so your 4 year old has access to huge playground and loads of other children what do they do?

[yawningmonster]

Have just got back from camping. It was our most successful and enjoyable trip yet for many reasons. However it did highlight that ds really does seem to be a bit different from his peers. There was a huge fort type playground with 2 flying foxes, swings, slide etc. Fort was on top of a sand dune and foxes starting point was from there as well. Ds did not know any of the other children. What would your 4 year old most likely do???

My dd wont walk on sand so she would have stayed with me , if there was no sand then she would play with the other children.

DS (mild SN, language delayed) would have got stuck in straightaway, gone up the slide etc.

ds completely ignored the playground but would spend ages searching for shells in the sand. he did interact with the other children but only to try to convince them to look for shells or to come and "meet my mummy and daddy" he also followed a fair few around (which really annoyed them.) Would not go on equipment no matter what support we offered. Is the same at local parks, he will go for the gravel or do laps around the tracks but will not go on the equipment. I know he can as he has swings and slide at home but just not interested at all.

Maybe he's frightened of heights? What are his gross motor skills like? Can he rode a bike yet or balance on scooter etc. Some kids find these larger play frames a bit intimidating.

My ds aged 6 (dx ADHD) would have been straight up there, upside down and probably diving off the top head first .... at least your nerves were in tact

It can also be difficult when you are on your own as such - the following around is a kind of introducing himself, but maybe he was too shy to articulate that he wanted to be friends with them. Did you try introducing him to any of them? I've never had that problem as my ds is up for any new friends and doesn't have a problem letting them know - can be a bit in their faces sometimes.

she'd drag me from high slide to high slide to swings and back to high slide. (she used to go on the 60ft slide hill slide where we lived before at the age of just 2 on her own... she's never let us go down with her. she'll also merrily go down head first or back to front for added excitemnet!)

if there is another child taking up the toy she wants she stands there looking sad til i sort it for her... occasionally she'll play alongside another child but won't speak to them even if they chat to her.

in short she's a dardevil tomboy when it comes to the playground toys who always has to be at the highest point of the playpark but is chronically shy when i comes to other people to the point of being afraid to go on a toy if there's another child there.

ds is 2.5 and is afraid of everything for the first half hour... cries at the thought of going down the slides or on the swings or even on the see saws but weirdly wants to stand on the highest platform he can find and survey the park from up there. he'll happily chat to kids who pass him and will eventually start going on slides after he's had a good think about it.

they're all weird and differant, i wouldn't worry about it too much at this age

Aha, my DD and PinkTulips' DD - separated at birth! Plus DD would meet her new best friend and start having a fantastic time approximately half an hour before we had to leave.

Yawningmonster I was going to ask where the campsite is as it sounds fab but I see you are in New Zealand, which is a little further than I'd want to travel! I did wonder about you going camping in January ...