Do you let your kids climb UP slides or are you of the Park Etiquette Brigade?

[OverMyDeadBody]

I let my DS climb up it, if there are no other kids waiting to slide down and the park isn't busy or anything, but I've noticed some parents stopping their children doing this or tutting when other kids do it. What's your opinion?

haven't got to this stage with ds yet, but when i used to look after my cousins i always stopped them from climbing up the slide even if there was no one waiting to come down cos i thought you can't really tell them they can do it one day but can't do it another day. now i am actually a mum i am thinking that yes you can cos you say you can't do it now because that little boy wants to come down but you can do it now cos no one else is playing on the slide. not sure why i didn't think of that back then!!

oh but lots of parents would argue with that Starlight, and metion things like 'park etiquette' and harp on about right and wrong ways to play with park equipment, and how we have a duty to teach our childre the proper way to play in a playground, and those of us who don't are flowery lentil-weaving hippies.

there should be 2 queues shouldn't there! one at the top and one at the bottom - then there would be no colliding and then the children who do prefer to climb up don't miss out when the park is busy cos everyone else wants to come down and they aren't allowed. as long as everyone waited for their turn then it wouldn't matter if you were going up or down! i am beginning to ramble here so i will shut up now.

didn't know there was "park etiquette"
oops then.

I tend to discourage my kids from climbing up the slide as they haven't really figured out that they need to check nobody's coming down it first...bump.
If we've got the place to ourselves [usually when freexing cold and P##ing it down] then they do what they want, knowing that "empty park" = "do what you like". And like others have said, it's usually me trying to swing the highest and shove them up the slide backwards which they think is hilarious.

they can go up the slide if no other kids waitng to go down.

kids clothes are washable.

I have a new one - is it acceptable to bring some pledge to the park to polish slide to increase thrill factor for one's child and toughen them up?

oooooooooh good idea. ds always gets stuck.

btw, am amazed at those who want to take clean children to the park and return with them clean too. My three go either in their old tat or (as mentioned earlier re rain) head to toe in waterproofs and wellies. Perfect. if they come home rotten then chances are they have had a great time.
BTW my youngest came home from nursery covered in flour (as did all the children and staff) in her hair,clouds of it flew off when I blew on her hair, somehow it was even in her knickers. She had the most fantastic time. They had done salt dough, then someone found the bag of flour. so they all played in it, threw it, ate it... I'd rather she did it there than at home, mind you!!

Oh yes, completely acceptable! I personally have one of those yellow cloth things for cleaning cars in my handbag at all times for buffing up the park slides. Increases the WWwweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee factor by about 10!

MP, do as we do and go in waterproofs in the rain. bonus 1 - park to yourselves; bonus 2 - mega-speed water slide!

gigglewitch, did you not get the 'park etiquette' booklet then? Ask your health visitor for one. They usually have them lying around doctord' waiting rooms too. Very useful information in them I tell you. A real eye opener.

Oooh. Funny seeing this thread now. Only this morning my dd raced over the the slide to climb the steps and slide down.
"WAIT YOUR TURN" I hollared in my best fishwife squark, and bless her she stood and waited for the other little girl to arrange herself at the top and slide down. (She's only 21 months, so this waiting and sharing business is a relatively tricky concept).

Well. The other little girl got to the bottom and started to climb up again. Her mother smiled fondly as she slid down and then climbed up again!!!

And she just kept on doing it!!

In the end we had to go and use the ball pit as it was clear that at no point was the other mother going to suggest to her little girl that MAYBE the little girl standing politely waiting and asking if it was "my turn?" "my turn now?" would like a go.

Hmph.

Some people.

(Oh, and climbing up slides is perfectly acceptable behaviour, even to be encouraged, except on occasions when my daughter is waiting to have a turn.)

[over-protective helicopter mummy emoticon]

I would be mad at that too broccoli, but thats the mums fault, kids have to learn to have consideration for others and take turns.
Sometimes they take turns going up the slide, sometimes they take turns going down the slide but every one gets a fair go,,them are the rules!!!

so long as no-one is coming down/waiting to go down that's what slides are for aren't they - climbing up?????

Whoops! I don't let my kids run up the slide!! They're not really big enough. I do think people doing it takes the "slidiness" off the slide a bit! But I only get annoyed when it's bigger kids and they railroad the little ones that are a bit nervous to begin with- charging up the slide and stopping the wee ones coming down, which isn't very nice. I know it's the law of the jungle, but sometimes I think the big kids need to be a bit careful of the wee ones (can you tell mine are pre-school ??!!) I get a bit trying-not-to-be-over-protective in the park! No objection to mud, though! One of the last times we went I slipped and ended up on my back in a muddy puddle!! Took me back to my T-in-the-Park days, as I squelched home!

I think, and laughing as I say this, as no offence meant, a London child would probably be prohibited from a playing in a Norwegian playground, there is NO such thing as "rubber asphalt" to cushion a fall, a playground is one large sandpit with play equipment such as climbing frames and seesaws, slides and swings just like here. The difference is, if you take your child to the playground, he/she is wearing brightly coloured rubber overalls (fuchia, orange, blue etc) with reflective bands on, and wellies!

Exactly starlight, there is no such thing! I hope you don't think I think there is a proper way and a wrong way!

Brocolli if that had been me I'd have gone over and encouraged DD to slide down after the other girl had climbed up a few times, and told her that it was our dd's turn now. Sod the other mum. Kids need to know that taking turns is part of sharing playground equipment, regardless of how they choose to use it.

4x4/dogs/cycles/children....LOL

I let my DS3 do it if there is no-one else on the slide. I say DS3 as he is my daredevil who loves doing things like that

I don't understnad those of you ho are worried about the mud issue! IMHO the muddier my boys get, the moe fun they have had. DS came home from nursery covered in mud the other day. Apparently they were all having so much fun jumping in the muddy puddles with their wellies that the nursery leader decided to let them carry on with it. That's why I love his nursery

Ooh and MadamePlatypus, I neeeeed to take some Pledge to the park next time I go, it could be great!! Whooooooooooooooshhhh!!!!!