Slide "Etiquette"

[Crystal]

I was at the park once and there was a little boy there that was climbing up the slide and slipped and hit his face. He got a really bad bloody nose and cut his lip and his mom had to take him to the hospital. I saw the little boy again at the park with stitches in his lip ... climbing up the slide .

He was with his mom but had he been one of my DCK's I would have had to call licensing and make a report etc. If the DCP's didn't have insurance then I could be held liable to pay the medical expenses and possibly be questioned by licensing for "lack of adequate supervision" or something like that. It's just not a position that I would like to put myself in with my business. Just my preference ... use toys and equipment like it was made to be used.

Of course, that could happen going DOWN the slide as well.

[countrymom]

I've been to parks where my kids have to wait because some child is climbing up the slide, heck I've seen kids climb up the slide as my kids are going down. Its also, the fact that as they climb up they have usually muddy or poopy shoes on.

it really comes down to saftey, slides are not for climbing, if they were then they would have steps and groves in them for your feet.

[Angelsj]

Of course, that could happen going DOWN the slide as well.

It has!! The kid had a wet swimsuit on and just flew off the end, landing on his face! Of course, I also let them slide down with the hose running on it...
ETA...no hospital was involved, just a scraped chin and bruised nose.

[Sprouts]

If its my own children i dont mind, but when daycare children are here , slide is only for down. If its a shared playground its none of the providers business, she just needs to worry about keepng her own kids in check, thats crazy.

[MarinaVanessa]

Of course, that could happen going DOWN the slide as well.

Oh absolutely. No doubt about it. But at least I wouldn't be accused of allowing a DCK to use playground equipment improperly. ::

[Meeko]

It's a reg here! No using the play equipment in any other way than it was intended.

Licensors tell us at many meetings, that if they see a child go up a slide during an inspection and we don't stop it straight away...we will be cited.

[SilverSabre25]

I allow it, at home or alone at a park, but I stress to my kids about the etiquette of the things: "This is something that's okay at home or when no one else is around, but at a park with lots of other kids, or if someone is waiting to go down the slide, then you need to not go up it."

Works well. My DD totally gets it and I have had no problems at all.

[Lianne]

There are physical and cognitive benefits to climbing up slides. It uses different muscles, different climbing skills, etc.

In my backyard the children can go up or down the slides as the choose. They tend to work out between them who goes first and how. When we are in public, the kids go up the ladders and down the slides only.

[Chuckles]

I am kind of glad to hear that the day care teacher enforced that rule. I can't tell you how many injuries I have seen from children using playground equipment inappropriately. As others have said, it is a huge liability. If someone gets injured and asks how it happened, how do you explain that? I always explain slides are a down, not an up and stairs are an up, not a down. It reduces the likelihood of injury and child collisions. Many teeth have been lost and bones broken from slide incidents. All I can say is go up the slide at your own risk!

[Meyou]

I let them go up the slide as long as noone is waiting at the top to go down. As long as they are taking turns I'm ok with it. I normally hang out by the slide at our park anyway because it's really fast and the littles tend to fly off the end if I'm not there to slow them down a little.

On a side note....I TEACH babies/toddlers to go down slides on their bellies with their feet pointed towards the ground. It's much easier for them to get "set" at the top in that position and they land on their feet instead of flying off and landing on their bums. I've had many a mother gasp when they've seen one of my babies crawl all the way to the top, turn around and slide right down all on their own. But I've never had an injury and I have very steady, brave and strong babies who love outside.

[MsLaura529]

Nope, not me. It peeves me to see kids climbing up the slide at the park and my kids or DCK's can't go down because of it.

I am constantly redirecting and reminding the kids (even kids that I am not responsible for) "Up the stairs and down the slide"

This is me at the mall play-area, haha. I go there with my son on the morning after dropping DD off at preschool, before the mall even opens so there's maybe a total of 3 kids there. My son is 2, and he is very testy. He knows not to go up the slide, but the second he sees another kid do it, of course he'll try - while looking over at me to make sure I'm watching :: So I go over there, and tell him the right way, and then I'll ask the other kids ... one litle girl that is usualy there is a year and a half older than him ... "since he's younger than you, can you be a good teacher and show him the correct way to go up the slide?" And that usually works, until the next kid enters the play area and tries to do it as well.

[LaLa1923]

This is a very big pet peeve of mine. It's downright rude to allow your child to go up a slide. I'm not sure how they learn if they are allowed at certain times and not at other times. It's about respect and manners. I cannot stand at a slide to insure your child is doing the right thing, when one of mine are going down the slide. I hope your child isn't making a bad choice when one of mine are sliding down the slide. Your child will end up hurt. (I'm talking about the big slides you can't see the bottom to until your down)

I don't think it's the right thing to do, no matter what size the slide is.

[ABCDEFG]

Not at the park, but depeding on the group, I let them do it at home.

[SilverSabre25]

I'm not sure how they learn if they are allowed at certain times and not at other times. :

Why do you think children can't learn two (or more) sets of behaviors? It doesn't take much...you just explain it to them, and enforce it at appropriate times. Children are a lot smarter and more adaptable than most people give them credit for.

[ABCDaycareMN]

I let my son go up the slide at parks. My son knows that if another child is at the top of the slide wanting to down, my son must turn around and slide down the slide. If the park is really busy we only allow him to go down the slide. I think going up the slide is another good skill to have. It takes a lot of work to go up the slide. That's just my take on it.

I'm undecided if I would let a dck go up or not. I guess this has made me think I wouldn't because of the liability of incorrect use.