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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Can A Playground Be Too Safe?
Crystal 09:06 AM 07-19-2011
I LOVE this article and I totally agree!

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/19/sc...mns%2fFindings
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SilverSabre25 09:11 AM 07-19-2011
I want a little applause emoticon.

(And I want to go find a nice vintage playground and scale some monkey bars and climb a jungle gym)
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Country Kids 09:16 AM 07-19-2011
I so agree with this! I think parents are instilling their fears also into their children without the children ever knowing why they are scared except for the parent telling them why. I also think the whole princess/diva thing is really ruining it for the little girls. When was the last time you saw a true tomboy and they weren't questioned about their sexuality. If you are even remotely a tomboy in this day and age there must be some underlying issues is what most people think.
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sharlan 09:18 AM 07-19-2011
I agree. Kids are being denied movement in the name of safety. They aren't allowed to run on the playgrounds at school because they "might" get hurt. They took part of the playground equipment out at my granddaughter's school because the kids kept throwing the mulch, causing eye injuries.

I rarely take the kids to the park in the summer because the new rubber surfaces are so hot that they burn bare feet and knees in a fall.

My only serious daycare injury, the child tripped over his own 2 feet onto the sidewalk.
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PeanutsGalore 09:21 AM 07-19-2011
Originally Posted by sharlan:
I agree. Kids are being denied movement in the name of safety. They aren't allowed to run on the playgrounds at school because they "might" get hurt. They took part of the playground equipment out at my granddaughter's school because the kids kept throwing the mulch, causing eye injuries.

I rarely take the kids to the park in the summer because the new rubber surfaces are so hot that they burn bare feet and knees in a fall.

My only serious daycare injury, the child tripped over his own 2 feet onto the sidewalk.
They seriously don't let kids run on playgrounds anymore? What the heck? How are they supposed to be healthy if they can't move?
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Country Kids 09:27 AM 07-19-2011
Originally Posted by sharlan:
I agree. Kids are being denied movement in the name of safety. They aren't allowed to run on the playgrounds at school because they "might" get hurt. They took part of the playground equipment out at my granddaughter's school because the kids kept throwing the mulch, causing eye injuries.

I rarely take the kids to the park in the summer because the new rubber surfaces are so hot that they burn bare feet and knees in a fall.

My only serious daycare injury, the child tripped over his own 2 feet onto the sidewalk.

This cracked me up! The children weren't getting hurt on the playground equipment but by the mulch that was underneath it. Maybe put something else underneath the equipment instead of removing the playground equipment. Now that took a rocket scientist to figure out-
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nannyde 09:29 AM 07-19-2011
In child care in translates into having to spot kids on equipment and having the financial liability if there is an injury. There's also the consequence thru DHS and child protective.

My state simply says "careful supervision at all times". A playground injury will be considered lack of supervision in the birth to five crowd.

With "risks" it's always the same thing. It's good when it's good. Not so good when it's not.

The cost of simple medical care now and the expectation that there are no injuries in child care is what keeps providers from taking risks.

"Sometimes, of course, their mastery fails, and falls are the common form of playground injury. But these rarely cause permanent damage, either physically or emotionally"

Decisions are based on "rarely".
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momofsix 09:32 AM 07-19-2011
I think the risks that may come from playing on a playground are FAR outweighed by the risks of an underactive population such as obesity, diabetes etc.
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sharlan 09:33 AM 07-19-2011
They used to have sand, but some reg said it had to be changed to mulch. The kids loved throwing it at each other. The rest of the equipment has that hot rubber padding underneath.

The kids can only run under supervision such as during pe. Everything is walk, walk, walk. How are kids supposed to burn up some of that pent up energy?
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youretooloud 09:33 AM 07-19-2011
OK.. the blacktop we played on years ago... bad idea. But, all the rest, I miss too.

I loved the feeling of climbing higher... I ADORED spinning on the bars. I remember bringing a sweater to school even when it was too hot, just so we could use it to spin on the bars without getting that rash on the backs of our knees.

