What is the current park “etiquette”...?

[fireflylanegirls]

I’m a (very) anxious first time mum, and have been living under a rock for the last year....

My son has recently turned one, he’s becoming really active and playful and I was thinking I’d love to take him to the park.

We’ve been before but never used the baby swings etc.

So I’m wondering, what do you do?

Should I wipe swings before and after we use them? Would I take some gentle anti bac wipes for my sons hands.

I don’t want to appear to me the “looney” mum who’s washing everything (baby included) down, but since I’ve never used a park during the pandemic, I’m really anxious on what I SHOULD be doing.

Any advice please?

I always wipe 3 year old and 1 year olds hands with either antibacterial hand wipes or hand gel after using park equipment and have done so since playgrounds opened back in June.

Always have a cloth under the pram to wipe down a swing but that's more due to it being so wet. Agree there is only so much you can do to protect them, our little ones will get colds and bugs , benefits of going to playgrounds for them and us outweigh the risks.

If you are worried to begin with, get there early. Your little one will have a great time.

I've not noticed anyone wiping down equipment in our park.
I think the risk of picking something up from the equipment is very minimal (but not zero). First the virus has to be present on the swings (or whatever) in sufficient quantity to cause infection (eg a tiny, diffuse amount is not enough). Then enough of it has to survive the wind, rain, sunshine etc, then your son has to touch it, then lick his hands. The chances of there being enough virus present to cause infection by the time he does this is really low. And the risk can be mitigated further by using gloves, hand gel, or wipes before and after playing on the equipment.

I'm in Scotland and kids don't have to socially distance outside. So we've been letting dc play with other kids in the playground. We don't let them do things like sitting on the zip wire together (which involves being 1 inch from each other's faces whilst directly facing each other and laughing), but other than that we let them play normally. Parents stand a reasonable talking distance from each other and chat.

Although this is not zero risk, it is reasonably low. I think most parents want to get the balance right between the risks and (considerable) benefits of children socialising, and I think most accept this wont be zero risk. But it of course depends on personal and family circumstances.

My dd is older (6), but I see parents of toddlers in the playground and they seem comfortable with their toddlers coming up to my dd (who loves little ones!) She normally chats/plays with them for a bit and its lovely to see. I'd never let her approach a child whose parents seemed more cautious though, and do my best not to make others feel uncomfortable.

I've got one a similar age to you OP. We play on the equipment as it is, but will clean her hands afterwards with non-alcoholic sanitising foam like you get in hospitals - tastes less horrible if she puts her fingers in her mouth afterwards. This sort of thing bit.ly/3aB5Pj0

@Chocolatetrifle

I always wipe 3 year old and 1 year olds hands with either antibacterial hand wipes or hand gel after using park equipment and have done so since playgrounds opened back in June.

I will use some antibacterial hand wipes on him

Oh, and definitely do take your little one to the park - my daughter gets so much out of it, going on the swings/slides and waving to other children, it's the highlight of her days, especially with so many other activities being off the cards at the moment

[quote DuvetCaterpillar]I've got one a similar age to you OP. We play on the equipment as it is, but will clean her hands afterwards with non-alcoholic sanitising foam like you get in hospitals - tastes less horrible if she puts her fingers in her mouth afterwards. This sort of thing bit.ly/3aB5Pj0[/quote]
@DuvetCaterpillar

Thanks so much! That’s really helpful. Will order some.

Why can't you use antibac gel on his hands? You blob a bit on your hand then rub it on to his, encourage him to rub his hands together too 👏 good skill development for independent hand washing

I think it's also considerate to wipe down hands before using equipment - it's easy to forget that always a risk that your own kid is the one with covid.

@CorpusCallosum

Why can't you use antibac gel on his hands? You blob a bit on your hand then rub it on to his, encourage him to rub his hands together too 👏 good skill development for independent hand washing

@CorpusCallosum

I just personally think it’s too harsh to use on his skin.

@Camomila

I have a just turned one year old, I've just been letting him play as normal but I wiped his hands with a babywipe before giving him a snack.

The things I've seen happen in parks over the years, leaking nappies on play equipment, dog poo on shoes and then all down the slide, children vomiting... Covid or no Covid, you should ALWAYS wipe / wash your kids' hands after the park and before eating.

I would just wash/wipes there hands afterwards. I've never seen anyone wipe down anything in the park.

Since this whole things started I haven't seen a single person wipe play equipment or even gel their hand before or after going on it which I've been surprised at. I make sure my two wash their hands before we leave the house and then I gel their hands after they've been on the playground but I'd don't wipe equipment. I don't think it would be possible to keep going round and wiping it.
I try to make sure we let other people have a turn on the different bits of equipment and keep our distance. If some places are too busy then we don't go in.

