When it comes to playtime, there’s no fooling around. But in a place where kids' imaginations can let loose, sometimes their bodies can’t.
Zoie, 6, has cerebral palsy, so her motor abilities can be impacted. That’s not a worry at this inclusive playground.
"She could use the regular playground, but there's a lot of difficulties that come with it," April Eydt, her mother, said. "With these parks, she can navigate easily. There's no boundaries for her at all."
Accessible swings, ramps, sensory areas, and more mean Zoie can have all the fun in the world along with her siblings, who don’t have disabilities.
"She loves it too because when we do take her with Zoie," April said, "there's stuff at that playground that she can do with her sister."
Her parents can get in on it too.
"These other parks, it's very hard to climb up when it's your in your child because they're so narrow, very tall and dangerous," April added.
An inclusive playground opened by April three years ago, but finding one elsewhere?
"It was tough," April said.
There’s a new public one opening at Tow Path Park in Buffalo on Thursday. It's the first in the city and only one of a handful in the county. These playgrounds are scattered across New York.
"There are people who don't have access to transportation," April said. "They shouldn't have to leave the city just to take their child to the playground. Same thing with the rural areas. And towns."
While some schools have these playgrounds, it’s not something April relies on.
"Almost every school that I know of all their parks are closed to the public," April said.
This new park had a price tag of around $600,000 and April says it’s worth every penny. She wants more communities to see the value too.
"It's definitely needed and it's definitely wanted," she said. "Like it makes it a lifetime. It makes a difference. It really does."