I know in my heart, that kids today are growing up nervous, and afraid, and overly sensitive. I saw a woman call 911 when her baby fell in the water this summer. Just fell in it... she didn't drown, or even sputter.. she just fell in. So, mom called 911. (Lady.. it's not acid.. it's water)

Did you know you can actually buy soft helmets for babies who are learning to crawl so they don't have to suffer a bump on the head?

I would LOVE to have a good old fashioned climber. I think we have taken all the imagination and play out of kid's lives. I feel bad for what they are missing now.
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nannyde 09:34 AM 07-19-2011
Originally Posted by momofsix:
I think the risks that may come from playing on a playground are FAR outweighed by the risks of an underactive population such as obesity, diabetes etc.
Absolutely

But....

the overweight and underactive happens over TIME and not one entity responsible.

an accident happens right now on someones watch.

that's the difference in liability.
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Country Kids 09:35 AM 07-19-2011
My son broke his wrist really fractured (hairline) when he was in kindergarten. Did I become upset with the school and threaten to sue-no. Its part of growing up and being a kid. I didn't blame lack of supervision but a curious little boy that was having fun. He was actually pretty proud of it because he is the only one that did something like that in our family!

I have another little boy that has broke both arms two times each! The kid can trip and a bone breaks. Doctor says its just his bones and since he is a bouncy high struck child this is what is going to happen. Do we consider him a liability because of this?
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momofsix 09:39 AM 07-19-2011
Originally Posted by nannyde:
Absolutely

But....

the overweight and underactive happens over TIME and not one entity responsible.

an accident happens right now on someones watch.

that's the difference in liability.
Nan, I totally get where you're coming from in regards to liability. It's just that the way our society has become so sue happy has caused us to throw common sense out the window!
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nannyde 09:45 AM 07-19-2011
Originally Posted by Country Kids:
I so agree with this! I think parents are instilling their fears also into their children without the children ever knowing why they are scared except for the parent telling them why. I also think the whole princess/diva thing is really ruining it for the little girls. When was the last time you saw a true tomboy and they weren't questioned about their sexuality. If you are even remotely a tomboy in this day and age there must be some underlying issues is what most people think.
We have a ton of fun doing princess here. I love the bedazzled play. I don't let the princess thing get beyond magical thnking and pretend.
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SilverSabre25 09:47 AM 07-19-2011
Originally Posted by nannyde:
In child care in translates into having to spot kids on equipment and having the financial liability if there is an injury. There's also the consequence thru DHS and child protective.

My state simply says "careful supervision at all times". A playground injury will be considered lack of supervision in the birth to five crowd.

With "risks" it's always the same thing. It's good when it's good. Not so good when it's not.

The cost of simple medical care now and the expectation that there are no injuries in child care is what keeps providers from taking risks.

"Sometimes, of course, their mastery fails, and falls are the common form of playground injury. But these rarely cause permanent damage, either physically or emotionally"

Decisions are based on "rarely".
can I point out though that the article is not discussing playgrounds at child care? Or anything else child care related? It's discussing the government (be it city, state, or federal) making decisions to remove the playground equipment, thus taking away the opportunity for parents to take the children there to play on the equipment and experience the risks.

Your response feels very unrelated to the actual content.
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nannyde 09:50 AM 07-19-2011
Originally Posted by SilverSabre25:
can I point out though that the article is not discussing playgrounds at child care? Or anything else child care related? It's discussing the government (be it city, state, or federal) making decisions to remove the playground equipment, thus taking away the opportunity for parents to take the children there to play on the equipment and experience the risks.

Your response feels very unrelated to the actual content.
Oh I know the jest of the article.

I'm saying that for the same reasons the government makes these decisions they are made in child care across the nation.

The old tall jungle gyms and slides disappeared from most American playgrounds across the country in recent decades because of parental concerns, federal guidelines, new safety standards set by manufacturers and — the most frequently cited factor — fear of lawsuits.

You have THAT above AND the added responsibility that YOU are to spot the child when you do child care.

