A woman has questioned \u201cno ball games allowed\u201d signs in common spaces, asking whether it is becoming harder for families with children to feel welcome in their neighbourhoods.<\/p>\n
In a heartfelt Instagram carousel post<\/a> on Sept 13, user @thepinksoldier, whose bio lists her name as Victoria, said Singapore is encouraging more families to have children, but wondered whether society is truly creating spaces that welcome them.<\/p>\n After noticing a sign on her floor of her HDB block that morning stating, \u201cNo ball games<\/a> allowed at this common space\u201d, she said it got her reflecting on the issue.<\/p>\n The sign, put up by Punggol Town Council, added: \u201cIn view of public safety, please take ball games to designated game courts instead.\u201d<\/p>\n The woman\u2019s post has since garnered more than 4,000 likes and 770 reposts.<\/p>\n Victoria said she was not questioning the sign because she believed her children should be allowed to do whatever they wanted, but because she wanted to understand who made the decision and why there had been no conversation with families living on that level.<\/p>\n When children play along the corridor<\/a>, she said, it usually involves two primary school boys kicking a ball to each other, a few children playing a game, or simply running along the corridor.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re not playing a tournament. They\u2019re not screaming or playing at night. They\u2019re just kids playing,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n She added that her children mainly play on weekends, either in the late morning from 11am onwards or after lunch between 1pm and 3pm, with parental supervision at all times.<\/p>\n Besides the corridor, she noted that there was also a \u201cno ball games allowed\u201d sign at the grass field below her block, where children could previously run and play while parents got to know one another.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, the places where children can simply kick a ball around seem to be getting smaller and smaller,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere do the kids go?\u201d she questioned, adding that her children<\/a> often tell her they are \u201cbored\u201d because they cannot play downstairs.<\/p>\n With both the corridor and grass field restricted for play, Victoria said this had become a \u201cproblem\u201d.<\/p>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\nQuestions \u2018no ball games allowed\u2019 signs<\/h2>\n
\u2018Don\u2019t just shut down the activity\u2019<\/h2>\n
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