When Barack and Michelle Obama installed a swing set for their daughters at the White House, it set the country abuzz, and prompted a lot of people to reconsider what they thought was most important for their families. What the nation saw, watching the footage of the two young girls racing across the south lawn toward this play set, and realizing that the new First Family were trying to give them as normal a life as possible in their new circumstances, said a lot about what could be accomplished if simple family life was kept paramount.
The play set in the park has rather overshadowed the ones in the backyard for a while, making play time something more involved than just sending the kids out into the yard and watching them through the kitchen window. But the swing set out behind the house has always remained in the background, waiting for the rebirth of both parents’ and kids’ imaginations, and the chance to offer a simpler form of play that involves both body and mind.
The set installed by the Obamas was made and set up by Rainbow Play Systems of South Dakota. Rainbow swing sets went through a rocky period a few years ago because some major parts that were made in China were prone to breaking; one girl broke her wrist when she fell from a defective set. Greg Foster, owner of Rainbow Play Systems, spoke of the recalls and other problems at the time the White House set was installed, mentioning how all the important parts of a Rainbow swing set are now made in the U.S.A. and inspected here, with only very minor parts still made in China. There have been no more safety issues since.
It’s a significant fact that President Obama had his children’s swing set placed within view of the Oval Office, so he can watch his daughters play. This fact demonstrates his and Mrs. Osama’s commitment to retaining as normal a family life as possible. But more than that, even though they may just have intended this play area as something that would benefit their children, the new swing set almost can’t help but be an example to the rest of the country too. It shows how even the most complicated family situation in the land can retain its core of parental care and safe play.
Matthew McMillan is a leading expert in the genital warts remedies. His works are regularly featured in online health publications on matters relating to genital wart remedies. For more information, visit treatmentforgenitalwarts.com.
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
