I don't let my kids climb the slide if other people are there that are using the slide. I hate it when my kids are trying to slide down the slide and there are kids climbing up it that won't get off! But if we are alone or there are no kids playing on the slide, it doesn't bother me. It annoys me a lot more when kids pile dirt or rocks on the bottom of the slide.

 

In our playground experiences, most children want to climb up the slide and most parents let them. I hear most parents teaching their children to look out for other children who are ready to come down the slide, so the priority is given to those coming down over those going up, and those going up are expected to get out of the way. Those are the usual rules we experience and they seem to work fine.

I'd be very surprised if you were the first mom this other family has encountered that lets their child climb up the slide. I think she's probably used to, and comfortable with, different families having different rules, and wants to maintain her own rules for whatever reason.

 

Well, I should have clarified, I guess I assumed it was obvious, but I guess it's not! I definately don't help her climb the slide when other children are trying to use it, or even really when other children are playing on that equipment, but if no one wants to go down and she has just gone down and wants to climb up I help. I don't monopolize the slide, but I am there with my dd and my goal is to help her have a good time although not at the expense of others time.

 

If someone is trying to slide down, we give them the right of way. Some parents get louder and louder telling their kids their rule hoping peer pressure will make me act the way they do. I "just say no" to peer pressure.

Other people's rules, at the park and elsewhere, don't affect how we live. My kids know that they only need to listen to me and follow our agreed upon safety plan.

Our rule is that if it's a safety thing, we do what the other person asks, then discuss it. It goes both ways (parent to child and child to parent) in our family.

 

If there are not other children around ds knows he can climb up the slide, but we generally do not do this when other children are around, especially younger children. I've told him that the littler children will often try to do what he's doing and it may not be safe for them. I do ask him to do this for their safety, but also because a lot of the time the Mother's do not want their littles climbing up the slide as well.

I know I don't *have* to do that, but I figure there are many ways for ds to play at the park and if he wants to climb up the slide he knows there is a time/place for it. I think it's respectful of others to ask ds to use the equipment as it's intended (down not up slides) when others are near.

Edited to add: this is just what we do, and if I saw another child climbing up the slide nearby I wouldn't be miffed!

 

I let the kids climb up the slide as much as they want to here at home. When we do go to a public park and there are other people there, I don't really let them. That way, there's just much less of a risk of someone getting kicked in the face. Kids don't seem to mind different rules for different places. The two of playground/park age are 6 and 3.

Nicole

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by sisteeesmama But I felt a little wierd about letting dd climb the slide when the other mom was so vocal with her kids about not doing.

I don't worry about it. I've had to deal with tons of things from the other side, too (like the parents who let their children chase ducks and chickens at the farm, while I'm explaining to my kids that it's not fair to the birds).

I find the "no climbing up the slide" thing to be a really arbitrary rule, and I can't parent by not letting my kids do things, just because other people's kids aren't allowed to do them. My kids know they can't climb up a slide if someone is at the top waiting to come down (rude), but we don't have a general "no climbing up the slide" rule, and I won't pretend we do, just because someone else does.

 

I let my kids climb up the slide when there is noone else at the park, but when there are others around I don't usually let them. It's really just a safety issue. My kids are getting bigger but still love playing at the park and I'm very strict with them about watching out for the little ones around them. If the other kids playing are as big as they are I'm not so particular, but I expect them to be considerate of the little ones.
If they want to climb there is other climbing equipment.

If this lady has several small children it's probably just easier and safer for everyone if she enforces this rule.

 

I don't allow it. Its basic park manners. It doesn't matter if there are other people at the park or not, I'm consistent with the rules. Of course, I have three kids so there is always someone else at the park.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by camracrazy I don't let my kids climb the slide if other people are there that are using the slide. I hate it when my kids are trying to slide down the slide and there are kids climbing up it that won't get off! But if we are alone or there are no kids playing on the slide, it doesn't bother me. It annoys me a lot more when kids pile dirt or rocks on the bottom of the slide.

That. I don't care if my kids climb the slide, but I do teach them (and remind them) to watch out for kids coming down and to stay out of their way. No one's ever said anything to me about it.