I'll caveat this with the fact I'm a fairly relaxed mother of a 2 year old and he was regularly exposed to animals/the garden/parks before the pandemic...

I'm happy for my DS to use play equipment as long as the playground is reasonably quiet and people are social distancing. I'll wipe his hands (antiseptic/alcohol hand wipe) or use hand gel (I apply and rub his hands so that there's no residue) before eating or drinking anything.

As for playing in the park in general, I'm more relaxed (just a quick baby wipe before eating). I would usually be the same with the play equipment if I wasn't asthmatic and pregnant (not so worried about DS catching covid, more about me)!

Just a quick note, antibacterial hand wipes (particularly high alcohol) are just as harsh on skin as hand gel, so really it's a case of choosing which is most convenient... then washing hands once you get home (partly to remove the chemical residues)!

I haven't seen anyone wiping down equipment, just wiping their kids hands when they're finished. On a baby I would just use a baby wipe. They need some germs, its not good to be in a bubble.

For your sons sake, get a handle on your anxiety. Do not lock him away or stop him socialising with other kids, it’s cruel.

My 3 year old & 11 month old go to the park multiple times a week. We use the equipment, have a handgel wash afterwards (only once, not constantly) & go home. My 3 year old happily plays with other children as normal & my baby crawls in the mud 😂 I stand a reasonable distance apart from others & chat. We wash hands with soap & water at home.

Kids are grubby, they need exposure to germs to build a healthy immune system. In fact, I have the opposite worry to you that my 11 month old hasn’t had much exposure so far compared to her big sister at this age. She starts nursery next week & I’m glad she’ll finally get to play indoors with other kids! As much as it’s exhausting when they are ill, it is all good for them in the long run!

@MoirasRoses

For your sons sake, get a handle on your anxiety. Do not lock him away or stop him socialising with other kids, it’s cruel.

My 3 year old & 11 month old go to the park multiple times a week. We use the equipment, have a handgel wash afterwards (only once, not constantly) & go home. My 3 year old happily plays with other children as normal & my baby crawls in the mud 😂 I stand a reasonable distance apart from others & chat. We wash hands with soap & water at home.

Kids are grubby, they need exposure to germs to build a healthy immune system. In fact, I have the opposite worry to you that my 11 month old hasn’t had much exposure so far compared to her big sister at this age. She starts nursery next week & I’m glad she’ll finally get to play indoors with other kids! As much as it’s exhausting when they are ill, it is all good for them in the long run!

@MoirasRoses

I didn’t say I lock my son up...

I don’t know anyone with children my sons age so it’s not as if I’ve been able to socialise him that way.

I’m due back to work next month and my son will be at nursery 3 days a week so will play with other children there.

When the park opened last June I took hand gel and most others seemed to. There was a bit more hesitancy about multiple children on equipment etc. Now I just let the children play normally but try and make sure my 4 yo doesn’t hug random kids. I remember last summer there was a little boy of about 3 that was terrified of the other children. He completely freaked out when my 18m old waved and said hello to him (from a distance). It really stood out as being quite sad and I think it’s so important that children can play normally.

All the playgrounds I've been to have had children playing normally. No wiping of equipment. Wiping hands at the end of the session is normal range behaviour.

I’ve only ever wiped the baby swings when there was mud across the top of it, presumably from older kids’ feet. Baby wipes their hands afterwards & it will be fine. Going to the playground/park is basically all my one year old has done, like a pp says it’s the only place that feels and looks normal at the moment.

Wiping hands after playing on the equipment and/or before eating snacks is totally normal. I try to stop my kids sharing water bottles with their friends or sharing snacks where that would involve taking bites out of each other's food. Apart from that everything is as normal. I wouldn't judge you wiping play equipment if your baby is at the stage of gumming everything.

Take thermos of warm water and soap?

They make foam / gels for wee ones. We have this one - www.boots.com/nilaqua-little-hands-sanitiser-55ml-10232110?cm_mmc=bmm-buk-google-ppc--PLAs--(GB:Whoop!)+Waterless-_-(GB:Whoop!)+Boots+Shopping+-+Category+-+Health+and+Pharmacy+-+Mobile&gclid=Cj0KCQiApsiBBhCKARIsAN8o_4h3BXUrUVnorBEwB1xaF2xQOFWv-RINIui-gyu2WwsWRtssRppGUskaAhMAEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

And another foam one I can’t remember the name of unfortunately!

We are in Scotland so children under 12 don't have to socially distance. They all just play in parks as normal.

Yes definitely go to the park, he’ll love it and he’ll be fine, if wiping makes you feel more secure then why not, no one will judge and if they do you won’t know.