The past couple of times I brought the kids to this playground at my mom’s place, Tru was the only one that got to run and play. Kirsten usually spent her time in the stroller or in my arms or stuck on the lousy bench next to me, watching on with envy because she’s too small and not allowed to do all that dangerous climbing. Recently her protests have been getting increasingly vehement and she tries to break free at every opportunity.
Now that she’s walking steadily on her own, I finally cut off those apron strings and set her free in playgroundland.
The moment I put her down, she started running for the slide, which is now her most favorite thing to do in the whole world. To her credit, she tackles the slide like a trooper, with both hands in the air and her eyes tightly closed for that extra adrenaline kick. Then when she hits the bottom, she points to the top of the slide and says “MORE, MORE” for the next 30-40 times.
Truett was all like “Kirsten, this is my turf, follow me, I’ll show you how it’s done” and obviously, Kirsten wanted to do EVERYTHING that her daredevil brother was doing, including climbing back up the slide from the bottom.
Then there was this merry-go-round contraption where the kids were supposed to sit on this tiny little seat and cling on for dear life while it spins around, going up and down at the same time. Next to it was a sign that clearly says For children 6 years old and above but you know how I take these age recommendations with a pinch of salt because my 2-year-old can pretty much do anything a 6-year-old can when it comes to playgrounds. He’s been on it for ages (without ever falling) and now baby girl wanted to join in as well.
So yes, I let my 1-year-old ride the scary-go-round meant for 6-year-olds all by her lonesome.
Some of the other parents watched on in horror as I pushed them around in the deathtrap amidst hysterical giggles and shouts of “FASTER, MOMMY, FASTER!” and I was about to succumb to peer pressure when one of the other moms brought her 18-month-old to join in the ride, which was awesome because finally there was someone else who shared my unorthodox methods of parenting. I smiled politely but secretly, I was all like “Woot, come on fist bump, sista, I like your style!”
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Hey, I just finished drafting a post relating to motor skill at playground too. (yet publish)
Anyway, we are like you; unorthodox methods of parenting . We let Yvette try everything she could manage and I totally ignore this too – For children 6 years old and above.
Yvette, my 2-year-old can pretty much do anything a 6-year-old can when it comes to playgrounds and she did pretty well too just like Tru!
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Sunflower, I agree that playgrounds are really great for kids to learn through play. They get to learn creativity, motor skills, turn-taking, thinking outside the box and have loads of fun at the same time. I’d love to read your post on it!
Us too! We didn’t even read the signboard for the age restriction (same as the label on the toy boxes). Anything the kids can handle, we just let them explore. Kids just love playground, all sorts, don’t they?
My girl was set free to explore the playground for the very first time, too! And she headed to the slide too! Though she was not adventurous as Kirsten :-)
Kam, I think most of the time, they are quite conservative about the age limit just to be safe. I’ll usually monitor them closely if they’re way too young to try certain activities, but my kids seem to think they’re a lot older than they actually are.