aibu to teach my DC to go up the steps and down the slide?

[PrincessScrumpy]

Really trivial.
I always taught dd1 to do this and not climb up the slide. Now she's 5 and I do let her climb her slide at home but not in front of younger siblings or when at a park. Today I took dtds to the park (22mo) and was teaching them this. It was a fairly tall slide but they were doing well. Then lots of other dc arrived with their parents (all around 3yo) and it soon became apparent I was the only one who deemed this important and one parent accused me of spoiling the fun.
I might well be being a bit precious about this rule - to me it's partly about safety and partially about turn taking and allowing dc to get down the slide.
Happy to go with MN jury if you deem me to bu, i'm truly not sure.
Thanks in advance.

[maja00]

It isnt helicoptering to make sure your child isn't being a dick at the park. It's always the child who is pushing/shoving/being a general pain in the arse whose parents are miles away carefully ignoring them.

[Dancergirl]

YABU

Petty and controlling. There are lots of important things to teach children but teaching them HOW to use outdoor play equipment is not one of them. As long as it isn't busy I don't see the problem.

Oh, and children get muddy at the park.

[TheOriginalSteamingNit]

Dancer that's ridiculous. There are times to be inventive and creative, and times to be considerate and thoughtful and safe. A child climbing up the slide in anything but a totally empty playground is at best going to spoil it for everyone else (whether by cacking up the slide itself or the queue waiting for it), and at worst going to get a shoe in his face.

Much simpler and safer just to remind them that ladders are for going up and slides are for .... sliding down.

[Dancergirl]

In 12 years of taking my dc to parks, I've never seen a child slide down a slide without making sure it's clear first. And they check for selfish reasons because a child climbing up the slide would hamper their enjoyment of sliding down. But for whatever reason, they DO check before sliding.

[IneedAyoniNickname]

You must have naicer parks where you are dancer I've seen it happen! I also fell off a slide and broke y arm because I was climbing up, there were no other children there so it was totally my fault. And ny friends toddler dd broke her leg falling off the slide, not sure if she fell or was knocked though.

Of course its important to teach them how to correctly use outdoor play equipment.

[Dancergirl]

We'll have to agree to disagree then. My own dc aren't particularly into climbing up slides but some dc are (I think I quite enjoyed doing it too as a child!). If my child was waiting to slide down and there was a child climbing up, they wait 20 seconds or so, it's no big deal.

ineed broken limbs can happen when using other equipment too. Just because you have an experience of that happening when climbing up doesn't mean it's dangerous. You hold on to the sides!

[EverybodysStressyEyed]

Bil smashed his front teeth off/out climbing up a slide. Unfortunately they were his adult teeth.

So we always stop the kids and used the warning 'remember uncle x!'

Ds started shouting this at other kids which left them a little confused!

[PrincessScrumpy]

Brilliant, accused of helicopter parenting... They are 22mo twins who encourage each other to do all sorts of daring things, so no, I do not take my eyes off them for a second... That is just called good parenting.

[Idocrazythings]

it is very dangerous and only takes a second for teeth to get smashed or worse shoved up into gums believe me, I know and the result is not fun. My child was climbing up the slide and ignoring me telling them to come down. They don't do it anymore though. Tough lesson to learn.

[ChippingInGoAndyGo]

I'm in the 'It's fine, do as you please, as long as you are the only one playing on it (or you are all doing it arse about face) but if there are other children playing on it, then it's UP the stairs and DOWN the slide'. Doesn't confuse any kids I know, not even the very little ones.

Given that the 2 year old scales the climbing wall, climbing up the slide is tame!

[Dancergirl]

Given that the 2 year old scales the climbing wall, climbing up the slide is tame!

Exactly. A bit of common sense is called for rather than a blanket ban depending on how crowded it is and the child in question.

[IneedAyoniNickname]

Oh of course broken limbs can occur on anything, but it just shows that climbing up the slide CAN be dangerous. As I said earlier in the thread, I do let my dc climb up the slide, provided there aren't children waiting to come down.

[FunnysInLaJardin]

provided your DC are not stopping another child sliding down or making the slide dirty them I have no problem with this. All children seem to prefer getting up the slide this way anyway!