This IS a child care board so my response WOULD be to read the article and apply it to child care and the ages I serve.
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youretooloud 10:05 AM 07-19-2011
Originally Posted by SilverSabre25:
can I point out though that the article is not discussing playgrounds at child care? Or anything else child care related? It's discussing the government (be it city, state, or federal) making decisions to remove the playground equipment, thus taking away the opportunity for parents to take the children there to play on the equipment and experience the risks.

Your response feels very unrelated to the actual content.

Yes.. I'd never have anything like that on my property. But, I wouldn't stop my own six year old from climbing that at the playground. I don't want the liability in my own home though.

http://www.danaplayground.com/adventure-plus-1/ Although, I did have this one at my old house, and the little kids loved it! It was dangerous, hard to do, and fun. The yard I have now, isn't really a yard.. it's more like an outside part of the house... so, no playground equipment would fit here.
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nannyde 10:11 AM 07-19-2011
Originally Posted by youretooloud:
Yes.. I'd never have anything like that on my property. But, I wouldn't stop my own six year old from climbing that at the playground. I don't want the liability in my own home though.
I get ya on that.

I think the bottom line of it is that nobody wants to host it.
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Country Kids 10:25 AM 07-19-2011
Question then-if a child (your own) falls at the city park who do you hold liable-yourself or do you go and sue the city for your childs injuries when you were the one supposed to be supervising.

Same thing for the schools-do you hold the playground teacher, the school, or the district for not being able to supervise about 100-200 kids on the playground.

Nan, you said a playground injury would be considered lack of supervision for your state. How does that apply then if you are inside a child trips and falls, another child bites a child, etc. and you are right there. Anything, even outside could just be a childs clumsiness (except the biting). I had one get off my lap, take a step, then trip over childs own foot and fall hard enough outside that we thought the nose broke. Nope just bruised very lightly but scared us to death but I was literally a baby step away. Not lack of supervision but a child not stepping properly. I'm ready to put them all in bubble wrap and I so believe in children playing hard and getting dirty.
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mom2many 10:53 AM 07-19-2011
Years ago, I used to have a playground structure in our backyard, but decided to take it down. None of my dcks or my own children ever got hurt playing on it, but I decided it was too big a liability and we now do "park days". I load the little ones in the wagon and we walk over to our neighborhood park. I'm very careful keeping the little ones in the age appropriate area and bring another adult with me to help.

I think it's a shame how quickly society is willing to sue over an accident. My own daughter fell off the monkey bars 5 minutes after being dropped off at school when she was 6 years old. She ended up with a broken arm and it NEVER crossed my mind to sue the school. It was purely an accident!

Earlier today, I had one of my 1 yr old dcgs fall down and hit her lip. Her one and only tooth managed to cut it! She just started walking and isn't very stable yet...fortunately she is totally fine, but had me freaking out for a minute!
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nannyde 11:04 AM 07-19-2011
Originally Posted by Country Kids:
Question then-if a child (your own) falls at the city park who do you hold liable-yourself or do you go and sue the city for your childs injuries when you were the one supposed to be supervising.

Same thing for the schools-do you hold the playground teacher, the school, or the district for not being able to supervise about 100-200 kids on the playground.

Nan, you said a playground injury would be considered lack of supervision for your state. How does that apply then if you are inside a child trips and falls, another child bites a child, etc. and you are right there. Anything, even outside could just be a childs clumsiness (except the biting). I had one get off my lap, take a step, then trip over childs own foot and fall hard enough outside that we thought the nose broke. Nope just bruised very lightly but scared us to death but I was literally a baby step away. Not lack of supervision but a child not stepping properly. I'm ready to put them all in bubble wrap and I so believe in children playing hard and getting dirty.
If you are interested in learning about lawsuits and playground equipment you can find a lot just by googling it. It took me a couple of seconds to find this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwKWBIWNSuw

I think how it affects day care is the process that it takes to show that whatever happened in your home was a pure accident and there was NOTHING you could have done to prevent it. That becomes a judgement call by whoever investigates it.

With the birth to five crowd I think there is an expectation that they are spotted at all times. With one adult and multi level aged group of kids that's not so easy to do. Not having them on the equipment is the safest thing to do. Not having the equipment is the safest thing for schools... for governments... for child care providers. There's a REASON why this is happening and a good portion of it is MONEY and fear of accountability that is unrealistic in a group setting.

