Inclusive Playground Family Fun with Zion! #PlayLSI #ShapedbyPlay

This post is sponsored by Landscape Structures as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own. 😉

Hey everyone! *waves*

Recently my husband and I took Zion to Zachary’s Playground, an inclusive playground near our home. 

*bask in the cuteness*

 

What is an inclusive playground you ask?

Well … my son Zion was born with Spina Bifida in 2012 and uses a wheelchair to get around. Inclusive playgrounds are these magical places where children of all abilities can play together.  This promotes inclusion, social development and so much more!

*behold I give you wonderland*

Before I had Zion I didn’t even know places like this existed 🤷🏾‍♀️ (well I wasn’t up on my playground knowledge, in general, lol) but, now that I am his mom I cannot express in words how grateful I am that they do.

This blog post was done in partnership with Landscape Structures  Inc. a company that creates the equipment used on Inclusive Playgrounds nationwide. As part of Sensory Awareness Month this October I’m honored to build awareness of such an amazing company that has brought so much joy to my son and other children like him.  ☺️

Inclusive play (and inclusion in general) helps children like Zion learn life lessons, leadership, partnership, physical, cognitive, sensory and social skills, not to mention it’s fun fun fun!

Inclusive playgrounds promote independence while playing. At a regular playground, Zion wouldn’t be able to fit on the equipment in his wheelchair so we’d have to take him out of his chair and help him play. At a playground like Zachary’s he can play independently, with other children (or adults … watch the video lol) and it warms my heart to see him so excited maneuvering through the playground freely on his own.

Y’all he was so happy!

We took him to this playground once in the summer and there was even a water play area where kids can stay in their wheelchairs and play as water shoots out of the ground! Skeeeeee!   He loved this particular trip so much that his dad has actually already taken him back there to play some more. ☺️

Zion’s favorite activity was definitely the swings which locked him in place so I didn’t have to worry about him falling out but, I did notice that he really liked discovering all of the surprises on the playground. There are stations everywhere with numbers, letters, activities, shapes, mirrors, even American Sign Language!

The last time we brought him to this playground he was much younger and did not even have his pediatric wheelchair yet (he was in a stroller).  Now that he is older we could really see how much he enjoys exploring and finding all of the surprises hidden throughout the equipment.  Honestly, I got pretty excited myself finding all the activity stations. 🤷🏾‍♀️

A playground like Zachary’s is a godsend for us because ability-based inclusion matters.

Especially when raising a child with different abilities in this world. 

It was encouraging to see Zion realize that he *can* do something without our help, or he *can* play safely on the majority of the equipment in this space. He even rolled into (see what I did there?) a classmate who does not have physical disabilities and played with her for a while (she’s on the video waving goodbye). There was also an adult gentleman in a wheelchair there playing, and several people have commented on the video saying they wished spaces like this existed when they or a differently-abled family member was a child.  That shows you how important a space like this is for so many people!

We will continue to take Zion to this and other inclusive playgrounds like this to play and you should definitely check them out whether your child has physical limitations or not. They are designed for all!

♿ For more information visit ➡️ http://www.PlayLSI.com ⬅️ to find an inclusive playground near you!

♿ Please 🌟 SHARE SHARE SHARE 🌟 this blog post! You never know who on your timeline may need this information and it could change their child’s life! Thank you! 💛🤗

♿ Oh and follow Zion on Instagram & on YouTube because there’s more content about him coming. 😘