply don’t have time for a walk. Often, the power of habit doesn’t allow us to change the tried and tested paths. We go everywhere by car, it is easier. We transport our child from A to B. It is an amazing fact of our life: often, public transport is considered both by children and adults not as a means of transport but as entertainment! Let’s have fun and take a ride on a tram! We feel fear for our children; machines, weirdos and age-inappropriate temptations are everywhere. So, most of the kids are deprived of the chance to freely walk around, which is necessary to discover, to learn and to make it one’s own.

I am convinced that every modern child will learn to use the public transport one day and know their way through the streets — it cannot be otherwise. Maybe they will meet friends or teachers or a book that will excite them and arouse interest in the city, its houses and traditions. By the way, why not try to ask your kids: what do you find interesting in the city? Their answer might surprise you, you might get to know them better, or it might be a challenge for you. Finally, you might end up with a new hobby — exploring the city you live in.

Stas is 11 years old. As a place for a stroll he chose the Eternal Flame Square. I wondered, what on earth could be interesting in such a place for an 11-year-old? When we met, the things were clarified. Stas said that he likes to visit Eternal Flame because it is a site of commemoration for those who died in the war. "My great grandfather was in the war, I remember him a little." Then he likes to go down to watch the river, it is beautiful. And to look closely at the locks of newly married couples attached to the fence — they are so different, it is interesting to read the dates and names. Stas read the information boards placed on the bust statue of general Beloborodov and city founders' monument. He became interested in the street lamp: "How old is that? How does it work? I have to come and see it one evening." He looked closely at information stands with the pictures of children who need a family. At the land surveyor' monument he explored the map held by the youngest of the group. All the time Stas was looking around, asking questions and arguing. And I understood: an interest in the city, the interest to explore it, like any other interest, is not necessarily for everyone. One likes biking, the other likes roller skates, a third is fond of worms under microscopes, and the fourth prefers to explore the space around him or herself.

Watching children in playgrounds, I also noticed that the ones who go to the playgrounds are mothers and grandmothers of kids up to 3 years. They build sand castles and practice slides and swings. With such young kids, mothers prefer not to walk far away from home. The playgrounds near the kindergartens are full of pre-schoolers in the evenings, when parents come to take them home and they ask to stay outside. School students occupy the playgrounds when walking home from school: they swing, ride on the carousel, climb on monkey bars and simply have fun. Of course, a playground is an absolutely necessary part of a backyard. However, I am convinced that a city is a huge playground, and the proof is the fact that children are able to tailor a place, which was originally not considered for children, to their own needs.