I remember this post from Crystal... simple but to the point:

https://www.daycare.com/forum/showth...highlight=spot

I wouldn't just let a kid fall and break something. I spot the children when they do this. I am right there to catch them if they fall.

If we have them on playground equipment and we don't "catch them if they fall" then we will be responsible for not carefully supervising them.
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AmandasFCC 11:43 AM 07-19-2011
Originally Posted by nannyde:
In child care in translates into having to spot kids on equipment and having the financial liability if there is an injury. There's also the consequence thru DHS and child protective.

My state simply says "careful supervision at all times". A playground injury will be considered lack of supervision in the birth to five crowd.

With "risks" it's always the same thing. It's good when it's good. Not so good when it's not.

The cost of simple medical care now and the expectation that there are no injuries in child care is what keeps providers from taking risks.

"Sometimes, of course, their mastery fails, and falls are the common form of playground injury. But these rarely cause permanent damage, either physically or emotionally"

Decisions are based on "rarely".
I think that's so sad. I think it's disgraceful that we have to raise children and run our child care businesses in FEAR of being sued. I think that lawyers, licensing bodies, etc. need to spend LESS time satisfying sue-happy morons, and MORE time focusing on the quality of early childhood programs.
When I was a kid I fell off the 6 ft high monkey bars. I was hanging upside down, got sweaty behind my knees and slipped right off. Did my mom sue? NO! Did I get back up there and try again? After I gained my confidence again on the shorter bars.

When I was 11 years old I was doing something similar, hanging upside down on some railings in front of a set of doors in my school. My face was hanging inches away from the concrete. My hands slipped and I ate concrete. Needed stitches in my head. Again, did my mom sue? NO! I learned a valuable lesson about where it is appropriate to play.

Kids need to be kids!!! Kids need to experience bumps and bruises and the more we allow these ridiculous laws and regulations to pass, the worse off our children will be.
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sharlan 11:51 AM 07-19-2011
Originally Posted by AmandasFCC:
I think that's so sad. I think it's disgraceful that we have to raise children and run our child care businesses in FEAR of being sued. I think that lawyers, licensing bodies, etc. need to spend LESS time satisfying sue-happy morons, and MORE time focusing on the quality of early childhood programs.
When I was a kid I fell off the 6 ft high monkey bars. I was hanging upside down, got sweaty behind my knees and slipped right off. Did my mom sue? NO! Did I get back up there and try again? After I gained my confidence again on the shorter bars.

When I was 11 years old I was doing something similar, hanging upside down on some railings in front of a set of doors in my school. My face was hanging inches away from the concrete. My hands slipped and I ate concrete. Needed stitches in my head. Again, did my mom sue? NO! I learned a valuable lesson about where it is appropriate to play.

Kids need to be kids!!! Kids need to experience bumps and bruises and the more we allow these ridiculous laws and regulations to pass, the worse off our children will be.
AND parents need to stop sueing at the drop of a hat (or child).
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AmandasFCC 12:07 PM 07-19-2011
The more they win, and are permitted to DO it, the more they will Pretty soon we won't be able to do child care without a padded play room
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Meeko 12:26 PM 07-19-2011
Originally Posted by AmandasFCC:
I think that's so sad. I think it's disgraceful that we have to raise children and run our child care businesses in FEAR of being sued. I think that lawyers, licensing bodies, etc. need to spend LESS time satisfying sue-happy morons, and MORE time focusing on the quality of early childhood programs.
When I was a kid I fell off the 6 ft high monkey bars. I was hanging upside down, got sweaty behind my knees and slipped right off. Did my mom sue? NO! Did I get back up there and try again? After I gained my confidence again on the shorter bars.

When I was 11 years old I was doing something similar, hanging upside down on some railings in front of a set of doors in my school. My face was hanging inches away from the concrete. My hands slipped and I ate concrete. Needed stitches in my head. Again, did my mom sue? NO! I learned a valuable lesson about where it is appropriate to play.

