Nearly 20 years ago, Tami Miller-Bigelow brought her 3-year-old daughter Brittani to Indoor Park, a safe play area for young children.
“At the time, Brittani was my only child and I wanted to meet other parents and have my daughter connect to other kids,” Tami said. “Key Peninsula can feel isolating to some residents and Indoor Park is this positive meeting place where any family in the community can come together and find common ground.”
Now, Tami runs the program for Children’s Home Society of Washington's Key Peninsula Family Resource Center and Brittani has her own 10-month-old daughter, Brooklyn. On one Tuesday morning at Indoor Park, Brooklyn enjoyed the various items within her reach in the overflowing toy box and laughed as her mom twirled her on the sit and spin while other children zigzagged across the floor playing with ride-on toys.
Indoor Park serves about 175 children every year and continues to grow in popularity. It is open 9:30-11:30 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays from September to June and offers parents and caregivers the flexibility of bringing their children whenever and however often they want. Parents come as far away as Port Orchard and Gig Harbor so their children have a place to play indoors.
“I have heard from many people about the importance of Indoor Park to the community on Key Peninsula,” said Jud Morris, community manager for the Key Peninsula Family Resource Center. “For parents, they get a safe place for their children to play and also get to meet and talk with other parents while their children benefit from learning to interact with other kids.”
Indoor Park is one of the programs offered for Key Peninsula children and their parents through Children’s Home Society of Washington's family resource center in Vaughn. Mentoring programs for school-age children and family support are also available.
“People in this community have come to rely on us to provide vital resources that they can’t get anywhere else on Key Peninsula,” Jud said. “We are here for parents and their children whenever they need us.”
Indoor Park more than a place to play