Do you let your children...

[ABmom]

- walk up the down stairway?
- walk up the slide (if it is safe for them to do so)?
- walk barefoot in the grass in the backyard?
- pick the flowers in your backyard? etc?

What does that say about your parenting?

[Peony]

Originally Posted by ABmom

- walk up the down stairway?
- walk up the slide (if it is safe for them to do so)?
- walk barefoot in the grass in the backyard?
- pick the flowers in your backyard? etc?

What does that say about your parenting?

All of the above. It says that I have children.

[Alyantavid]

- walk up the down stairway? No
- walk up the slide (if it is safe for them to do so)? Yes if there aren't other kids there
- walk barefoot in the grass in the backyard? Yes
- pick the flowers in your backyard? etc? Yes

What does that say about your parenting? I have no idea

[LilyGrace]

Yes to all, and it says I'm not going to get worked up about the minor things as long as no one else is inconvenienced or there's disrespect (like walking up the slide, going up the staircase marked 'down')

[lara1828]

-walk up the down stairway? Yes, unless there is a big crowd coming down
- walk up the slide (if it is safe for them to do so)? Yes, unless there is another child coming down
- walk barefoot in the grass in the backyard? Yes, unless I've seen a lot of bees.
- pick the flowers in your backyard? etc? Yes, and raspberries, and vegetables.

What does that say about your parenting? I dunno, that I try to choose my battles, I guess. And that I think kids have too many rules as it is w/o me creating silly ones.

[mamazee]

1. So long as she won't be in anyone's way, sure.
2. So long as no one is not on the way down, sure.
3. Absolutely.
4. Absolutely.

[AllyRae]

Down stairway: Um, what is a down stairway? I guess we've only gone to places where all stairs are up and down, except escalators. There aren't specific staircases for going down around here...but I don't take them anywhere really really busy that would warrant it. However, they're still young enough that they don't walk around places without me, and I wouldn't go up a down staircase, so 'nuff said.

Walk up the slide: At my house, yes. At playgrounds/parks, no. Other kids tend not to look for the 2 or 5 year old walking up the slide, and I don't want my kids to get hurt. I also hate it when my kids are trying to go down the slide and other kids are walking up the slide shoving them out of the way. I can't teach them "only go up if nobody is going down" because by the time they get up the slide, there are usually people already there. Plus the oldest is on the spectrum and doesn't understand that he can walk up the slide and break a rule only if nobody is coming down. So I have the general rule that they are to respect the rules of other people's property, which includes not walking up slides (since that's actually posted at our park) So I teach my kids to respect the rules of public play equipment and only go down, but at our house they are allowed to do as they please with the play equipment.

Walk barefoot: In our grass, of course. Other places? Only if I know there is not glass, etc. in the lawn.

Pick flowers in the backyard: Yep...that's what they are there for.

About my parenting: Who knows... I try to teach my children that just because other people are disrespectful in public it doesn't mean they can be. I try to teach them to respect other people's property. I also teach them that on their own property, as long as they are behaving safely, they can do as they choose.

[ann_of_loxley]

- walk up the down stairway?- Not sure what this is? lol - If theres stairs and everyone is to go up one side and go down the otherside (I have rarely seen this though - but usually its on very busy public stair cases) - then no (cause theres a bunch of people going down and one must go with the flow of trafic! lol)
walk up the slide (if it is safe for them to do so)? - If it is their turn or if no one is wanting to come down it at the time.
- walk barefoot in the grass in the backyard?- Yes of course!
pick the flowers in your backyard? etc? Yes and no. Depends on the flowers. Mind, im not much of a gardener so usually they are fine to pick! lol

What does that say about your parenting?

Well - tbh these questions and my answers don't tell the whole story. I usually weigh up every situation individual - cause you really have to. I am not one to just say 'no' or forbid my child of doing something. I am usually one to say 'why not!'. If they can't do something, then there is usually a very good reason. Mostly my explanation is enough. Sometimes (especially now DS is nearing 4! lol) - we need to talk about it a bit more so he can understand. So its not really about what I 'let him do' or 'not let him do' - its more a continous learning experience with each individual situation.

[ckmannel]

Yes if no one is coming
Yes if no one is coming
YES
YES

Dunno what it says, but there are enough boundaries for babies and children, why set uneccessary ones?

[heidirk]

Originally Posted by lara1828

-walk up the down stairway? Yes, unless there is a big crowd coming down
- walk up the slide (if it is safe for them to do so)? Yes, unless there is another child coming down
- walk barefoot in the grass in the backyard? Yes, unless I've seen a lot of bees.
- pick the flowers in your backyard? etc? Yes, and raspberries, and vegetables.

