Pulling swings down in parks

[Yetiyoga]

I follow someone on instagram who has quads. She was filming her children at the playground and happened to show and mention that they've pulled a swing down in each set of swings to help with social distancing. I am visiting relatives this weekend and drove past a couple of parks which had done the same. But why? It seems silly given a lot of people have more than one child.

Yes it’s just one swing where I am which is a bit silly because it just means more kids congregate on the slides and climbing frames. Utterly pointless.

Because if you touch the park gate daily to enter the playing fields you're safe but if you touch the swings even once, the covid (that you almost certainly don't have) will fester for weeks or however long it takes for another person to get within 20' feet of that swing. When it will fly thru the air & make them DIE.

Or, Feck if I know. The world has gone mad.

It is silly isn't it! I just feel it was such a waste of time getting someone in to pull them down. I work with kids and nearly always have 2 children with me. I'm glad my council weren't that stupid 😂

They have taken down all the swings in our local park so instead of a choice of 4 different bits of equipment there is now 3 but the same number of kids

That’s madness. No swings being taken down where we live but the council have spray painted arrows / one way system around the play equipment like any kid is going to follow that! Totally pointless and unnecessary, clearly the person who thought of that idea does not have children!

@yeOldeTrout thank you for a much needed laugh. They have done this in our park as well

We really should be protesting about the treatment of children during this. People's holidays pictures are starting to appear on FB and there's no restrictions going on. These people will start to return to the UK, having had a great time, while there isn't enough basic play facilities for our children.

Oh my life one swing was missing from each of the two frames in my local park - assumed they'd been vandalised! Never even thought it was to covid-proof them!! I guess it helps all the kids from the school next door who bubble together all day from getting too close in the park 😂

Some of the measures are downright bizarre and if they were considered with a sensible head on would definitely not be in place.

We visited a number of National Trust gardens last week and they have changed the toilets so only one person can use the 4 toilet area at any time, resulting in a long queue of people milling together waiting for the toilets.

Same near us. One swing taken down. The fact that all the kids pile onto the roundabout/slide/climbing frame is apparently irrelevant

Our council havent done this. When I've taken my daughter on the swing I've just faced her the same way as the other child (so they're side on not facing) and stood on the opposite side so I'm not too close to the other parent pushing. Councils seem to think parents are idiots and incapable of social distancing without help.

A lot if the social distancing measures actually make it more likely for people to be close together! E.g. only alternate toilets open, so people arent in cubicles next to each other (with a barrier in between!?) But are queueing next to each other for twice as long.

@rookiemere ,we went to Clumber Park and it was one family group per ladies, gents or disabled toilet. Me ,Dh and 13 yr old dd were sent to the gents. Dd was wide eyed with amazement to find gentlemen peed up the wall!

TBF it's not the Council's fault.

They have been given specific guidance which they have to adhere to from the Govt.

It's the guidance that is unworkable.

I hope they don't do this where I live, it would make pushing both dts on the swings at the same time very difficult. All the swings were there when we went last week!

Our park has also removed a swing and baby swing to leave one each. But kept the huge circle swing. In which at least 5 children at a time sit together and swing away on. Makes absolutely no sense.

Yep, same here they have taken a some of the swings away. They have also spray painted on the ground the max number of children that should be on each piece of equipment, safe to say no children are paying any attention to that!

Ours have just ... not opened the parks.

I've been to a few. But one yesterday all swings there but zip wire removed.
Large spinney basket thing there which holds 6 or so kids. But the tiny 1 or 2 kid one in the small area removed.
Large climbing frame had an A4 note saying closed. Which for a frame 10ft x 10ft at least a note isn't really that good. Maybe cordon off.
Makes zero sense.

They have been given specific guidance which they have to adhere to from the Govt

Can you point to this limiting guidance - particularly as many councils and playground operators have not felt the need to match it. The guidance does say "limiting the available number of seats on equipment or numbers of swings available to promote social distancing, including for parents, carers or guardians who might push children on swings for example" as an example of what might be an appropriate mitigation, but there's nothing that mandates it, and most swings won't have an issue whereby adjacent swings prevents parents distancing, they'll simply be on opposite sides as FrugiFan explains.

A risk assessment is individual, any council choosing to blindly remove half the swings is not following the advice. Particular as the governments advice highlights the HSE's advice that safety in childrens play is about balancing not eliminating risk.

@wheresmymojo if there is guidance then fair enough. I won't blame the council for the silly rule but whoever made the silly rule. But it must be the councils? Because many other areas aren't taking them down.

I thought the sunlight was supposed to zap it all off anyway? Can't they just put a sign up saying to wash your hands?