Kids need to be kids!!! Kids need to experience bumps and bruises and the more we allow these ridiculous laws and regulations to pass, the worse off our children will be.
I have a liability release as part of my paperwork. Only one set of parents have ever hesitated to sign it, but happily did later. The couple showed it to their attorney who explained to them that it wouldn't hold up in court if their child was neglected or abused...but that it helped me with the kind of parents that would sue because their little princess tripped over her feet in the driveway and scraped her chin and the parents tried to sue for $100,000 because "princess will now need plastic surgery as she was going to be a top model"

The release basically states that they acknowledge that kids will be kids and that we cannot be held responsible for every tiny scrape. Skinned knees are a part of childhood!
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Playground Wally 03:24 PM 03-12-2012
Originally Posted by Crystal:
I LOVE this article and I totally agree!

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/19/sc...mns%2fFindings
It's tough. Especially here in California, the litigation capitol of the world. ASTM F1487 is the set of safety standards for playground equipment and the latest version is 66 pages long. That being said, its exciting to see how the playground manufacturers are approaching the challenge of creating stimulating play components while still keeping it safe.
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spud912 09:56 PM 03-12-2012
Remember the merry-go-rounds? Those were the best! You will never see them on the park anymore because of all the injuries.
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Sunchimes 03:47 AM 03-13-2012
Our town tore out some of the good old fashioned playground stuff last year in preparation for upgrading the entire park. It is suppose to re-open this summer. I know the paper said they were having some sort of water feature, like a water spray or something, but I'll be interested in seeing what they replace it with. Last time I was there, the only things left were a huge slide and one of those metal climbing things.
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SunshineMama 04:20 AM 03-13-2012
One of the reasons I am not licensed is because I am sick of all of the red tape involved with children. Can we just let kids be kids?

I understand the liability issue, but how far are we going to take this? Sure, Johnny got a broken arm falling off of the slide. Maybe next time he will learn not to stand up and mess around at the top, kwim? Injuries and mistakes, in a safe environment, create opportunities to learn. Yes, a playground is a safe environment- no reason to tear them down imho.

I understand the liability aspect, and agree that you always have to be careful. I personally refuse to disallow children to play outside on playgrounds. The more they run and climb, the healthier they are, and the easier my job is, since all of that energy went to good use instead of troublemaking. Yes, it is a risk, yes, my liability waiver might not hold up in court if I were ever sued, and yes, all of my own children, and daycare children, get a few good hours of decent, hard play every day. I do not have one overweight child. At naptime, they all sleep hard, since their little bodies are recooperating from all of the play. I have sent them home with bumps from falling down, and the parents are all very understanding. They chose me as their provider because I let them do these things, and they are like-minded. They want their kids to be kids!

Sorry for the mini-tangent, I just get so frustrated at bureaucracy these days- when will the kids be "safe" enough?
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SunshineMama 04:22 AM 03-13-2012
Originally Posted by spud912:
Remember the merry-go-rounds? Those were the best! You will never see them on the park anymore because of all the injuries.
OMG those were my FAVORITE!!! If you havn't ever been flung off of those as a kid you missed out lol!
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DCBlessings27 05:54 AM 03-13-2012
I don't know that playgrounds can be too safe? I didn't actually read the article, but I've read the other comments and some of the thread that Nanny De posted about from Crystal.

I keep a careful eye on my kids and always feel that I am telling them they can't do this or that. I have to protect myself from sue-happy parents, and I don't want an accident to happen. The regs in my state only mandate that we have a use zone for the anchored playset. Basically, the area that needs to be clear behind and in front of the swings and in front of the slide. They don't regulate the depth of the surface underneath. I filled my 30'x30' play area with pea gravel, made it that large, and made it 12in deep because that was aligned with the manufacturer and federal guidelines. That way, I am helping myself if a child should get hurt by falling. I also set strict rules: only 2 kids are allowed on top of my little tykes tower, don't get in the way of the swings, never climb up the slide. I also don't let them go head first down the slide.

