A brand new water facility in East Auckland isn't making a splash with parents, with many concerned about the number of children slipping over and injuring themselves.
The splash pad at Lloyd Elsmore Park Pool and Leisure centre in Pakuranga opened last Wednesday and features a number of play features, including fountains, mist sprays and elevated water structures.
One parent 1 NEWS spoke to who did not want to be named said she took her three children, aged five, four and two to the new public water play area over the weekend.
She says her four-year-old son was one of many children to slip over after jumping up and down on the pad in excitement. He hit the back of his head when he fell.
"My son was in a quieter area, away from the bucket and my husband and I heard him screaming on the ground," she said.
"He wasn't running. He just went down.
"It was quite slippery and I was surprised there were no slip mats."
She said she voiced her concerns over the safety of the splash pad to receptionists at the Lloyd Elsmore Park Pool and Leisure centre but said they "weren't even interested".
"They didn't even bat an eyelid."
She said she didn't see anyone from the pool centre supervising the area.
"There were just parents around. You could hear all of the parents gasp when someone fell down ... A couple fell over and there were tears."
She was just one of many who took to Facebook to share their experiences on the East Auckland Grapevine Facebook page.
Some shared stories of children slipping over and bumping their heads, others grazing themselves and one even stated a child had split their lip.
However, numerous others highly praised the facility and stated they had only seen children having fun amongst the various water features.
Many were quick to debate that children were falling due to running around the pad.
Although the parent spoke to staff about her son's incident, Auckland Council says they haven't received any complaints.
"We've had some fantastic feedback from parents and children about the new splash pad at Lloyd Elsmore Park Pool and Leisure Centre in Pakuranga," Auckland Council's Head of Active Recreation Rob McGee told 1 NEWS.
"We've not received any complaints or incident reports, but appreciate kids can get quite excited when they are enjoying themselves there, so we'd ask parents to keep an eye on their children.
"We will monitor the use of the splash pad and if any safety issues are identified we will work through them."
Mr McGee also stated "children are welcome to wear water shoes when using the splash pad".
When asked what the council could improve upon, East Auckland mother Cherie Barton van Niekerk suggested the facility should implement a wristband system which would limit the number of children in the water park at any one time as well as adding shade sails.
"That way there will be a certain amount of kids inside and the parents can sit under the shaded area. Also give the kids more free space to enjoy," Ms Barton van Niekerk stated.
"I think it is a beautiful idea and it would be great fun for the kids and I personally think it is safer - they just need to do something about the slipperiness."
Auckland Council and ANZ Bank teamed up to deliver the water park and are set to open another at the Stanmore Bay Pool and Leisure Centre in Whangaparaoa, at a combined cost close to $2 million according to Faifax.
SHARE ME