https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Fri, 29 May 2026 15:50:57 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-closely-do-you-watch-your-kids-at-the-playground#post-1925076 Sat, 01 Nov 2014 08:00:22 +0000 hellocupcake 1925076@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We always play with her at the park, but she's not even 2. I will definitely ease up once she gets older.</p> <p>I broke my arm on the monkey bars when I was younger. I had been on the monkey bars a million times, I even used to sit at the top and hang upside down...this one day I was just going across and lost grip for some reason and fell at an awkward angle. It was my birthday and I didn't want to miss the cake and presents so I didn't tell my mom. The next day I couldn't handle the pain and we found out I had broken my arm in 2 places!! It happens. Kids fall. I don't think we can ever 100% prevent it. Even if my mom had been there, I was using the monkey bars the proper way so I doubt it was preventable :( </p> <p>As a mom now, I always tell DH that I never realized the park is its own episode of 100 ways to die :/ </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-closely-do-you-watch-your-kids-at-the-playground#post-1925074 Sat, 01 Nov 2014 07:50:58 +0000 littlebug 1925074@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I follow, but stay a few feet back. He's a pretty cautious kid (he didn't walk until 18 months), so he definitely doesn't do anything very dangerous. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-closely-do-you-watch-your-kids-at-the-playground#post-1925039 Sat, 01 Nov 2014 04:42:39 +0000 Mrs. Jump Rope 1925039@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Very closely, sometimes on the verge of hovering. Chloe is three, very petite and a daredevil. I get really nervous! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-closely-do-you-watch-your-kids-at-the-playground#post-1925032 Sat, 01 Nov 2014 03:41:22 +0000 Ifyoulikepinacoladas 1925032@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I always make sure my 4 1/2yo DD is within eyesight, but try to maintain a healthy distance so I'm not 'hovering'. If she is having difficulty with age appropriate equipment I usually let her figure it herself, if there is a safety issue I'll move a little closer in case I'm needed quickly. I'm not afraid to let her fall from the playground we frequent most though, there is lots of sand and at worst she'll get winded. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-closely-do-you-watch-your-kids-at-the-playground#post-1925003 Fri, 31 Oct 2014 23:37:34 +0000 birdofafeather 1925003@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I watch/follow but she's pretty good and knows her boundaries. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-closely-do-you-watch-your-kids-at-the-playground#post-1924889 Fri, 31 Oct 2014 20:22:56 +0000 Mrs. D 1924889@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I stay VERY close, our only playground is at the school I work at, and there are ALWAYS kids around. And if they see me, they beeline for my girl and want to PLAY with her, which is fine, but they often overwhelm her with their unexpected affection. She'd not one for being touched as much as they handle her.<br /> Although, I'm grateful when she's sliding and there are a few trustworthy kids around so they can follow her up and I can be at the bottom! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-closely-do-you-watch-your-kids-at-the-playground#post-1923439 Thu, 30 Oct 2014 21:45:59 +0000 pinkcupcake 1923439@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Very closely, but she's only 2.5 years and is very petite so I'm always terrified that some kid is gonna run into her/push/shove her, and she will fall... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-closely-do-you-watch-your-kids-at-the-playground#post-1923433 Thu, 30 Oct 2014 21:38:13 +0000 Mrs. High Heels 1923433@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>As long as I can see DD, I feel comfortable letting her roam because she is an extremely cautious girl! DS is accident prone, so yea I watch him pretty carefully and always have my arms out just in case he topples over this way or that! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-closely-do-you-watch-your-kids-at-the-playground#post-1923427 Thu, 30 Oct 2014 21:28:20 +0000 Andrea 1923427@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Oh no, poor girl! </p> <p>I don't watch my 4.5 year old very closely, but she isn't too much of a daredevil. I stick close to my 22 month old because she is a wanderer and loves to escape playgrounds. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-closely-do-you-watch-your-kids-at-the-playground#post-1923425 Thu, 30 Oct 2014 21:22:14 +0000 mrbee 1923425@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@jedeve: The playground we used to hang out at had a bunch of playground structures with stairs and bridges that kids could walk up and down... and at the top, there was usually a slide of some kind. Nothing too dangerous, and you could kind of just keep a loose eye on your kid and it'd be ok.</p> <p>This playground we've been going to is entirely climbing structures: a geodesic jungle gym, a bunch of different monkey bars (a single bar, a row of overhead bars), and stuff like that. From what I understand though, these sorts of old school jungle gyms and super high monkey bars have been becoming less popular because of safety concerns... at least, that's what I read here a few years ago!