I do encourage running. I have grass and the kids love to run across the yard. My dcps are not afraid of the kids getting dirty or having bruises from running.
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Blackcat31 08:15 AM 03-13-2012
Originally Posted by spud912:
Remember the merry-go-rounds? Those were the best! You will never see them on the park anymore because of all the injuries.
ALL of our public playgrounds have merry go rounds in them. Either we are living in the dark ages here or my community isn't all freaked out over liability issues. The elementary school just 2 blocks from me just built a new playground and they have a merry go round as well.

I also have a Little Tikes merry-go-round here.
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SilverSabre25 09:45 AM 03-13-2012
Glad this resurfaced, lol, I'm pinning that article!
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MarinaVanessa 10:16 AM 03-13-2012
Well I am glad for this article. I went as far as to Repost the article on my personal FB page, my DC FB page and my Childcare Association's FB page. Heck I even Tweeted it. As always, supervision is key.

Originally Posted by SunshineMama:
One of the reasons I am not licensed is because I am sick of all of the red tape involved with children. Can we just let kids be kids?
Agreed, but make sure to keep in mind that just because you aren't licensed or registered that doesn't mean that you can't be sued if a child gets seriously hurt while in your care. So sad, so true but if a child falls down and seriously injurs themselves on a playground while on the parent's watch the parent doesn't get sued but the parent can choose to try to sue the city. In our case if a child was to get seriously hurt on the same playground while on our watch the parent could choose to sue us. It is what it is.
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BigMama 10:25 AM 03-13-2012
Originally Posted by nannyde:
In child care in translates into having to spot kids on equipment and having the financial liability if there is an injury. There's also the consequence thru DHS and child protective.

My state simply says "careful supervision at all times". A playground injury will be considered lack of supervision in the birth to five crowd.

With "risks" it's always the same thing. It's good when it's good. Not so good when it's not.

The cost of simple medical care now and the expectation that there are no injuries in child care is what keeps providers from taking risks.

"Sometimes, of course, their mastery fails, and falls are the common form of playground injury. But these rarely cause permanent damage, either physically or emotionally"

Decisions are based on "rarely".
So Nannyde, what do your child care children do outside? Do you have climbers, trikes, balls, room to run? Do you take them to the playground?

I was a VERY timid child - to the point of anxiety ridden and neurotic. There was an old wooden play set at the park near my house. To get to the top platform and go down the slide you had to climb up this wooden structure (not a ladder or steps) and slide on your belly through a two beams. I lived near this park from birth to age 14 and I never once went down this slide. I was so scared of even trying to climb up this structure. There was also an apparatus we called the rainbow. It was a large wooden arch with handles all the way around. I would stand with envy and watch my brothers and sister and the neighborhood kids traverse their way around the rainbow and I was too scared to even step up more than two handles. I spent my entire childhood never taking a chance because I was afraid of getting hurt.

Now as a child care provider, I appreciate risk-taking for the children. I have two small climbers in my backyard and we often go to public playgrounds. My rule is that I will not lift or boost anyone onto an equipment - they must be able to get onto it themselves. I do spot the younger tots on the slide, etc. but I don't hover over the kids. In public we follow general playground rules - down the slide only etc., but here we will have an "up slide" day once in a while. Healthy, active children need these experiences. I can predict that your response will be that the children can have these experiences at home with their parents because your child care children have at least 5 awake hours with their parents daily. I just want to point out that even if they have these hours with their parents a. their parents may still not take them outside to play b. most of my child care children have 5+ awake hours with one or both parents (I have mostly teacher's children) but the parents are so thankful we play outdoors daily as when they get home they must prepare dinner bath the children, do chores, etc. and c. just because there is a possibility that the children can experience something at home it doesn't absolve the child care's responsibility to provide those experiences to the children. One would never say well, their parents have time to read to them so I am not going to do that during child care.
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mrsp'slilpeeps 11:07 AM 03-13-2012
Originally Posted by SunshineMama:
OMG those were my FAVORITE!!! If you havn't ever been flung off of those as a kid you missed out lol!
I laughed and snorted at the same time thinking back to that moment.

As my own son would say, IM ALRIGHT....... THAT WAS AWSOME!!!!!
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daycare 11:22 AM 03-13-2012
I am much like Nanny De with my outside rules.