 

Priority goes to the little one going down, but if no-one else is on the slide at the time, we encourage DD to climb up as well as slide down.

As a pediatric physical therapist, I can tell you that climbing up the slide is one of the best activities at the playground for leg strengthening. It also takes a ton of balance, coordination and motor control to manage climbing up a slide. If anyone gives you grief about climbing up slides, tell them your PT friend told you it's one of the best things to do at the playground to facilitate gross motor development.

 

We took the little one to the indoor play park at the mall, and I was SHOCKED at how careful the kids were in knowing their limits, even though they seemed to be doing something outlandish. I watched pretty tiny children climb up the slide, see my (14 mo old) baby trying to climb the slide, and DRAG him up behind them! I was "spotting" the whole time of course, but really kids can handle this sort of thing. I promise they are part monkey, part feline. Anyway, I will continue to spot my child, but I am not going to try to prevent him from climbing at the playground. Better at the playground than the chest of drawers at home.

With multiple kids and not being able to spot them all, I'm not sure what I would do.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by funkymamajoy I don't allow it. Its basic park manners.

This is interesting. I'd never heard that rule described that way before. Almost every kid I've ever seen climbs the slide. Until I started posting here, I'd only ever seen one parent object to it (and she didn't seem to care that other kids did it). I had no idea this was considered a basic manners issue at the park.

 

I think slides are really for climbing as much as sliding - who decided that a slide has to be for a particular activity.

That being said, if it's busy at the park, I tell Morag that climbing isn't a good idea, and we always take turns no matter what we are doing.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by runes Priority goes to the little one going down, but if no-one else is on the slide at the time, we encourage DD to climb up as well as slide down. As a pediatric physical therapist, I can tell you that climbing up the slide is one of the best activities at the playground for leg strengthening. It also takes a ton of balance, coordination and motor control to manage climbing up a slide. If anyone gives you grief about climbing up slides, tell them your PT friend told you it's one of the best things to do at the playground to facilitate gross motor development.

Actually, I'm not surprised. I've been quite awed by how well my kids have mastered climbing the slides...it always looks really hard to me!

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alyantavid I don't care if my kids climb the slide, but I do teach them (and remind them) to watch out for kids coming down and to stay out of their way. No one's ever said anything to me about it.

Same here. I understand Mamas who don't let their kids at all, but if there is no one there but us, the kids find it really fun! It's not a consistency problem because they understand sharing the slide when other kids are there.

 

My kids climb the slides all the time. The "rule" we have is that if someone is trying to get down the slide, they have to give the right of way. The are not allowed to get in the way of someone going down, because that's the primary function. (And it's a safety thing -- someone going down is going a lot faster.)

I actually think that climbing the slide (as opposed to stairs) is good exercise for most kids!

At dd's preschool, they had a play structure with 3 slides. Eventually, they designated one slide as the "up" slide and the other 2 as "down" slides. That kept everyone happy and safe.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Storm Bride This is interesting. I'd never heard that rule described that way before. Almost every kid I've ever seen climbs the slide. Until I started posting here, I'd only ever seen one parent object to it (and she didn't seem to care that other kids did it). I had no idea this was considered a basic manners issue at the park.

This has been a rule at every school playground I have taught at.

As has been mentioned by others, the safety issue is to avoid crashing, not that the children aren't capable of climbing it.

 

There aren't a lot of manners for the park but the ones I grew up with were:
1. don't throw sand
2. take turns
and
3. up the stairs, down the slide

All my friends' moms enforced these rules. I had no idea that its unusual.

Just like manners for the dinner table need to be taught, so do manners for the park.

 

I ask 4 yo ds not to climb the slide if others are on the playground. If we're alone, he can do what he wants. I have seen plenty of parents with an absolute "no climbing" policy, and others who feel their child has as much right to climb up as others to slide down. Everybody has different boundaries.

We have other rules like this... no playing with sticks when other children are around (too much risk of "sword" injury), no throwing sand when other children are in the sandbox, a reasonable time limit on playground equipment if someone else is waiting for a turn, etc. At 4, he knows that some rules are solely for the consideration of others' feelings and safety.

