Going to a playground without children?

Me too, but I think DH is the kind of person who might sit and watch children playing when he’s old. He’s totally harmless and it’s a bit sad I’d be suspicious of him, if I didn’t know him.

I wouldn’t look twice at a woman, I can see how you might want to sit in a safe space with lots of people around. But I would be suspicious of a lone man. I think the statistics would agree.

I took my kids last week (it was kind of late to be fair, but they were hyper) and there was an adult couple on the swings. They rushed to get off but I said it’s okay, my kids need to learn to wait their turn anyway. It’s never really occurred to me that’s it’s weird, it only becomes weird if the person is exhibiting weird behaviour.

Just the other week I was walking to a park and wanted to sit on one of the benches inside the play area as they were in the sun but the ones outside were under trees in the shade. I decided not to go in the play park as I was worried what people would think. Glad I didnt go in now if there was a chance I would have been confronted.

I wouldn't feel comfortable doing this unless the play park was empty. I'd feel out of place. Plus, I like to have a cigarette when I sit on a park bench, which wouldn't be fair to any children as they'll never have an opportunity to smoke given the incoming rising age smoking ban.

Poor woman, the one confronting her sounds like much more of a liability to me.

There are loads of reasons a lone female would sit in a park without children. Like PP said, if that’s where the benches are that’s where people will sit for starters. Perhaps that bench holds particular memories of when she was a child, or of bringing a child who has since grown up, moved away or even died. Perhaps she feels it is safer in the playground with families around than a bench on its own or in the trees or whatever. Perhaps she just likes people watching.

So a person isnt allowed to sit in a park but filming someone in a park probably with chdren in the background and putting it all over the Internet is acceptable. If you are watching your children which you absolutely should be I don't see any danger. I can't stand people who think its acceptable to film people to put on social media

Plenty of people are twats, including those with children. 🤷‍♀️

I agree with you OP. The woman simply sat on a bench in a public place. I think it's awful that she's been confronted in an accusatory manner and posted all over the local social media.

My DC are adults now so I’ve no reason to be in a play-park but I still like a shot on the swings and anyone hassling me about it would be told to go away.

Well, they’re twats. Exactly the people who need to be kept out.

Our local playground has signs up saying adults basically have to be with a child to enter. No unaccompanied adults.
There's a park around it for everyone. The playground is for 12 and under and their minders.

I agree completely 💁‍♀️ public place. Anyone is allowed on a bench

The song "Have You Seen Her" by The Chi-Lites has the words:

"One month ago today
I was happy as a lark
But now I go for walks
To the movies, maybe to the park

And have a seat on the same old bench
To watch the children play, huh
You know, tomorrow is their future
But for me just another day

They all gather around me
They seem to know my name
We laugh, tell a few jokes
But it still doesn't ease my pain"

Sad that any proximity of adults and kids is viewed with suspicion now, but I guess that's where we are ☹️

I wouldn’t like it and I think people are being really naive about this.

The more I live in the world, the more I read and see and hear, the more I just know how many pedophiles walk among us. And far too often they are, purposefully or by accident, protected.

In this instance, if these are the only benches in the park I would be on to the council to provide other benches outside the playground.

There are playgrounds near me that specifically say “no adults who aren’t accompanied by a child”.

🤣 at your husband @SpikeGilesSandwich - not laughing at him, I mean, it’s just the baby pool is so warm and comfy and what a shame that his 10 minutes to wallow there were spoiled!

I agree. Watching children play is very likely to be an innocent pleasure. Though not to everyone's taste, as you say.

It is sad to think the worst of everyone. They could have been meeting someone or remembering someone they lost perhaps.

I once took my nieces to the loo during a swimming session and when we got back, my poor husband was feeling like a real creepy weirdo because we’d left him on his own in the baby pool

It's sad we live in a world where the most innocent action is viewed with suspicion. Personally I couldn't think of a worse place to sit but maybe I am just a miserable old buggar 😂

The song Aqualung is specifically about a paedo that used to do this in Cambridge. I don't think it's ok. I'd be more tolerant of a woman than a man but I wouldn't completely let her off the hook because some paedos are women too. There are also organised child snatching gangs that eye up kids and could be picking one whose parent was less attentive to snatch at a later date. People just aren't streetwise enough if they think this is always safe and fine. There's also the adult baby/adult child fetishists to watch out for who can be male or female. There are so many reasons why everyone should have their spidey senses tingling if anyone without kids is at an enclosed play park while kids are on it, but I don't think aggressive confrontation is necessarily the right answer. Just an awareness that it's not perfectly safe just because the person in question has a pair of tits and maybe a word asking them to leave or a phone call to the police if it became obvious they were actually causing issues. I'd much rather people saved the confrontations for the arseholes who take their dogs inside the park enclosure (whose feeble defence is always "he's friendly").

People can sit where they like. The only tables in our park are inside the gated toddler play area. Adults sit there all the time. Sometimes grown ups go on the swings too. The horror!

My auntie had her only child taken from her at birth and adopted (teenager, Ireland,
1970s, granny made it happen, fucking evil). She would always choose the seat where she could see the children playing.