to not stop my DC doing things because other people don't want their DC to do them?

[hollyvsivy]

My children are adventurous and unless something is dangerous or unsafe for themselves or others, I don't see the problem. Increasingly I find myself being scowled at by other parents whose DC want to copy mine as if I should stop mine to help them out. I've had passive agressive comments, too. As far as I'm concerned, it's up to them to enforce their rules on their children - not me.

Some examples to give you an idea of the contexts of these situations:

Splashing in puddles
Climbing trees
Standing up on the swing
Climbing the slide (as long as no one else is waiting to go down)
Painting their hands and feet at toddler group
Rolling down hills

AIBU to continue to let my children do what I'm fine with them doing and ignore disapproving outsiders who expect me to stop them so their children won't do the same?

Yanbu on all counts OP!

at whoever lets their DC chase pigeons!

I get the "look" sometimes too & I think it's because I let DD jump into massive puddles even if it is likely she will fill her wellies, try & balance on fallen trees across streams even if she might fall in & am relaxed about her jumping from quite high heights. I think some people think I'm being competitive in my laxness. It isn't that. It is that I remember how fun it was to try & do all of those things & that stage of life is over so quickly that I think you should do it as much as you can. Also, DD is, by nature, quite indoorsy so I like to encourage her to do adventurous things when we are outside she that she wants to go out again.

I was all on to say YANBU. You want to let your kids splash in puddles etc, fair enough.
Climbing up slides,though?No. That would seriously piss me off. Teach them to go up it properly.
I bet you'd soon be whining and crying if your little one got smacked in the face by a foot by the ones who were coming down it and using it properly.

Ooh no let them be kids! Stuff everyone else!

Why do so many people hate slide climbing?! It seems irrational to me if there's no one else even on the steps of the slide

None of that would bother me, I did it, kids do it, isnt it all part of growing up?

More than one occaision I have had to go rescue ds's from trees/hedges they have climbed up I would think it strange for them not to be adventurous (although I hardly call standing on a swing or jumping in puddles adventurous!

We used to swing as high as we could and jump off and hope we hit the sand pit and not the mini concrete wall around it! Or roll the swings up as high as we could climb up on and swing on them, cant do it now cos of those damm poles over the chains. Kids are missing out these days!

Our monkey bars had concrete under them! (obviously happy they have soft stuff these days)

Agree bird chasing is cruel - but other people may fundamentally disagree with what you do.

But tbh - I doubt you are getting the looks you think you are or not for the reasons you think you are.

We live rurally. All that stuff is the norm where we are. Lots of getting covered head to toe in mud and running around with sticks building dens and fires. As long as it's done consideratly, I can't see the problem.

I wouldn't let my dc climb slides or stand on swings. In my mind that's not using the equipment properly and what it was designed for. Accidents may happen, equipment may be damaged. It can look intimidating to young children (mine are 3 and 5).

I wouldn't stop other kids doing it of course. Wondering now if I'm a bit uptight!

Clbing up the slide would piss me
Off too. Small children cant be expected
To Check every single
Time where everyone is so at some point someone is going to
Be comin down. Standing on the swing would too. Other people sit on those. Get your shoes off it!

YANBU on all counts

All of that sounds normal to me. I used to have a friend with 2 DC that we would go on the occasional day trip with. They would try and copy my DS doing just normal stuff you described and she would constantly tell them off/ stop them doing it. Poor kids! It was exhausting for everyone 😟 I never told my DS not to though because I have different rules and it is normal kid stuff. If you do get other parents glaring just ignore them.

As someone said earlier, it can put children off even going over to the slide to have a go. That's probably why they're not in the steps.

Slide climbing puts other kids off going there. It takes ownership of the slide and makes them feel they can't go on it. So they won't be on the steps.

Why do so many people hate slide climbing

I have said why - I think it is inconsiderate as it makes the slide less slidey thus ruining the equipment for the purpose for which it is intended. If everyone is climbing up with their dirty shoes scuffing it up, it is no longer slidey, and you just kind of slowly bump down instead of whizzing. This is why I hated slide climbers as a child and still do.

