north berwyn park district water park

[seebee]

Kudos to the park district folks. Took jr. To the water park on 16th just east of Oak Park Ave. There were two monitors, AND a cop. One monitor was manning the gate and enforcing the rules of entry,  the other monitor was manning the slide, and making sure everyone was waiting their turn. HUGE difference from last two years where there was usually only one teenage monitor on premise, and 6 parents watching 40 kids running crazy because they (the parents) didn't care. The monitor by the entrance says there should be two park workets here at all times now.

[OakParkSpartan]

Sad that there is the need for a cop to watch over a kids water park.

[Bonster]

There should be multiple workers; no different than lifeguards at a pool.   What's the cop for, to manage the parents?  Predators?




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[seebee]

I'm guessing the cop was there to help the monitors who were actually enforcing the rules of the park this year. There was some tension when the monitors were turning kids away at the gate. That park is for little kids. The water portion of the park is for kids under 40 something inches tall. Last few years, there were kids of all sizes running around bumping into the little kids the park was intended for, and knocking them over. The monitor at the gate turned several kids away because they were taller than the sign on the entrance gate, and the parents were fuming. The cop was also just walking around and generally being quite friendly. Jr fell and started crying at one point, the cop hurried over and asked if he needed an ice pack. The non-water section of the park has signs saying that the playground equipment is for kids x to x years old, and generally, last year, there were always a few kids who were WAY over x years old running around and climbing over everything (including the small kids) thinking they were cool for some reason ( I guess because they thought being faster than kids 6 years younger than them made them feel tough or something.) I only saw one or two bigger kids yesterday, and I think both of them were there with younger siblings. There was also a table full of teenage girls just kinda hanging out sitting at a table not making a big ruckus. If they keep this monitoring up, it'll be a much more family friendly park, which is what I'm guessing the park district intended it to be.

[chandasz]

My kids love that park but it is always insanely crowded.

Seems like it would be a good idea to create another splash park that is older kid friendly since this one is obviously such a hit.

[seebee]

Chandasz-
There are at least two others that are for older kids (that I know of.)
Both are south. One is somewhere around scoville or east avenue south, like around or south of pershing, and the other is in lyons on ogden just west of pershing. Both are much bigger water facilities. Both have an entrance fee.