Went with 6yo DD to playground to see a friend and her 6yo DS; my DH came along with our baby DS (the plan was that they'd peel off if baby needed walking around so we mums could catch up - we hadn't seen each other in ages).
Someone had left an old plastic playhouse in the playground - as local families often do here with unwanted trikes, etc - and my DD and friend's DS were very keen on taking it apart and turning it in to something new. There was another little boy there who was very insistent that they not do this; my DH firmly instructed DD not to overturn/disrupt the playhouse, though friend's little boy kept trying to push it over on its side.
The other child eventually left, and DD and friend's son came to us mums to ask if they could now take the house apart (they wanted to turn it upside down and be "cats" using the door as a cat-flap). Seeing this as a chance for them to be creative, we said yes - since it could be rebuilt, and no one else was playing with it.
DH didn't hear us give permission, and told DD off very sternly. I explained our reasoning, but he was unconvinced. He had to leave soon after (as was the plan) with the baby. The kids moved on to some other part of the playground, and that was that (the house was ultimately left in tact).
Back home now, and DH is still in a mood about what he feels was wantonly destructive behaviour, and can't believe that we'd condone it. I'm thinking he's missing our reasoning about letting kids experiment and play creatively, as long as they're not affecting other children or other kids' possessions. What think the MN jury?