My Troubles with Playgrounds

Whenever we'd go out, I'm always in charge of looking after our older kid, who's a very active, easily distracted and a very playful toddler. He's almost quite the opposite from our daughter who pretty much just keeps to herself and stays put.

So we try to bring them to the playground as much as we can, and if the weather permits it.The thing with playgrounds is that it's a public place and kids are of varying ages. It's good exposure for them as they learn how to take turns, how not to push and stretch the possibilities of play with the handles, slides and bars and everything else that's in the playground. But it comes with a lot of risks as well so I do my best to keep a watchful eye and be at a safe distance.

Max saw a girl about a year older than him who went sliding head/ arms first. He followed suit soon after. Then he saw some bigger kids who were climbing the walls of the main play pen. I wasn't pleased and has advised strongly against it. Recently i did catch my son making attempts to do the same. During our first few visits in the playground, he ran straight through the swings where two kids were swinging very high. They saw him but couldn't do anything about it as they were flying up in the air. They apologized and i said it's alright as no harm was done. When he gets bored, he'd start chasing the birds that are flocking in the area. Then he'd run outside the half-full gate towards the exercise machines. He especially likes the cycling machine even if he was just half the size for it.

At the Rocket Park, the rocket itself is a big steel structure surrounded by a steel platform. He enjoys running around the platform even if it's wet and slippery. There can be a lot of kids near his age but sometimes, bigger kids would flock the place making it difficult for him to get a chance on the bars or on those swivels. Fortunately most of the parents who're there are quite tolerant with my son. But it can still be quite stressful to see him running aimlessly around or through small kids. Hay!