I follow the School district rules to a T. This way they know them when they leave here. The are very strict.

I encourage my families to spend time taking their child to the park so that they can explore the park at their own free will. Children will get hurt, but they won't do it on my time.
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Crystal 03:39 PM 03-13-2012
Originally Posted by BigMama:
So Nannyde, what do your child care children do outside? Do you have climbers, trikes, balls, room to run? Do you take them to the playground?

I was a VERY timid child - to the point of anxiety ridden and neurotic. There was an old wooden play set at the park near my house. To get to the top platform and go down the slide you had to climb up this wooden structure (not a ladder or steps) and slide on your belly through a two beams. I lived near this park from birth to age 14 and I never once went down this slide. I was so scared of even trying to climb up this structure. There was also an apparatus we called the rainbow. It was a large wooden arch with handles all the way around. I would stand with envy and watch my brothers and sister and the neighborhood kids traverse their way around the rainbow and I was too scared to even step up more than two handles. I spent my entire childhood never taking a chance because I was afraid of getting hurt.

Now as a child care provider, I appreciate risk-taking for the children. I have two small climbers in my backyard and we often go to public playgrounds. My rule is that I will not lift or boost anyone onto an equipment - they must be able to get onto it themselves. I do spot the younger tots on the slide, etc. but I don't hover over the kids. In public we follow general playground rules - down the slide only etc., but here we will have an "up slide" day once in a while. Healthy, active children need these experiences. I can predict that your response will be that the children can have these experiences at home with their parents because your child care children have at least 5 awake hours with their parents daily. I just want to point out that even if they have these hours with their parents a. their parents may still not take them outside to play b. most of my child care children have 5+ awake hours with one or both parents (I have mostly teacher's children) but the parents are so thankful we play outdoors daily as when they get home they must prepare dinner bath the children, do chores, etc. and c. just because there is a possibility that the children can experience something at home it doesn't absolve the child care's responsibility to provide those experiences to the children. One would never say well, their parents have time to read to them so I am not going to do that during child care.
I'm pretty sure Nan doesn't do outdoor play at all due to possible liability issues.....she does a daily hike with her kiddos, if I remember correctly.
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MrsB 08:29 PM 03-13-2012
Interesting topic. Something I may need to ponder before I have a strong opinion about.

Especially considering my 10 year old DS came home from school yesterday and said, they can't play tag in the field anymore. They have to use only the play equipment provided. I was a little baffled so I asked his teacher today about it during our weekly phone conference.

She said that they made the rule not to allow self-directed games in the open field at recess (like tag, kick ball, frisbee, etc) They are now required to stay in the playground area on the provided play equipment.

She explained that it wasn't really a liability issue of major injuries, but because all the minor injuries (scratches and minor brusies) that ended up in the nurses office. Supposedly now, every time a child complains of any injury they have to be sent to the nurses office for assessment. With the games like tag, they were having to many bandaid requests and after recess the nurses office would be full of 10-15 kids.

She also said the reason was because they had too many argurments over rules, who broke what rule, who was it, who lost, fits over losing or winning. In addition she said their have been so many parents filing bulling reports about kids being picked last for self directed games, targeted to be the first one out.

I can see it now, "I am being bullied because so and so said she doesnt want to be my friend anymore"

I get why the teachers dont want to be referee and I dont stand for bullying what so ever!

Shouldn't 5th graders be able to be given the responsibility of creating their own games and working out their problems themselves, without adults always intervening. And these kids that feel like they are being bullied for silly things like being picked last. We have a responsibility to teach our children to stand up for themselves and be their own voice. I feel like some are interpreting unfair = bullying.

Oh boy! I wonder how our intense games of dodgeball when I was in 5th grade would go over at this school!
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smb757 09:00 PM 03-13-2012
I'm laughing at my thread because just last weekend, I took my own two children to the neighborhood park. My daughter, who is just barely 2, is my daredevil. She climbed every ladder, went down the tallest slides, etc (all with either my husband or I right there). Then on the way home, she got a little too excited, started to run and face-planted in the sidewalk. It would figure. :-)
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Tags:playground, safety
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