Outdoor fun:  Parents and children participate in an outdoor event in Club Kembang in Kemang, South Jakarta. Club Kembang provides various activities from arts and crafts to yoga and muay thai for children. (JP/Mutiara Hening Pratiwi)

With shopping malls springing up all over Jakarta offering one-stop entertainment for the entire family and a lack of public parks in the capital, the leisure activities of Jakartans usually revolve around their nearest mall.

However, Club Kembang (Flower Club) in Kemang, South Jakarta, offers alternative activities for both children and parents.

As visitors enter the gate, they can check out the lists of activities to be held written on a blackboard with colorful chalk, before finding a spacious open space playground where a sandbox, trampoline and slide are located. Those faciltiies seemed to be favorites among children judging by how many of them gathered around them when The Jakarta Post visited the club recently.

Aside from the playground, the club also offers other activities such as kids yoga, kids muay thai and an art studio.

'€œWe partnered with Ganara Art Studio, which is responsible for art activities and the Weekend Workshop [WeWo] community, the organizer of craft-related activities such as making tie-dye T-shirts,'€ said Lucky Palupi, one of the representatives of Club Kembang said.

A teacher from Ganara Art Studio, Indira, believes in the importance of arts and crafts for child development.

'€œArts and crafts help improve fine motor skills, which are extremely important for their development. From one-and-a-half to 4 years old it is important for children to explore their surroundings through motoric activities.'€

'€œTo keep everything fresh, we usually have different themes every week, especially on special occasions like Halloween or Thanksgiving,'€ she added.

Club Kembang, part of the 40-year-old Sekolah Kembang, was established in September 2014, based on the idea of the school'€™s director, Marvin Suwarso, who wanted to create a family oriented establishment.

'€œHe had an idea to create a place to foster the love of art, environment and family. Based on that mission, Adinda Simandjuntak, the founder of Club Kembang, came up with several ideas for club activities,'€ Lucky said.

Asked about the lack of playgrounds for kids in the city, Lucky shared her concerns.

'€œLet'€™s be honest, where do we spend our time with family on the weekend? The answer is likely at malls. Children are usually left playing at indoor play centers, while their parents sit and watch, or mom and dad spend their time in a cafe, leaving their children in boredom, so the only way to entertain themselves is with a gadget.'€

She said that such interaction had always been a concern of hers.

'€œChildren need to play, they need to sharpen their sensory skills through various activities, and parents have to support them in any way possible,'€ said Lucky.

She added that nature had a lot to offer. '€œSo to all children in Indonesia, go out and play, explore your surroundings, be happy and have fun.'€

The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post

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