As many have noticed, a new playground has sprung up a short distance from the high school in Shaw Park. However, despite is proximity to the high school, no teenagers are now allowed on the playground.
![Off Limits A sign now warns students that the new Shaw Park playground is off-limits to teenagers. The Parks and Rec. Department says that the jungle gym is not safe or appropriate forthose over the age of 12. (Paul Lisker)](https://www.chsglobe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/IMG_7188cmyksmall-682x1024.jpg)
This new playground was constructed in the fall of 2010 and has been popular with younger kids and high schoolers alike. That is, until the ban on kids over the age of 12 was introduced a few weeks after the premiere of the play area, which includes a play structure, swings and several interactive toys.
“All of the teenagers on the playground was off-putting to parents and young children,†said Patty DeForrest, Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Clayton.
DeForrest also explained that the equipment just wasn’t strong enough to hold teenagers since it was built for kids under the age of 12. “Teens could damage the playground,†she said.
Before the ban it was usual to see a couple of kids from CHS hanging out at the playground. In a poll of 40 CHS students, more than half said they didn’t really care about the playground or had never been there, while 15 percent said the playground should just be for kids. Over a fourth of the students polled thought that the playground should be open for everyone.
But the Parks and Recreation Department was shocked that the playground had received such a reaction from teenagers, especially because on many days the playground was filled with younger children and their parents.
“I was surprised it was an attraction,†DeForrest said. “It had never crossed my mind that teenagers would want to use it.â€
DeForrest hopes that the newness will wear off for the CHS students and there will be no more problems. The playground hasn’t been very busy as of late, possibly because of the change in weather, but DeForrest remains hopeful that students will not return with the warm weather in the spring months.
Also, she thinks that the new signs that alerts everyone that the playground was built for children under 12 will make the teenagers not want to go there.
Despite the unexpected turn of events for the playground, DeForrest wants to offer the teenagers of CHS a chance to meet with her to discuss a new playground or activity place for just teens. She wants to sit down with kids who have ideas for a new attraction for CHS students so that the playground can remain just for the kids.
For those interested in contacting DeForrest about a new teen “playground,†she is available at [email protected], or in the Clayton Parks and Recreation Department behind the front desk at the Center.