I have noticed that the children’s playgrounds in Singapore these days are devoid of sandpits. The grounds are usually paved with colourful sponge foam boards instead of the sandpits I used to know as a child.
Frankly I moan the loss of sandpits in playgrounds. I remember how my sis, cousins, friends and I used to build sandcastles, or some odd-shaped creature in the sandpits. We would also have little “tea parties”, filling our little cups and plates with sand, pretending it was food.
True, these sponge foam boards are probably safer just in case a kid falls from a swing or slide or whatever. But we turned out fine and nothing happened to us.
I notice parents in Singapore have this aversion to dirt. They’re always telling the child “Don’t touch this ‘cos you’ll get dirty!” or “Don’t go there ‘cos it’s dirty.” I mean come on, it’s no big deal, it’s just a little bit of mud and sand.
From my observation, I like how many parents in Sydney give their children more freedom to roam and play. Children there seem to have more opportunities to explore without fear of their parents berating them for getting dirty by playing in the mud, grass or sand.
The Singapore government’s “Clean & Green” campaign has certainly gotten a hold on the people’s psyche.