Only One Family Per Session... Free Indoor Play Without Worry of COVID-19 Infection
[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Junhee) has opened the “Gwanak-style Mother Center Airang” free play space through a reservation system since April to support parents and children tired of staying at home due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.
Only one family can use the space per reservation to provide an indoor play area where families with infants and toddlers can visit with peace of mind without worrying about COVID-19 infection.
The free play space is currently open at four Gwanak-style Mother Center Airang branches (Daehak-dong, Nakseongdae, Nanhyang, Boramae), where many local parents visit with their children through reservations and enjoy various play tools arranged according to developmental stages, receiving great responses.
To ensure users can enjoy safely, thorough inspections of quarantine and hygiene management are conducted, including ventilation before and after use, thorough toy disinfection, and symptom checks of users to prevent COVID-19 infection.
Parents wishing to use the free play space can register as members on the Gwanak-gu Office website, check branch-specific usage times under the ‘Participation/Reservation → Airang’ menu, and make a reservation to use the facility.
Meanwhile, since the early spread of COVID-19 in the first half of last year, Gwanak-style Mother Center Airang has promptly operated various non-face-to-face online specialized programs that families can enjoy with their children at home, striving to meet the demands of many local parents.
Especially this year, the target audience has been diversified by newly establishing programs for expectant parents and families with infants, allowing more residents to participate.
In May, to celebrate Family Month, programs such as “I am the Star on Children’s Day,” “Picture Book Play,” and “Infant and Toddler Character Activities” are prepared for families to enjoy together. Specialized programs operated variably by branch every month can be checked and participated in through the Gwanak-gu Office website and SNS.
The district plans to install and operate a total of six centers by 2022, including adding one “Airang Sinsa Branch” linked with the Seoul Open Childcare Room project at the “Gwanak Family Happiness Center” scheduled to open in Sinsa-dong this year, in addition to the four currently operating centers, to provide a well-organized childcare space where parents can comfortably use with their children.
Mayor Park Junhee said, “We will continue efforts to resolve the concerns of residents struggling with childcare during the COVID-19 situation,” and added, “We will do our best to make Gwanak-gu a family-friendly district that is good for having and raising children by evenly installing and efficiently expanding and operating the Gwanak-style Mother Center Airang, a childcare space easily accessible to residents.”
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