It takes a village

Based on a respected expert's book and students' suggestions, Winthrop is planned around children's needs.

By JANET ZINK
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 28, 2003

BRANDON -- It won't be Disney World, but the minds behind Winthrop aim to build a place where children come first.

That doesn't mean a candy store on every corner. Rather, it would be a community where children can safely ride their bikes, could borrow the latest hand-held video game from the toy library and where public restrooms have kid-sized facilities.

Child development expert and author Penelope Leach has been consulting with husband-and-wife developers John Sullivan and Kay Beckett for the past two years as they hammer out the details of Winthrop, a 150-acre community under construction on Bloomingdale Avenue at Providence Road.

Leach is best-known for her 1989 bestseller Your Baby and Child: From Birth to Age Five. Five years later, she published Children First: What Society Must Do -- and Is Not Doing -- for Our Children Today, which explores how the world might improve if policymakers, employers and even architects considered the needs of children.

Sullivan and Beckett are using the book as a blueprint for Winthrop.

Beckett also drew inspiration from fourth- and fifth-graders at Symmes Elementary School. They sketched pictures of what they considered an ideal town and suggested such amenities as pony rides (not likely, Beckett admits), a pet shop and beauty shop with a play area.

Leach will host a public meeting today through Sunday for anyone interested in helping to shape Winthrop.

Workshops will be held at the Winthrop Barn Theatre, 11215 Bloomingdale Ave., Brandon. They'll be led by Leach, social psychologist Mark Rhodes, community specialist Jacqueline Barnes and sustainable development expert Gerald Leach. All sessions are free and open to anyone who's interested. To reserve a seat or get more information, call (813) 681-3480. The schedule is as follows:

FRIDAY:

Noon -- Opening presentation

2 p.m. -- Workshop for educators, day care providers and parents

4 p.m. -- Workshop for policymakers, law enforcement officials and environmental experts

SATURDAY:

10 a.m. -- Workshop for builders and developers

2 p.m. -- Workshop for psychologists, sociologists and medical professionals

5 p.m. -- Workshop for architects and urban planners

SUNDAY:

1 p.m. -- Final presentation