Children’s safety in parks is responsibilityof family members, say some parents

NT Bureau

Doha: Children’s safety in public parks is primarily the responsibility of parents and family members and they should take extra caution and monitor children while they are playing in parks, beaches and other public areas, several parents have said.

Speaking to Al Sharq, parents also said safety of children has become a major issue after a recent accident in which a child was killed while playing on a swing at a park in Qatar. The child, an Egyptian national, died instantly when the swing hit his head.

Parents also called for more measures to ensure safety like the provision of an emergency room, and training for security personnel in administering first aid, expressing their concern at recent cases of accidents in public parks.

Some of them also said these accidents are the result of the failure of families to provide their children with necessary guidance while playing in parks.

“Most of the accidents that occur are caused by negligence or lack of supervision on the part of parents. Caution must be taken and children must be monitored while playing, as children, by nature, love to play and explore things that could be a  danger to them,” Khalifa Ahmed, a parent, told the paper.

“The role of the security man is not considered important if the role of the parents in monitoring their children during play is absent,” he added.

“Parents must follow their children and teach them the correct and safe behaviour and not leave them alone, because no matter what you teach them, they will do what they want if they are alone, and the parents must understand the child’s needs and understand their behavior,” said Ahmed Adel Abu Karbal, another citizen.

Hamad Al Subaih, a parent, said children must be prohibited from playing games in public places unless accompanied by their guardians, and there must be a fence around the games preventing their entry unless accompanied by their parents in order to monitor them.

He said most of the time, parents are busy on the phone and this affects the monitoring of the child.