To think 9 isn't too old to enjoy the playground?

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My SIL thinks her 9yo lad shouldn't be going to the playground anymore as she's "too old for that kind of thing now"?

Aibu to think 9 is fine?!

Yanbu. SIL is a killjoy.

My daughter is 9. There is a playground near where she does a team sport and they all go to the playground after training. Still love it. Long may it last 😀

My 11yo thinks your SIL is bonkers.

DH and i had a quick go on the swings the other week. She's nuts.

(There were no kids about waiting for a go, i should note...)

I feel so sorry for him! Of course kids can enjoy a playground up to whatever age they stop enjoying it

How bizarre. Unless it's a particularly pathetic playground designed for very small children, I suppose.

If he's 9 and he enjoys it then clearly 9 isn't too old to enjoy it. The question answers itself. She should base her conclusions on the evidence!

FWIW I know lots of 9 year olds who enjoy the playground.

My 12-year-old disagrees too! Nine is definitely not too old.

I can envisage exactly what type of women your SIL is. I also think she’s stupid.

This plus the thread about the 7 year old who likes playing and art and has been deemed too ‘young’ makes me despair. We are living in a world where we are forcing little kids to artificially grow up and then we are wondering why there is a mental health crisis amongst our youngsters. Play is vital for our well-being even as adults.

My whole Cub pack (8-10 year olds) love it when we stop at the park on a hike.

The last time we were at the playground DS2 who is 6 met a classmate. DS1 is 12 and the classmate had a sister who is 11. For a while the two big kids skulked around and then they joined in and they were the sharks and pirates while the younger ones were the captains of the ships. It was both very cute and very nice to see. And amidst all the shark and pirate noises they were all learning a bunch of life skills along the way.

I wish there were playgorunds for over 70s. I'd be there playing.

My 9 year old loves the playground and so do I, I’m always on the swings when we go and there’s no one else about lol.

Our local park has just had a £350,000 adventure playground renovation done for older kids. Clearly they’re not too old either.

Out local playground is well attended by kids of all ages up to 14-15 or so! Granted the oldest ones are sitting around on the kit trying to look cool and not really playing, but they're there 😁

I think some kids still like the playground at that age & some don’t. My eldest was definitely still come to & enjoy a playground at that age but my middle one (9 now) doesn’t really - he likes going to the park for a kickabout/ game of cricket but not really the play equipment. I think it depends if they have someone else to play with there too.

My 10yo is a bit big for most things at the park but he still goes on the swings and he chats with his friends. I think it’s nice, kids seem to grow up very quickly so stuff like cycling round the park, football, swings should be encouraged.

My dd is 9 and still enjoys the park. The only thing I find with her now is, she's disappointed if there's noone to play with. She'd rather arrange to meet one of her friends there but we do sometimes see someone she knows there if we go on our own too.

Does she think he's old enough for roaming the streets with boys almost twice his age then?

She's mad for wanting him to grow up too quickly.

Does he still enjoy the play area?

9 is not too old. Most play areas are for under 12s but a well designed one should be good right up to that age. DD was summer born and the last of her friend group to turn 11. She asked for a "last ever play barn birthday party". But we had to go to a different town so no one they knew would see them 😅

My 15 year old lives going to the park with his friends. I quite like the park actually and I'm 41.

I can’t really see why not but I can’t see why they would want to because most playgrounds are designed for toddlers now

Our local parks have apparatus age appropriate up to about 5/6 ish and a bigger set of apparatus geared more to older kids. I think I was at least 12 before I decided going to the playground was "not cool" 😉

YANBU at all and it's nice that some children are still enjoying play and childhood.

There's another thread with an OP who has had horrible comments about her 7 year old for enjoying craft and play and being a child instead of being glued to a computer screen. Some adults are really mean.

I'm coming to the conclusion that some adults are lazy parents, look for excuses not to have to make the effort (eg encourage play, go to the park, take their children to children's things) so get defensive and rude if they see other parents facilitating children being children.

I'm 53 and DD is 32. We go on quite a few city breaks and are always thrilled if we see a kids play park with no kids in it 😄We dash straight over to the swings! Although one time I did say "I'll still be swinging when I'm 70" then realised what I'd said! 😂So your SIL is definitely BU. She should let him enjoy it while he still can.