</p> <p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/19/science/19tierney.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/19/science/19tierney.html</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-closely-do-you-watch-your-kids-at-the-playground#post-1923415 Thu, 30 Oct 2014 21:13:19 +0000 Foodnerd81 1923415@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Very closely, but she's only 15 months and still likes to put rocks and mulch in her mouth, so yeah. I hover. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-closely-do-you-watch-your-kids-at-the-playground#post-1923409 Thu, 30 Oct 2014 21:12:13 +0000 jedeve 1923409@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrbee: Wsit maybe I'm misunderstanding. What else would a playground have besides a jungle gym? Do some just have swings and slides and nothing to climb on?</p> <p>ETA: you would like this story: <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=199773134" rel="nofollow">http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=199773134</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-closely-do-you-watch-your-kids-at-the-playground#post-1923393 Thu, 30 Oct 2014 20:55:33 +0000 BeachMama 1923393@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Eh, not that close. She's almost 2 1/2. If I think she's doing something unsafe or too challenging for her, I'll stand nearby. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-closely-do-you-watch-your-kids-at-the-playground#post-1923390 Thu, 30 Oct 2014 20:55:00 +0000 mrbee 1923390@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@jedeve: It's a regular set of monkey bars, except the bars are maybe 7 feet or so off the ground. It's not as crazy as it sounds though because there are two rings hanging off of and attached to each bar, and I think kids are supposed to kind of swing from ring to ring. So if kids dropped while holding the ring, it would only be a drop of a few feet. But a lot of kids climb above the rings and sit on top of the monkey bars, and it's kind of a crazy drop from up there if they fall.</p> <p>I really like this particular playground, because it has things like a jungle gym which aren't easy to find these days (I think parents don't like them because there are injuries). But this one piece of equipment doesn't really seem all that safe unless you stick to the normal usage (going from ring to ring). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-closely-do-you-watch-your-kids-at-the-playground#post-1923376 Thu, 30 Oct 2014 20:45:43 +0000 jedeve 1923376@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Pretty close if he climbs up to the top level, but he is not 2 yet. Otherwise I let him roam and follow behind. </p> <p>I think a 7 year old breaking her arm is just one of those things that happens in life. Poor girl, though! Sounds painful. Was it just a regular monkey bar set? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-closely-do-you-watch-your-kids-at-the-playground#post-1923369 Thu, 30 Oct 2014 20:41:18 +0000 yellowbird 1923369@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Super closely, but she's only 2 and gets in over her head and tries to run off constantly. Can't wait til the running away phase is over!!!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-closely-do-you-watch-your-kids-at-the-playground#post-1923366 Thu, 30 Oct 2014 20:38:19 +0000 Dandelion 1923366@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>A kid at D's school broke his arm on the monkey bars, too. I have never heard of that happening until recently.</p> <p>He really only plays on the playground at school, so I can't watch. But, I watched him when he was younger. Didn't hover, though. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-closely-do-you-watch-your-kids-at-the-playground#post-1923355 Thu, 30 Oct 2014 20:27:21 +0000 mrbee 1923355@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We started taking the kids to a new playground with a lot of climbing structures, and even though the ground is made of that soft rubber surfacing... there have been a number of serious accidents there recently. Today while we were there, a seven-year-old girl fell from some monkey bars and broke her arm! She was screaming and her arm was going out at a crazy angle. They called 911, and paramedics took her to the hospital.</p> <p>There was another serious injury there last week, and I"m pretty sure it was from the same structure. The whole thing got me thinking about how closely we're supposed to watch our kids at the playground. Seven years old is pretty old! But that particular structure is pretty dangerous, and I see younger kids on it all the time.</p> <p>I'm a big believer in letting kids take chances at the playground, and I don't think injuries are the end of the world. But I try to keep an eye on the kids, so that they stay off the most dangerous equipment. Sometimes I worry that I'm coddling the kids, and other times I feel like I'm making the right call. Our son is not yet 5, so I feel fine about limiting his play on that particular set of monkey bars... but the girl who fell today was 7! I had kind of thought that by the time kids were that old, they would have the run of any playground. I guess different playgrounds are appropriate for different ages.</p> <p>How closely do you watch your kids at the playground? At what age are kids old enough that you don't have to monitor their play on any playground? </p>