Hellobee Boards

No - because you slide down the slide.

Nope! I chipped a tooth climbing up a slide, so there's no way I'm letting my kids do that. It's not safe!

No. They can only go down the slide.

Yep, if no one else is waiting and she's not being crazy. I don't see a problem with it.

I don't see a big deal about it. She doesn't do it often and only does when the park is pretty empty.

We try to enforce it as a rule in all situations. I dont think a child can understand why its ok sometimes but not others. So we just try to say no.

Yes. If no one else is waiting for it, I let them climb it. If not, I tell them to get down and wait their turn.

Yes. But she isn't in school yet, so I make the rules. I guess when she is in school we will probably support school rules, especially since our local playground is the school playground.

No, because even though the park is empty now, the next time it is full and she climbs up it, she's getting another kid's shoe to the face.

Nope. Our daycare has the rule of up the stairs, down the slide. So for consistency sake our kids are only allowed to use the slide in that fashion. Our 4.5 year old now challenges this some because of course others don't follow this same rule. I explain it as different families, different rules. Our rule in our family is up the stairs, down the slide.

I really think it would be difficult to differentiate in their young minds when it's okay and when it's not.

Heck yes, but just like you, only when no one is up there. I see no reason why they shouldn't play on the playground in the way they choose if they are not impeding others.

As long as someone isn't trying to come down, LO can climb the slide. I'm pretty hands off on the playground as well.

Yes, as long as no one is trying to come down. He sometimes needs help following the rule, but he also needs help remembering to not come down the slide until the person before has cleared out.

He's only two, so he's not big enough to do a lot of the climbing at the playground (and he's not that agile). Climbing the slide is one of the things he can actually do! In terms of safety, I see it as one of the lower risk activities at the playground. (Several of the "planned" activities--swings, rope ladder, high platforms with openings in the guard rails--seem to have a far greater risk of serious injury to me.)

As long as someone isn't waiting to take a turn, sure. Our closest neighborhood park is always pretty dead, so she climbs all over the place. I'm more conservative about rules at the crowded park downtown, and she seems to adapt fine.

He can climb the slides as long as no one is waiting to slide down,

Yes, but not at preschool, and not when there are a lot of kids around. He actually has pretty good judgment about it, and I rarely have to correct him.

@Anagram: I think you put this well.

I probably won't, but it's because I'm a stickler for rules and I'm afraid of getting in trouble. The playground police might come get me for breaking the rules But seriously, I'd be too afraid of someone saying something since it's not technically how it should be used. In the city you're almost never at the playground/park alone. Actually I can't think of a single time.

BUT if we were there totally alone and he was old enough to understand WHY he's allowed in that instance but not others, I'd probably make an exception.

No, because we were recently in Mexico and a little girl was repeatedly climbing up the water slide. I waited and waited for her to move so he could go, but I finally went to the other side of the slide (It was about 6 feet wide...) Sure enough, as he was going down she decided to climb up that side and hit my son in the face with her knee. Mama bear came out.... I was not happy at all.... So yeah, I'm not a fan....

Nope, but mostly because she's not quite coordinated enough to do it "safely" yet and she's too young to understand the reasoning behind why she could do it sometimes but not others. If she were a bit older and the park was empty I'd probably let her though.

@meganmp: totally agree!