I’m That Parent
..whose kids are allowed to climb the slides. Yes, even when other children are present.
I can not recall for the life of me where I was- in line, somewhere, I suppose. I overheard two moms talking about how annoying it is when children climb up the slides. One woman was totally opposed, with the other saying how she could understand if there were no other children on the playground at the time. I did everything I could to not make eye contact, because it was not the right time to share the benefits of climbing up slides.
I listened to the one mom ramble on about how their young child tries to copy the big kids and “just can’t be doing those things” yet. I silently cheered the little one on for trying. The other mom didn’t have much to say. The whole conversation was a whopping 45 seconds before they moved on to a new topic but it took all I had in me not to ask…
why do you think it is that all kids innately want to CLIMB something designed for sliding down?
is it really dangerous for them, or just scary for you?
if slides were like stairs and all parents allowed kids to go both up and down, would it still be poor behavior? Would it not just become the norm for both the child at the top and the child at the bottom to look for the other before going?
There are SO many benefits to allowing children to climb slides.
Self-Awareness- How do my legs feel? They’re shaking. Should I stop? I might take a break and try again later.
Social-Awareness- Where did that boy in the yellow shirt go? Oh, he’s on the swing. No one is coming down. I’m good to go up.
Problem Solving- You can do it! Her shoes keep sliding. Turn your foot sideways so it doesn’t slide down!
Comradery- My brother is cheering me on. He believes I can do this. I can do this!
Self-Concept- It took me a long time to climb that one green slide. This one is a lot bigger- but I know I can get it. It just is going to take a while. I can do hard things.
The playground is a great place for children to test themselves physically. There are peer models (other children) of various ages and skills all around them. Children observe, attempt, and refine their skills as they spend time around others and are allowed to challenge themselves.
I am a rule-follower. I am a recovering people pleaser. But…
I will never tell my child they can’t climb the slides- I will just direct them to check that no one is attempting to come down the slide before the begin climbing up.. and to sit and slide down if someone appears at the top, waiting to use the slide.
That is, until the other parents catch on and we collectively decide slides were designed for both climbing up and sliding down. Then, the child at the top will also be practicing looking out for and waiting for the child climbing up before they come down.