Here are a few things I don't understand about Utah playgrounds...
1. Smoking at the playground.
Really people? There is a ton of space at the park, and you choose to smoke your cigarette right on the playground? I even saw a woman struggle to put her child in a swing while holding a burning cigarette!
Come on.
2. Sitting in the car and sending your kids out to play.
I see this a lot. Someone pulls up and sends their kids out. I even saw two women, one backing in and the other pulling in straight, so they could open their windows and chat while their kids played. May I add that the weather was AMAZING!? Why do they sit in their car?? Get out! Sit on the bench! Sit in the grass! Watch your children! Which leads me to...
3. Watching your kids.
No one does this. I have seen everything. Big kids hogging the baby swings, kids running around throwing large sticks into the air over unsuspecting childrens' heads. I even saw a small boy fall down on the sidewalk and hit his head. He laid there crying for quite a while, surrounded by his siblings that just stared at him. I looked around for his mother, trying to decide if I should go see if he was okay. Finally I heard his mother call to his sister (who couldn't have been more than 5 years old) that she should help him up. I have no words. Perhaps I'm just overprotective.
4. Dogs and their poop.
There is a playground very close to our house, but we never go there. I lovingly call this "Poo Park". Why? Because there is always dog poop on the playground. The part that boggles my mind is that there is a HUGE dog run just across the parking lot! But people bring their dogs onto the playground anyway. I watched a woman let her dog pee in the tan bark! "Bad dog", she said. But did she stop it? Did she pull the dog out of the tan bark? No. I watched another woman send her dog up the stairs and down the slide over and over. It was a rather big dog, and Owen wouldn't go anywhere near it. We waited until the dog was done playing.
5. The fast food picnic
The fist time I saw this, I thought it must be a special day or something. But I began to realize that no one I saw at the park ever packed a picnic from home. It is ALWAYS fast food. Pizza, burgers, you name it. Don't get me wrong. I love myself a Whopper. But I eat fast food very rarely. Just yesterday I saw a 4 year old wandering around with a big gulp full of soda! Owen has NEVER had a soda. Again, I'm not anti soda. But wow.
6. Strangers
Of course, the only place I saw this was in New York, but I really wish every playground was like this. In New York, all playgrounds are gated in, and it's illegal for any adult to come in unless they are accompanying a child. The playgrounds here are just a small part of the main park and are not gated in. There aren't a whole lot of benches in the park, and the few that are, are right at the playground. So there are always people just hanging out. I have never felt like my kids weren't safe, but I do feel weird having adults just sitting watching them play. It's just weird.
This post seems very negative. That wasn't my intent.
These are simply my observations.
Take them, or leave them.
Really people? There is a ton of space at the park, and you choose to smoke your cigarette right on the playground? I even saw a woman struggle to put her child in a swing while holding a burning cigarette!
Come on.
2. Sitting in the car and sending your kids out to play.
I see this a lot. Someone pulls up and sends their kids out. I even saw two women, one backing in and the other pulling in straight, so they could open their windows and chat while their kids played. May I add that the weather was AMAZING!? Why do they sit in their car?? Get out! Sit on the bench! Sit in the grass! Watch your children! Which leads me to...
3. Watching your kids.
No one does this. I have seen everything. Big kids hogging the baby swings, kids running around throwing large sticks into the air over unsuspecting childrens' heads. I even saw a small boy fall down on the sidewalk and hit his head. He laid there crying for quite a while, surrounded by his siblings that just stared at him. I looked around for his mother, trying to decide if I should go see if he was okay. Finally I heard his mother call to his sister (who couldn't have been more than 5 years old) that she should help him up. I have no words. Perhaps I'm just overprotective.
4. Dogs and their poop.
There is a playground very close to our house, but we never go there. I lovingly call this "Poo Park". Why? Because there is always dog poop on the playground. The part that boggles my mind is that there is a HUGE dog run just across the parking lot! But people bring their dogs onto the playground anyway. I watched a woman let her dog pee in the tan bark! "Bad dog", she said. But did she stop it? Did she pull the dog out of the tan bark? No. I watched another woman send her dog up the stairs and down the slide over and over. It was a rather big dog, and Owen wouldn't go anywhere near it. We waited until the dog was done playing.
5. The fast food picnic
The fist time I saw this, I thought it must be a special day or something. But I began to realize that no one I saw at the park ever packed a picnic from home. It is ALWAYS fast food. Pizza, burgers, you name it. Don't get me wrong. I love myself a Whopper. But I eat fast food very rarely. Just yesterday I saw a 4 year old wandering around with a big gulp full of soda! Owen has NEVER had a soda. Again, I'm not anti soda. But wow.
6. Strangers
Of course, the only place I saw this was in New York, but I really wish every playground was like this. In New York, all playgrounds are gated in, and it's illegal for any adult to come in unless they are accompanying a child. The playgrounds here are just a small part of the main park and are not gated in. There aren't a whole lot of benches in the park, and the few that are, are right at the playground. So there are always people just hanging out. I have never felt like my kids weren't safe, but I do feel weird having adults just sitting watching them play. It's just weird.
This post seems very negative. That wasn't my intent.
These are simply my observations.
Take them, or leave them.
2 comments:
It's the city in you, girl. I feel the same way. It feels like people who haven't experienced city/urban parks aren't sure how to use them properly. I love our park (it helps that it was designed by Frederick Olmsted:)! PS. We miss you!
Suddenly all those NQV rules are looking pretty good.
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