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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

adults with learning difficulties on small childrens' play area.

580 replies

Bethshine82 · 15/04/2012 16:40

Took DS to the play area on Friday, it is not a huge play area and has one of those signs saying it is designed for use by children 14 and under.
Whilst we were there a group of around eight adults with learning difficulties and their carers arrived. The adults proceeded to go onto the playground.
AIBU to think this isn't very fair? They were adults and they weren't really aware of their strength and size. The carers weren't supervising brilliantly and twice I saw one of the adults just shove the children out of the way. Also some of the adults were shouting and screaming which frightened some of the toddlers. Many of the children left. I'm not in any way suggesting that adults with learning difficulties shouldn't be able to go out and enjoy themselves or that they shouldn't be part of the community, I'm just not sure a small childrens' play area is the place for an adults' afternoon out.

I think that the playground should only be used by children, it isn't safe otherwise really. AIBU?

OP posts:
ragged · 15/04/2012 18:25

I would tend to lean towards yabu, as long as they are well-supervised like anyone with a mental age of 1-2-3-4yo needs to be. If they shoved someone out of the way then sounds like they weren't well-supervised.

Catsdontcare · 15/04/2012 18:40

I not sure why you think children Should automatically take precedence though. You didn't have to stay if you thought it was dangerous.

Birdylade · 15/04/2012 18:45

Children should take precedence on children's (under 14's) play equipment, surely?

belgo · 15/04/2012 18:49

Were any children actually hurt? Or were they just scared by the screaming? TBH there is so much screaming and shouting at playgrounds that I am very surprised that you consider it a problem when disabled people are screaming and shouting.

As for the shoving, again that does happen at playgrounds, even the parents of children have been know to push past children to get their little darlings first onto the swing. The carers, like parents, should know how to deal with this, but it does not mean that disabled people should not be allowed to use the equipment.

If you are bringing up a child who cannot cope with sharing a world with disabled people, then who exactly does take precedence?

2shoes · 15/04/2012 18:50

just re read the op(still think this has been doen before but...)
if it is a public play area then you can not say who can and cannot use it.

belgo · 15/04/2012 18:50

Birdylade, as I have already pointed out, many parents use play equipment to help their child (and to play on it themselves). It is very common to see adults on slides. in soft-play etc.

belgo · 15/04/2012 18:52

If it was a public area, then as 2shoes says, anyone can use it. If it was a private play area, then presumably the owners and carers have done a risk assessment and the disabled people were allowed to be there.

Original poster
Bethshine82 · 15/04/2012 18:54

True re shouting but if you are about three and an adult comes up behind you on a rope bridge yelling and you don't know why it is bound to make you jump a bit.
Also might have been better outside of Easter holidays as was quite busy already and adding eight large adults made it very busy.

I do think small children take precedence in a play area. Sorry, but there you go. I would think any group of adults unsafe but I would say that many of the adults in this group would not have been aware of their strength and the carers weren't supervising to be honest.

OP posts:
Original poster
Bethshine82 · 15/04/2012 18:56

Belgo in any other situation I would not have mentioned the shouting and I'm not saying it was the end of the world or left the children traumatised or anything. I just think it is a bit unnerving for a child to be approached by a large shouting adult in a toddlers' play area.

OP posts:
wimblehorse · 15/04/2012 18:57

I'm not sure.

There's a playground near my house that is under-used most days in school time but well-used after school and weekends.
There is also a residential unit for SN teenagers on my street. Occasionally, usually on sunny days when the ice cream van is there, the teens use the play area with their carers- climbing frame, swings, roundabout, basketball court and field for kicking a ball round. All good, sometimes theu interact with the toddlers, sometimes don't. Except one woman I met through a toddler group turned down a meet up there because it made her uncomfortable. We don't meet up any more.
I'd far rather those teens used and enjoyed it than the ones who climb the fence in the evening to drink and occasionally vandalise the equipment.

If the equipment can't handle adult weight or there's inadequate supervision, that's different though.

belgo · 15/04/2012 18:57

Any other child or teenager - some 14 year olds can be as large as adults - could have screamed and scared your child. The area was not restricted to just toddlers.

belgo · 15/04/2012 19:00

In your OP you say it was age 14 and under; in a subsequent post you say it was for toddlers. Which was it?

Original poster
Bethshine82 · 15/04/2012 19:01

The overall playground has a sign saying for use by under 14s, but it is split into two areas. One is clearly for those aged about 6-14 and one is for the toddlers and younger children.

OP posts:
Roseformeplease · 15/04/2012 19:02

2shoes. Does it matter if it has been done before? Is it necessary to point this out and make the OP feel that she should have know / is new and has made an error / needs to spend hours checking?

Original poster
Bethshine82 · 15/04/2012 19:02

Wasn't my child who was scared either. Just noticed it did make some of the others jump.

OP posts:
Original poster
Bethshine82 · 15/04/2012 19:03

But anyway, that wasn't my main concern. My main point was that it didn't seem all that safe.

OP posts:
hobnobsaremyfavourite · 15/04/2012 19:03

2shoes last time it was a soft play.

southeastastra · 15/04/2012 19:05

i wouldn't have thought any playground for whatever age would be unsafe for adults to use, though they can sometimes break those rocking springy things

AgentProvocateur · 15/04/2012 19:06

To those people who said that it could have been dangerous for the adults, I can assure you that the trip and equipment will have been risk assessed. I can't really see the problem with the public using a public area. The adults shouted? So what - it's then up to the parents to explain to their children that they were shouting because they were happy/excited etc.

Rudawakening · 15/04/2012 19:14

If they were over the age limit then no they shouldn't really have been there

But I get the feeling you were more bothered that it was adults with LD than if it was a group of NT adults. I don't see why it was relevant to point out the LD as you state your concern is the fact they were over the age limit.

Original poster
Bethshine82 · 15/04/2012 19:16

Because they didn't have the awareness of safety that those without ld would? I've worked with people with ld. I have no issue regards that.

OP posts:
Birdylade · 15/04/2012 19:16

If it was a group of 8 adults who didn't have learning difficulties who wanted to play and they were shouting and running around would this still be okay? Have never been in this situation so not sure what I would feel

Original poster
Bethshine82 · 15/04/2012 19:17

And if I'd just said a group of 8 adults people would have asked why I hadn't said something to them.

OP posts:
Original poster
Bethshine82 · 15/04/2012 19:19

No birdy. I would have wondered why they were there and probably would have said something. And been cross. I wasn't annoyed or anything about the people with ld being there I just didn't think it was the best choice of outing.

OP posts:
Rudawakening · 15/04/2012 19:20

So if they had been adults without ld you would have told them to leave?

Why not ask the carers if that was the case?

Not trying to be argumentative and maybe this subject is too close to home for me to be objective.

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