to let DD climb up the slide.

[TheIIlusiveShadow]

Am now completely unsure of playground etiquette.
Lovely afternoon here at the park but DD got told off by another parent for climbing up the slide instead of queuing like her DCs. Does it matter? Should I have insisted the DD only goes down the slide?

YANBU to let DD climb up a slide.

However, YABU is there was a queue at the top - kids at top take precedence.

I think it depends on whether others are wanting to use slide. If no one else about fine to climb up (assuming not making it really muddy or anything) otherwise - use it normally like everyone else.

A bit annoying for the ones trying to come down otherwise.

"if" there was a queue

Uo the steps and don the slide. Climbing up when other kids are waiting to go down gets in the way, causes fights and crashes when someone slides down and isn't teaching your dd to wait her turn as the others are doing. Plus it gets muck on the slide.

Yep, YABU

Your DD should queue like everyone else.

If there's no one waiting to go down the slide, then, yes, it's fine to climb as long as she's not making it dirty.

Depends I think on how busy the park is, how muddy, what ages etc.
Not reasonable to climb up slide if there are children waiting to slide down it.
Never reasonable to climb up slide if it is muddy and you leave a trail of muck on the slide the next child will take home on their clothes.
Not fair if there are little ones being drilled by their parents into the 'right' way of doing this and someone else is being allowed to do it how they like.
Not sure someone else should be telling your child off for that though, unless they were endangering another child.

YABU if there is some waiting it is so annoying to get the kid who goes up and down the slide and it makes it muddy and wet

Totally agree with Indith.

I prefer ours not even to climb up on the one at home, just because I don't want them to get in the habit.

That said, it was one of my favourite things in the world EVER when I was about 7, and you still got really really steep slides.

Climbing up the slide is ridiculous, it makes the slide dirty, obstructs anyone wanting to come down, its dangerous(what if she slips) and its just irritating. Why not teach her proper slide etiquette from the start!!

YABU even if no queue & not that mucky, it makes the slide less slidey & is irritating.

Climbing up slides is great fun. When you're little you feel like you're being really subversive!!!

However, you shouldn't have let them climb up whilst there was a queue at the top. Or if the ground was muddy and was going to mean no one else could go down with it.

Bigteadrinker I'm glad you're not my mum - slipping is part of the fun!

Etiquette is as Indith says. The other parent was right. If all started climbing up slide there would be chaos!

This always seems to be a controversial topic!

My rules are that it's fine IF:

• there is nobody wanting to come down
• it is dry (so they won't get it muddy)

I let my dc climb up if there is no one wanting to slide down.
yanbu

Kids love climbing up slides the wrong way - they will all do it. I would let DS do this when he was smaller if there was no one else wanting to go on it....if anyone was waiting then he had to go down the same as everyone else.

YABU unless the park is empty.

YABU - up the steps, down the slide, it's the only way! I make mine do this regardless of if the park is empty or their slide at home. I'm not a killjoy, they have lots of freedom and fun but I have a real issue with incorrect slide use......

Yanbu
As long as they do it quickly and don't hold up the queue (same if you are going down the slide, don't just sit there at the top holding everybody up).

its practically a childhood right of passage to climb up the slide

I think it's a shame if DCs never get the chance - it is good to climb on equipment in any way, it is good to learn to climb more difficult things that aren't actually meant for climbing (ie with steps and such) - for a start, there's not many trees to climb around here.

As long as etiquette is adhered to - ie not holding up queues or getting the slide muddy, or hurting anyone obviously - I don't see why there should be rules on how to use equipment in a playground. Let 'em loose I say :o

Oh god, the eternal slide climbing debate.

The etiquette is to let them do it provided no other children are at or close to the top but pretend not to notice. If that occurs you then act surprised at seeing your child do something so unexpected as to climb up a slide and go and gently admonish them with something like:
'Out of the way dear, you KNOW we don't climb up slides. Gosh that's not like you.'

YEs..not ANOTHER climbing up the slide debate! It's not on and it's dangerous. You'd not be hapy if DD got hit in the face by an unaware child sliding down would you?

@ schobe.

It is also very bad for the slippy surface of the slide. I help manage a village playground and it takes us ages to polish a slide when some little darling has trampled up it in his trainers or wellies. It is so boring for older children not to be able to slide properly because someone has done this.

I take a delight in putting car wax on the slide and seeing the faces of the children when they slide down and realise they are going FAST.