Surely the tag line for tht book should be 'raising selfish children'?

Also when does it stop? Im
Pretty sure most
People dont want teens
Misusing the equipment, even if they have been raised to
Do
So.

Also, would you let your child climb up the slide if there was a notice that specifically said don't climb up the slide? There are two big slides near us that have such a notice, and also soft play don't let you climb up the slide.

I'd have those down as fairly normal childhood things. Just splashing in muddy puddles? Much more fun to put your swimming stuff on and roll around in it until you need hosing off in the garden. Which child hasn't climbed up the slide? Which child hasn't stood up and swung two to a swing?

Adventurous at 7 is going off to build dens in the woods or camping out alone in the garden. It's building a tree house or kneeling on a proper surf board.
Adventurous at 9 is climbing Catbells or Skiddaw, ghyll scrambling and leaping off the rocks into a secret tarn. It's taking a map and compass and going off on a picnic (about a mile from the house).
We shouldn't be stifling our children and should be encouraging considered risk taking.

I have never seen anyone disapprove of any of those things, other than 5/6 year olds parrotting what parents have told them. Slides are shit surely after you're about 2, and are climbed up more than slid down? I've seen a couple of kids hit when climbing, none of the parents have ever said anything other than to their own kids.

as Waddlelikeapenguin says, it's good strength building (which is the whole point of playparks!) and those who say you can't stand up on the swing - it's probably your lack of core strength.

Being prescriptive about what your kid does, doesn't teach them risk judgment at all, but then I've not seen it, locally the parents do have different limits, but they're pretty much within the skill level of the kid - of course maybe they were overly strict when the kid was little.

Climbing up the slide - dangerous (either face planting or being knocked off), can be used for queue jumping which is annoying for other users, other users may be put off if they see someone climbing up (no point in using the steps if you can't get down once you are at the top) .

That may get you some stares in the playground but as others have mentioned, I also think it's for a completely different reason!

My dd is only small so I have no experience with her and other children climbing up the slide - but when I was little I was quite a timid child, and remember that when children were climbing up the slide I felt like it was 'theirs' and wouldn't go over.

Slide climbing is horrible. I've witnessed lots of occasions when children climbing up the slide has been a problem for other children who want to use it as it is intended (and yes, even when there isn't an obvious queue). YABVU to let your kids climb up slides. Everything else sounds completely normal and I'm not even sure why you are asking about it, except that IME the kinds of parents who think slide-climbing is OK are also the kinds of parents who don't notice when their kids are spoiling other children's fun or bothering them. So you probably ABU just because I've never seen a slide climber's parents being people you'd actually like to be around.

I get the look because I'm usually going down the slide with the dc's. using the swings and even the child sometimes stands. I climb trees, it's fun. Love making hand and foot prints. Years ago we decorated a room with prints in various colors. Jumping in puddles, one of the good things about rain. Same with snow angels. Rolling down hills is awesome as an adult as well. Skipping, that's another thing you get wtf looks about if it's outside a gym.

There's an awesome swing in a park near a mates. Giant thing with net and loads of kids can go on. You can even lay on it. Would have loved that as a child and
There was no way give up a chance to have a go.

I have no issue with my kids doing risky things. They climb very high up trees. They climb on the roof of the teen shelter thing, which I am a bit ambivalent about but I don't think it will hurt the shelter, or spoil the shelter for anyone. When DS was 2 and a half he used to climb right to the top of the netting thing and I did get other parents telling me he was too wee. But I do have issues with them using equipment in a way that will spoil it for others.

Why would you be pissed off at someone climbing the slide when nobody was wanting to come down it?

Taking out of account it's a dick move to teach your kids climbing up is good when most others sit patiently at the top waiting for others to get the hell out of the way, - even if nobody's at the top wanting to come down, surely you realise that shoe'd and booted kids climbing UP the slide takes away the "slidiness" of it?