Children face tight competition for space<\/p>\n
Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
One afternoon, a bunch of children were kicking around a ball in
\nan empty field when suddenly a woman -- clad in training pants
\nand clutching a cassette of dance music -- arrived.<\/p>\n
The young football players fled. \"Women keep on using this
\nplace for aerobics,\" they told architect John Fredy Bobby
\nSaragih, who was conducting research in the area. \"And they're
\nnot getting any thinner.\"<\/p>\n
Sidelined as they were, these children are luckier than most
\nas places to play in the city are scarce. Another park that
\nSaragih visited had a \"children's playground\" sign, but had
\ngradually been taken over by becak drivers as a place of rest and
\nrelaxation.<\/p>\n
\"City kids of poor families tend to play on the roads and
\nriver banks,\" said Saragih at a seminar on child-friendly cities,
\norganized by the Indonesian Children's Welfare Foundation (YKAI),
\nPelangi Foundation, and Bina Nusantara University, on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) data shows that at
\npresent, 43 percent of Indonesians under the age of 18 live in
\ncities. This figure is predicted to rise to 60 percent by 2025.<\/p>\n
Unicef says a \"child-friendly\" city allows children to express
\ntheir opinions and thus help to influence the administration's
\ndecisions. They should receive proper health, education and
\nsanitation services, and be safe to walk in the streets.<\/p>\n
They also have the rights to open green areas, to meet and
\nplay with friends, and live in an unpolluted environment.<\/p>\n
\"We don't have to actualize all these things at once,\" said
\nHamid Patilima of YKAI.<\/p>\n
The concept of child-friendly cities was first acknowledged at
\nthe City Summit in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1996. It has been
\nintroduced in Indonesia by YKAI since May 2004.<\/p>\n
Calcutta in India adopted the concept by focusing on street
\nand working children and introduced \"child-friendly police\".<\/p>\n
Andi Rahmah, a researcher with Pelangi, suggested the
\ngovernment provide bicycle lanes for children to ride to school.
\nCommunities could also commit to driving slowly in housing
\ncomplexes. \"The probability of an accident being fatal, if a
\nvehicle is moving slower than 15 kilometers\/hour, is only 5
\npercent,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Saragih asserted that when playgrounds are combined for other
\npurposes, \"the law of the jungle applies. The weakest will lose,
\nand kids usually do.\"<\/p>\n
Parks should be near children's homes, which would also help
\nease parents' anxiety, as they could easily monitor their loved
\nones.<\/p>\n
Outdoor activities develop children's motor skills, as well as
\npromote self-confidence and social interaction, said psychologist
\nFitriani Syahrul. But youngsters from mid- and high-income
\nfamilies usually spend their time at home playing computer games,
\nor go to malls, which could encourage consumerism, she added.<\/p>\n
Jakarta, says Agung Sukaton of the City Parks Agency, \"is just
\nnot suitable for children.\" With at least 10 million inhabitants,
\nthe standards for a \"child-friendly\" city are too high, he said,
\nadding that the capital's ideal population would be more like 5
\nmillion.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/children-face-tight-competition-for-space-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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