To think this mum was neglectful

[mistletoeandwine86]

Was at the playground today with DH and 2yo DC, one of us was following him carefully around the climbing frames etc.

2 other mums come into playground, with 1 DC each a bit older than mine, i'd say 4 yo. One mum had a baby in pushchair too. They were chatting and not staying very close to their DC who were running around playing together. First mum then took her DD to the toilet.

Second mum stayed in playground with baby in pushchair and DS playing. Her DS climbs on a big climbing frame and she watches him but doesn't stay close. She walks round the edge pushing her baby in pushchair and he goes the other way on the climbing frame. Next thing he falls off, the mum calls him but didn't see him fall off He starts crying and she calls him again, leaves pushchair but still can't see him so my DH has to tell her that he fell off and where he is!

To be fair to her she does go straight round to him and picks him up but he fell about 3feet! AIBU to think that she should have been watching him closer?? DH and i always supervise our DS 100% on play equipment and follow him around.

I've read this before.

@wLuytgNx I resume with your level of ott control careful parenting that you only have one child? If they are 6 and you're still constantly supervising when will you stop? Do they have climbing equipment at school how do you cope with that?

Not sure what you’d expect me to do then with 3 under 5 when my husbands at work 🤭

I think she could have been supervising him better.

Yet pretty much everyone else on the thread thinks she was supervising him appropriately for a 4 year old. They've probably all had 4 year olds too.

I recall at our grandchild's third birthday there was a very low slide on the grass, max about 2-3 feet off the ground. One couple with a child of about 2 supervised her climbing up the three steps, holding her all the way, put her on the slide and control her descent, the other stood at the bottom to catch her. Poor child! We wondered if their surname was Westland or Sikorsky.

I'm envious of all the people who don't need to supervise closely at 4, our nearest park has 3 exits (and two lead to a lake) so I can't really take my eyes off.

I'm forever helping other kids as well as I only have a 4 yo who can mostly manage by himself.

CheshireChat there's a difference between supervising and for example tillytrotter1 's experience, where parents stand over their children. And I'm sure that parent wouldn't have let her child off close to a lake/ exit either

Touché, I was mostly thinking there's no chance I can sit down while he plays due to the layout and the fact DS is bonkers

I remember some bloke actually running and catching my almost 3 year old when he came off a slide and huffing and puffing at me like i had put him in grave danger by letting him go down a slide on his own. Fucking idiot. Don't be like him. Parents know their kids and shock horror kids fall in playgrounds.

Oh dear god.

Wait until you have 2 or more dcs at ages 7 and 5 and want to play in different sections of the playground.

I was told off for being 'neglectful' because I wasn't hovering around by my 7 year old in one part of an Adventure castle and was stood next to the Adventure Train where my 5 yr old was. It was quite a way away. Both dcs were totally fine and happy.

The fucking cheek.

Her DS climbs on a big climbing frame and she watches him but doesn't stay close.
It turns out the child is almost four and the frame is 3 ft high
My 2yo can handle that

Oh and the biggest accident my ds ever had was when he was 3 and in the pushchair asleep. Unknown to me, he woke up, undid his straps and crawled out of the back, tipping the whole pushchair onto the floor and bashed out his two front teeth.

Perfectly handsome and adventurous 12 year now (with all his teeth!).

Oh for goodness sake.

I would only keep an eye on a 4 yo in a playground I certainly wouldn't be helicoptering all over them.

It's so possible a child can fall when you have looked away, especially when you are with more than one kid.

Of course it's not neglectful. It's a reception aged kid.

Children have to learn what hurts or they won't develop any sense of self preservation.
My son only pulled the cats tail once.

I am a self confessed helicopter parent but I was hoping by 4 I wouldn't need to supervise that much! Aren't they left to it a bit at school playtime by that age?

Yes! As they should be.