“I’m not a park mum”!

[cookies79]

I’ve come to the realisation that I’m just not a “park mum” 😅

I try, I really do… but I end up feeling overwhelmed more than anything. The noise, having to constantly be “on”, keeping an eye on everything, making sure they’re safe, engaged, not wandering off it just feels like a lot.

I see other mums who seem so relaxed, chatting away while their kids play, and I honestly don’t know how they do it. Meanwhile I’m counting down the time until we can leave without it seeming too soon.

Please tell me I’m not the only one who finds it a bit much?

I hated it, especially in the winter. DC are self sufficient nearly adults now and every time we walk past soft play or a playground I thank the universe that I don’t have to do it any more.

We've never really done the park much I hate it for the same reasons also I about have an heart attack when there are gaps to fall through.

@DeQuinsoft plays was also so scary for me because all the mums was talking away and there was me with my fake smile because I’m so social awkward 🤣 thank god my sons 5 now

We can not go to parks as far too many folk seems to have dogs off leads (and ignore dog crap) and my kids are both petrified of dogs, so sad actually as I would like to be able to take them still. The park is not for us thanks to inconsiderate people making it a horrible experience.

I've got news for you OP. No-one is a park mum. We all just endure it.

I think it’s a case of “fake it til you make it”, one of those things you just put up with for the kids 🤷‍♀️ It’s not forever.

@WallaceinAnderland wow that’s why they say don’t judge because looking at some mums they seem like they having fun talking to other parents and smiling away and there’s me standing one side until my son calls me over to help with the swings or something

Yep. You just have to make the best of it.

You need to look for comedian Jen Brister's sketch on parks..

I enjoyed it, as long as I didn't have to chat to other mums while they were actually on the playground equipment. I had two boys who would be charging all over the place and I needed to keep an eye on their safety and ensure they were behaving well - letting other children have turns fairly etc.

Some mums from playschool and reception went through a phase of bring the kids' tea up to the park on fine evenings and we'd have a massive picnic, chat, keep an eye on each other's children. It was relaxed. I have happy memories of that time.

IMO it was better than trying to keep them occupied at home. Fresh air, no mess to clear up, running around releasing energy. All good things.

I never loved the park, but I'm a bit baffled by the idea of finding it overwhelming tbh.

I'm neither of those really. I enjoy going to parks actually, especially to a new playground with an interesting design or equipment (I hate traditional formulaic playgrounds). But I'm not sociable at all and tend to be quite hands-on with the dcs, helping them climb or build things in the sandpit. I only take the dcs on my own or with DH, we don't hang out with other families there.
I wouldn't say I just endure it, for me it's nice to spend the day outdoors and watching my dcs enjoy themselves.

Hate the park , hate soft play, hate trampolining. All overwhelming. Unfortunately DS is not a crafty child and has bundles of energy

I always disliked a day out to a park. The boys loved it , so had to just get on with it, but I found it stressful at times until they were old enough to run free a bit more.
Trouble is, they grow out of it soon enough and then you can’t get them to go out much for a walk or something like that!

I don’t find it anxiety inducing but I do find it bloody boring. I don’t have three hours to spare stood at the park. There’s so much else I’d rather be doing! I don’t mind a walk in the woods etc as much as I can take dog / bikes / jog etc and it’s a way I can do a couple of tasks in one go! But stood around at kids play parks is so bloody boring and such a huge chunk of ‘free’ time. Occasionally I will do a quick park eg 20 mins or go for a day if there’s things like a big sandpit etc and work on laptop / picnic and make a thing of it. Making it more productive makes it tolerable for me! How old are your kids? I dont think you need to helicopter parent them at the park unless they’re under 3.

We didn't have a park when my son was young. You'd have to drive some way to get to one, so he played in the garden or friends' gardens. Obviously we sometimes went on days out where there might be play equipment, so that wasn't too bad as it was part of the treat rather than a duty. Soft play wasn't a thing either, although I think it might have existed on holiday parks and the like. I keep reading on Mumsnet about mums "going to the park". Are there more parks around these days and has it become an expectation?

I didn’t enjoy the park but for different reasons. My kid was entirely unimpressed with everything but the swings, and would bellow to be swung higher and higher for aaaaages and then go mental when he had to get off.

The other kids seemed to run happily off and play, and mine just sat there looking bored unless he was on the swings.

I can totally see how the park is overwhelming though if your kid is a runner, or a risk taker. I never realised how easy I had it with my jaded, low energy toddler until I made a friend whose child was a vigorously energetic escape artist with no sense of danger. It took at least 4 adults to keep him safe at the playground!

This ☝️ pretty much sums up parenting to me. An endurance challenge.

I hated it in the winter, awful memories of standing in the freezing cold second lockdown counting down the minutes.
Still. We had a friend from Tunisia who said they don’t really have parks over there and she loved having so many here.
I realised it was a horrifying thought, having nowhere specific outdoors and free to kill an hour or two with DC on a dreary Sunday afternoon.
So I try to appreciate them !

I was just saying this the other day to a friend - she didn’t seem to ‘get’ me so I’m pleased to see this 😂

Mine are adults now, so I’m well out of that phase (until grandchildren perhaps 😳) but I too used to hate hanging around in an often cold and windy park, having to push the kids on the swings or help them on the apparatus. I too used to see other mums completely immersed in their conversations (they probably weren’t tbf but it always seemed that way) while I was hovering on the edge waiting for the next summon / fall / argument 😆
And it was so… boring!

One of my oldest friends who was just born to be a mum, advised me prior to my DC arriving that the park was the "longest 10 minutes of your life" and each birthday was the "most stressful day ever until the last person leaves". I agree with her on both 😊

I just remember it being really quite boring. Pushing them on the swings, dull. Keeping an eye out for them on slides and climbing frames, dull. Watching for argy-bargy from/towards other kids, dull.

You might eventually like it. I feel like I don’t hate it now, finally, because they are 5 and 8 and I don’t really need to actually watch them.

I’m “that” park mum. 😂 my friends and I get together at the park lots in summer. Take a picnic and they go off and play and we have a good catch up. We can be there for 3/4hrs! It’s cheap, kids love it and so do us adults.

I don’t find it overwhelming, but I find it so fucking boring. And if there isn’t a bench free or somewhere to park my backside it’s even worse.