What part of less than 42 inches don't these parents understand? - Page 3

[Piglet68]

I want to thank everybody for keeping a respectful tone. I think as mothers, we all understand that whether your child is too short, too tall, or too "whatever" - it is very hard for us to see them having to confront that, no matter how old they are.

This thread has given me alot to think about when dealing with older children in a play area. And thinkingcapp, you do have a very good point about Ikea. Once again our libelous nature as a society has come to bite us in the @ss.

[Cinder]

Originally posted by irishprincess71
For all you mothers who want age rather than size restrictions because your children are large for their age I would like to point to the flip side of that coin.

Neither DH or I are large people and our children are definitely not going to be large either. In fact, poor DS is in the <3% for weight and <10% for height at 15 mo. When your children become 9 & 10 years old they will be allowed on rides at amusement parks and fairs. My children won't if my past is any indication. I think it is FAR more permanently damaging for a 10 year old to be told he/she is too short when all his/her friends are allowed on a ride than for a 4 yo to be told they are too tall. So I can't feel too sorry for your children since they will come out on the better end in the long run.
He has had children fall on him, step on his hand and basically run him down. With all most all incidences he just takes it in stride and keeps playing and as long as it isn't an older child (5+) or on purpose I do not get mad. It is just a part of life.

I agree with all this. My little girl is absolutely tiny (and she started walking at 8 months, she wasn't even 12lbs yet), and she has been hurt by "normal" sized 1 year olds quite a few times, just because they aren't steady on their feet yet or whatever and they outweigh her by at least 10 pounds, so when they fall on her, it hurts. So I think size restrictions are important, even if it is completely an accident a 42 inch 4 year old could really hurt a 30 inch 4 year old. Because of this I've never even considered letting dd play in those play areas, even the kids her age are twice her size and they are always packed...it just looks scary to me!

[Peppermint]

That's funny (not like ha ha), my ds is a large 2 year old, and he is constantly being "tortured" and trampled by his 18 months very tiny little petite cousin, he is so afraid of her, he has been accidentally hurt by her so many times. I just think kids have accidents and get hurt by other kids, I don't think it is only based on size, my 20 pound neice can really manage to hurt my 32 pound ds.

[teniprice]

I don't have a problem with older/bigger kids playing on the toddler playgrounds as long as they play nicely. Whenever I take my kids to eat (like at McDonald's or Chick fil A) they have the height restrictions and there are ALWAYS older/bigger kids playing on the equipment. What makes me mad is when the parents aren't there watching their kids play. My kids are still young (dd is 4 and ds is almost 2) so they are learning how to play on this playground. The older/bigger kids are climbing on everything and running around chasing each other which can be a bad thing if there are toddlers playing there too. Now, when my kids were little and needed help, I appreciated the older/bigger kids helping them get up the stairs or come down the slide. I am not so much worried about my kids getting hurt (although they have been pushed down by the other kids playing too hard) as much as I worry about the older/bigger kids teaching them bad habits of playing. Example: I went to a Chick fil A a couple of weeks ago and there were a few toddlers playing and then about 4 older/bigger kids came out to the playground. Their parents stayed inside to order the food. They took food trays and started sleding down the tunnel slide. It goes pretty fast and they come flying out of the tunnel. Well, this may be lots of fun for an older/bigger child, but they can't stop if there is a toddler standing by the exit of the slide. KWIM? These kids had obviously been told not to do this because they kept saying "hurry before we get caught..." This to me says they are too old to be playing on this playground. Also, they climb on all the things that clearly are posted as NO CLIMB AREAS. The posts that have foam at the bottoms, the fence that keeps them in. My kids think this is acceptable because the older/bigger kids are doing it and they start doing it. Also, climbing UP the slide. That just annoys me. I have to constantly tell my kids NO because they see the older/bigger kids doing it and they want to be just like them. So, now that this post is so long, I will say, I don't mind the older/bigger kids playing on the equipment, I just wish they would follow the rules and play nicely so that no one gets hurt. If everyone can play together, great, if not, they need to stay off the playground. JMO.
Teniece
Megan 8.10.99 30 pounds 36 inches
Jacob 10.22.01 27 pounds 34 inches