‘I Sit And Colour While Other Kids Play’: Disabled Children Shut Out Of UK Playgrounds

Lettie (left) and Aniyah (right)Disabled children are being locked out of UK playgrounds because of a lack of accessible play equipment – and the consequences are heartbreaking.Desperate to give their children opportunities to play, some parents are driving miles from their homes to find accessible parks.Lettie, who is nine and uses a wheelchair, is one of these children. Her mum Jessica has to drive seven miles to take her to a playground she can actually use, as her local park isn’t accessible to her. “Sometimes I just sit and colour while the other kids play, but I don’t really want to go to the park nearby anymore,” Lettie told HuffPost UK.“There’s nothing there I can use. I feel left out. The other park we go to has a swing and roundabout I can use, which makes it more fun. But it’s far away – I wish our park had things like that too.“It would be great if all parks had things every kid could use.”The family, based in Yorkshire, are not alone in their plight. In a survey of 2,000 parents, half said their child is excluded from play due to inaccessible playgrounds.Lettie’s mum, Jessica, said: “Our local park simply isn’t built with disabled children in mind. There are no accessible surfaces, no ramps, and nothing Lettie can use independently or safely. Even paths to the play area can be uneven and difficult with a wheelchair.”The family would love to see accessible swings, sensory areas and wheelchair-friendly paths added to their local playground so “Lettie could finally feel part of her local community”.Research commissioned by Barratt Redrow and Whizz Kidz revealed parents of disabled children are travelling an average of 5.37 miles from their homes to find a suitable play area for their kids.As a result of inaccessibility, 51% said they are relying more on screens because there are not enough suitable outdoor play areas nearby.“We do make the trip to a park seven miles away that has some accessible equipment, a roundabout and a swing she loves, but the travel time means we go far less often than we’d like,” said Jessica.“It’s not spontaneous. We have to plan for it, drive, pack everything, and sometimes it just doesn’t happen. It shouldn’t be that hard to let your child play.”How is this impacting children?The consequences of children being excluded from play are significant. Parents report rising rates of social isolation, anxiety and difficulty making friends.Nearly half said the lack of outdoor play is directly affecting their child’s physical fitness (46%) and motivation to exercise (45%), as well as increasing social anxiety (45%).Around three-quarters of parents (72%) believe this kind of exclusion could have long-term impacts on their child’s mental health.“Not being able to use our local park has had a real impact on Lettie,” said Jessica.“Physically, it limits how active she can be, we just don’t have the same opportunities for her to move and play as other families do.“Mentally, it’s even tougher. She sees her peers playing and she’s left to watch. That kind of exclusion really chips away at her confidence.”Scope’s playground accessibility report found just one in 10 playgrounds are inclusive to disabled children, and nearly three-quarters of playgrounds are places where it would be difficult for disabled and non-disabled children to play together.To try and tackle the divide, building firm Barratt Redrow has announced a commitment to prioritise inclusive play spaces across its developments and said this could deliver up to 100 new accessible and inclusive play spaces each year.Aniyah, who is five, lives in Croydon and loves visiting her local park since the space was revamped to include accessible play equipment.Her mum Zainab said she now visits every weekend and has made new friends.David Thomas, CEO of Barratt Redrow, has now called on local authorities and other housebuilders to “work together to make inclusive and accessible play the standard, not the exception”.“When we build with all children in mind, we can create places that work better for everyone,” he said. To find an accessible playground near you, check out Scope’s playground map. Related...Disabled Children And Families At 'Breaking Point' Over Lack Of SupportDisabled Kids Are All But Erased In TV And Film. Here's How We're Fixing That.I Was 'Supermum.' When I Suddenly Became Disabled, I Expected Empathy — Not This.

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