What does that say about your parenting? I dunno, that I try to choose my battles, I guess. And that I think kids have too many rules as it is w/o me creating silly ones.

Yup.

I even let him use the utility scissors. I taught him to safely carry them.

[~Boudicca~]

Originally Posted by ABmom

- walk up the down stairway?
- walk up the slide (if it is safe for them to do so)?
- walk barefoot in the grass in the backyard?
- pick the flowers in your backyard? etc?

What does that say about your parenting?

Yes to all of the above, and if these things are what people are going to judge my parenting on, then they can go to ____.

[KweenKrunch]

Originally Posted by ABmom

- walk up the down stairway? If it's not impeding others.
- walk up the slide (if it is safe for them to do so)? Sure.
- walk barefoot in the grass in the backyard? Absolutely. We are shoe-free at home.
- pick the flowers in your backyard? etc? I don't mind if they pluck the annuals or regular flowering plants. There are some I'd rather the kids leave alone (like my roses that are once-bloomers or flowering vegetables, where plucking the flowers reduces fruit yield.)

What does that say about your parenting?

That I'm reasonable?

[Polliwog]

Yes to all. Except, maybe the down stairway. I'm not sure what that is.

I'm a big proponent (with my kids and in my work as a teacher and former early childhood education specialist) of climbing up slides.

[MamieCole]

- walk up the down stairway? I don't know what this is either. But if he wasn't going to get steamrolled by a crowd, I guess I would?
- walk up the slide (if it is safe for them to do so)?On our swingset, yes. At a public playground, no.
- walk barefoot in the grass in the backyard? Yes
- pick the flowers in your backyard? etc? We've never had flowers in our backyard except for weeds, so sure, he can pick all he wants. If we had flowers in our backyard, I'd probably allow him to pick them for collection, but not just for the sake of picking to deflower the plant. I do not allow him to pick flowers in public because A: they aren't our property to destroy and B: if everyone who walked by picked one there would be no pretty flowers left for other people to enjoy.

What does that say about your parenting? That I make a conscious attempt to teach my children that life is about enjoying while respecting other people at the same time?

[SandraS]

Absolutely. All harmless and fun.

[inkslinger]

Originally Posted by ABmom

- walk up the down stairway?
- walk up the slide (if it is safe for them to do so)?
- walk barefoot in the grass in the backyard?
- pick the flowers in your backyard? etc?

What does that say about your parenting?

-If that's an escalator, not yet...too young. But I'm sure I will someday if there isn't a crowd.
- Yup
- Absolutely! We rarely ever wear shoes at our house, inside or outside (except when it's 120+ degrees....OUCH!)
- Yes!

I don't know what it says about my parenting, but we like to enjoy life

[ashleyhaugh]

for the first 2 as long as it was safe, (no other kids on the slide, no crowd of people on the stairs) yep

the last 2, of course

i dont know what it says about my parenting either, except ds likes to have fun and LOVES to pick flowers, lol. im working on teaching him the difference between flowers that are ok to pick, like wild flowers, an d ones that arent, like veggie blossoms or flowers out of somebodys garden

[crunchy_mama]

yes, to all. But I want let them just pick all the flowers off a plant. It says I am not paranoid and let my kids be kids.

[KristaDJ]

Up the down stairway? I have no idea what a down stairway is. The only stairs I know of that are for up or down only are escalators and no I would not let my child use those improperly.
Walk up the slide? Sure as long as no one is coming down. I help my 11mo walk up the slide, she loves it.
Barefoot in the grass? At home it's fine if there's not tons of clover but in a situation where I want shoes on to protect my feet I suggest that they do the same.
Pick flowers in my backyard? The only flowers in my backyard are weeds But in the side yard I had columbines and I picked a couple of them and gave them to my kids.
What does this say about my parenting? Not a whole lot. I would really hate to be judged as a mother just by four simple questions.

[NicaG]

-Walk down the stairway? Yes, if ds isn't getting in other people's way
-Walk up the slide? Yes. Sometimes I intervene if someone's trying to keep a young toddler from doing this (not always safe for younger kids)
-pick flowers? we don't have many, so I'd probably prefer they leave them. Ds has never shown any interest in picking them.
-go barefoot? There's a few random pieces of glass and nails in the backyard that I find once in a while, so I'd prefer they keep their shoes on. Ds hates to be barefoot anyway. If he really wanted to go barefoot, I might make more of an effort to go over the yard inch by inch. For now, he just wears water shoes or regular shoes out there. I think going barefoot is overrated.

What does all this say about me as a parent? Very little. So much is circumstatial, or depends on a specific kid's preference.