When Teddy Couldn’t Play: The Special Playgrounds Changing Lives
Date Posted: May 1, 2025
Posted In: News, Projects,
From KSDK: When Teddy Gooch and his mother, Erin, would visit traditional playgrounds, what should have been joyful afternoons often ended in frustration and tears.
“We would both leave the playground in tears and sweat,” Erin Gooch said. “It was a lot of work. I wasn’t able to talk to any other moms during it because I was the mom lifting on the swing set and going down the slide.”
Born with a form of dwarfism, 9-year-old Teddy faces challenges that turn playground visits into exercises in exclusion rather than enjoyment. When asked why inclusive playgrounds matter, Teddy puts it simply: “Because not everybody can play.”
But that changed dramatically when the Gooch family visited Zachary’s Playground in Lake St. Louis – a specially designed space where children of all abilities can play together.
“Teddy and I both get in the car, and he looked at me and he goes, ‘Mom, that was the best play date ever,'” Erin said. “And I go, ‘It really was, but tell me why.’ And he goes, ‘I was able to play by myself.’ I go, ‘Yeah.’ And he goes, ‘And you didn’t have to help me.'”
That transformative experience is now leading to something extraordinary: “Teddy and Friends Playground” at Queeny Park in St. Louis County. Currently under construction, it will feature a board game theme when completed in August.