 

As a general statement, I think its fine to say "different people have different rules" and let it go at that. However, when we are at the playground with others around I will sometimes ask my children to follow the other parent's rules as a matter of courtesy, especially if that other parent has smaller children (mine are 6 and 9 now, so frequently much bigger than others around), seems very stressed by things, and if what my kids want to do will impact her kids. So, if some other mother is carrying on about the way my DD is swinging upside down on the bars, but it has no impact on her kids and they couldn't follow her lead, I don't worry about it and will tell DD that she is OK. If the other mother is still carrying on or comments to DD, I will politely explain that what she is doing is safe for her and to please not correct her. But if DS wants to climb the slide and the other children could follow him and/or might want to come down (and its impossible to see the top of the twisty slides we mostly have here), I ask him not to. I explain that I don't mind and he can do it once they have moved on, but for the moment it would be considerate to refrain. I'm trying to teach my children to think about how their actions impact others, even if what they are doing is within our rules. But, as I said, my children are older now and so we are moving on to more complex "think before acting" sorts of lessons.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kappa We took the little one to the indoor play park at the mall, and I was SHOCKED at how careful the kids were in knowing their limits, even though they seemed to be doing something outlandish. I watched pretty tiny children climb up the slide, see my (14 mo old) baby trying to climb the slide, and DRAG him up behind them! I was "spotting" the whole time of course, but really kids can handle this sort of thing. I promise they are part monkey, part feline. Anyway, I will continue to spot my child, but I am not going to try to prevent him from climbing at the playground. Better at the playground than the chest of drawers at home. With multiple kids and not being able to spot them all, I'm not sure what I would do.

LOL I almost forgot about this until I read your post:

This weekend we were at the grandparent's house and they have a swingset with a bumpy slide. 18 mo DD was trying to climb the slide, but couldn't make it past the bump. 4 yo slid down the slide and was laying at the bottom (on the slide), so 18 mo climbed over her and was trying to use 4 yo's head to give her a boost over the bump. She was so determined to do it one way or the other!!

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by funkymamajoy There aren't a lot of manners for the park but the ones I grew up with were: 1. don't throw sand 2. take turns and 3. up the stairs, down the slide All my friends' moms enforced these rules. I had no idea that its unusual. Just like manners for the dinner table need to be taught, so do manners for the park.

I agree that basic manners need to be taught but I'd tend to think that manners at the park are somewhat fluid based on what the manners of everyone else who happens to be there also. Manners at the park have relaxed a little since we grew up.

Here kids go up the slide all the time and parents help referee if someone is headed down so there isn't a crash. If it's really busy parents usually tell their kids to just go down, but since we all pretty much have the same manners, no one is hurt or offended. I see a lot of the same moms at the park... it's a small town!

We have a lot more trouble with the sand toys than with the slide. To some kids they are communal, to some they belong to whoever brought them. But that's the topic of a different thread!

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by momtokea This has been a rule at every school playground I have taught at. As has been mentioned by others, the safety issue is to avoid crashing, not that the children aren't capable of climbing it.

I have no idea if that was a rule at my son's school playground or not. However, I wasn't talking about schools. The number or arbitrary rules at schools, on the playgrounds or not, don't incline me to use them as an example. Besides, I've watched kids playing at school playgrounds, and there's usually an "edge" there (more frantic) that I don't often see at public playgrounds....probably because the kids at public playground aren't trying to burn off a whole morning of sitting at a desk in 15 minutes. School dynamics are very different from non-school dynamics.

ETA: Eclipse also makes a good point - the adult/child ratio at a school playground is much, much lower than the ratio at a public playground, so detailed supervision of things like "are there any kids trying to come down" is much harder.

Although I was asking about park manners, not about safey, I don't see how anyone can crash if a child doesn't climb the slide when someone is going down.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by momtokea This has been a rule at every school playground I have taught at. As has been mentioned by others, the safety issue is to avoid crashing, not that the children aren't capable of climbing it.

I can totally understand why it's a rule at school playgrounds, where the adult to child ratio is very low. I have seen some schools have designated "up" slides, though, and I think that's a brilliant solution.

Anyhow, I let my kids climb up as long as they aren't interfering with anyone else coming down.