to let my son spend HIS turn on the slide climbing up it instead of going down it?

[lookingforwards]

Just had this happen again at play area (softplay this time) but its happened so many times over the last yr since DS could walk. He's a climber and thinks slides are for climbing. He waits his turn, then goes to the bottom and starts scrambling up it. After a suitable interval I get h im off and he waits again till the last child after him has had a go at which point I let him at the slide again for a scramble. He only gets about 1 minute if its busy but unlimited if there's noone else there. I lift him off if there's someone waiting at the top who has clambered up and wants to come down and then he can scramble again while they are climbing back up. He is 18 mths.

The problem starts when some other parent lifts their child/baby striahgt up to the top and then looks at me impatiently or says straight out 'can you take him off please?'.

Well I think a go spent climbing is as valid as a go spent coming down but the rest of the baby playground world apparently goes by a different etiquette where slides are for coming down and anyone climbing up is a pain and their parent needs to have it pointed out to them that their son is breaking all the unwritten rules.

So go on then AIBU, what's the verdict?

Lets see: he's wearing socks so not making the slide dirty, it sounds like you're standing right there in case of accidents and you only let him do it for '1 minute' when it's his turn.

YANBU

Although now you know the other mums are going to be tsking at you because you don't insist your child plays 'correctly'

"I think that children miss out from the fun of physical activity when it's all so closely supervised and rule bound."
Absolutely.

Of course we are talking about toddlers here, and they require much more attention from a parent than a 5 yr old. They need to learn to take turns. Of course.

However, a little bit of spontaneity and freedom - at least in the playground - is also important for our children, I believe.

And I am still convinced that slides are both for sliding down and climbing up

Franca - I do agree with you. But inner city playgrounds are often so busy that one child who doesn't follow the rules quickly causes havoc.

My DD has always loved the playground "out of hours" to do exactly what she likes with

YABVU

As a childminder it would be highly irresponsible of me to allow the kids to climb UP a slide... not only is the accident incidence higher (any risk assessment will show this), OFSTED would frown on this highly! As would my own common sense. Even at a young age they need to learn about the right way to utilise equipment/taking turns etc.

A child needs a parent's/caregiver's guidance to learn certain behaviours, and it saddens me that some parents think this 'freedom' of letting a child do what they want (when the child has NO concept of danger or risk) is good for their 'development' is beyond me.

To be totally frank.

YABVU and VPFB.

Thing is, whilst I do understand that some children would prefer to climb up a slide rather than slide down one, what happens is this: climby child is at bottom and begins his 1 minute climb.....child at the top (slidy child) thinks obviously it's his turn and starts to slide. They crash heads. Climby Mum gets all bollocky and sues playcentre for damages.

It's not rocket science. It's common courtesy.

Bonsoir, yes, they do get very busy!

I am not advocating total anarchy in the playground, don't get me wrong.
Actually, when my dc were toddlers and we lived in the UK I was uber coscientious about playground rules and btw my children weren't so agile to be wanting to climb up a slide at 18 months.

But it would never occur to me to even think of making a fuss if there was another child climbing up, if my children have to wait for more than one minute for their turn to slide down (do you take a chronometer?) or to sue the playground if they get hurt (unless frames are faulty).

What really annoys me in playgrounds is when groups of children who are too old (too heavy) for the playground equipment run riot over it and break it. This has happened a few times in Parc Monceau when pre-teens on holiday playschemes have been brought over for the day. Very annoying!

I love this thread. 185 posts about slides.

Lol

187 now

I know the op is probably not coming back...but I'll say this anyway. op - you talk about waiting until your ds is talking and also until he's at pre-school to teach him stuff like rules. Kids don't learn like that. there isn't a magical, easily identifiable point at which they will suddenly "get it" and you can calmly say "You know we've always done this? Well today I'm changing the rules and you can't anymore." You need to be consistent throughout. Even if you think they can't understand a word you're saying - firstly they understand an awful lot even before they themselves are talking, and secondly they're learning through doing anyway.

YABU

its a slide, teach him its not for climbing
or just teach him that he can climb it to his hearts content if there is NOONE else there

and if there are others then you have to use it as a slide and take turns

This is what I love about MN: the dissecting of the minutiae of life to death, many times over. You can be left in no doubt whatsoever about what you think about issues

Bonsoir, I usually tend to change my mind after a long debate, just to go against the grain

I will admit to sometimes varying my argument in order to rile debate with a poster I really despise

Btw, I saw a fab Italian film last night, franca - La Bella Gente.

The question is.....

what do we think will happen at soft play the next time the OPs DC wants to do his climbing....?!

Hatwoman, I so agree. I have under 3s and even when they do not talk they have full comprehension of what I am saying.

Even a little thing like when the grocery van arrives and the driver is bringing in the grocery bags... they know to sit on the bottom step so as to not be underfoot. After a couple of times of initiating this myself when the van arrived, they now do it automatically. And they are one years old! Their understanding is amazing.

And yes... consistency is KEY.

I have read this thread and gone from YABU to YANBU to 'my god I don't even care any more'!

I agree with Franca. Slides are for sliding down and climbing up and as long as there's supervision to prevent accidents and no one is hogging the equipment I don't see the problem at all at less busy times. When you have a long queues of children on the stairs waiting to whizz down I think it's better for climber uppers to be encouraged away to other equipment though.

I had a climber too(they are hard work) but he soon got he idea that you slide down not climb. The problem is at that age if you let him do it he will think he can do it on all slides. The last thing you want is him trying to do it one one of them long twisting slides (cant think of the name)where the person at the top has no idea someone is at the bottom, need I say more.

Blimey, all the children climb up the slides here and somehow survive to adulthood. This thread just reminds me how much english people lurrrve to queue!

Highly entertained by the idea that teaching your small child how to use a slide in the normal way, and in a way that fits in with others who are also using the same piece of play equipment is forcing them into "conformity".

I think my driving instructor should have let me drive on the wrong side of the road in order not to stifle my creativity. Or maybe my maths teacher should have taught me that 2 plus 2 can be any number you like.