Adults on a children's playground

[Skywalker]

I don't know if they could be reasoned with. They also heavily outnumbered me.

This is a hilarious visual, being intimidated by a bunch of scavenger hunt participants with team numbers safety-pinned to their shirts. Ha. I don't get the outrage. Just explain to the kids its a scavenger hunt and wait your turn.

 

[Southernmiss]

So let me get this straight, people at a park doing nothing more than using the equipment started this thread because they were not kids under 12.

People, there's so much more in life to get worked up over....

 

[Skywalker]

So let me get this straight, people at a park doing nothing more than using the equipment started this thread because they were not kids under 12.

Yes because we wouldn't want our kids to be exposed to adults having good clean fun would we?!

 

[Allison]

Yes because we wouldn't want our kids to be exposed to adults having good clean fun would we?!

Just a bunch of scallywags I tell ya.

 

[soccerdad72]

Hey, you lost me on your first sentence - who refers to their child as "the kid"?

 

[bcla]

I'm glad the park across the street from my home does not have such a sign or limitations. I'm glad that my teens, with or without their younger siblings in tow, can still go out and release some energy there.

The signs in San Francisco playgrounds are vague about the definition of "adult" or "child", although I'm pretty sure the dividing line is 18. For the most part in San Francisco this applies to small, fenced-in areas, although I've seen similar signs at this very large children's play area in Golden Gate Park.

I've heard of some problems with teenagers taking over play structures and knocking over smaller kids around here. Some have been making out on various playground equipment or breaking the equipment because they were sized for small kids. There's also been vandalism. That's one rationale behind several of the prohibitions that start at 12 years. I know it's arbitrary in some places, but it's just the way they're trying to tackle the problem. It's kind of a blunt tool, but that's often how laws and regulations are made. There are some teens who behave badly, so the rules apply to all them them. Certainly in San Francisco, the problem extends to discarded needles, condoms, bottles, etc.

St. Louis was in discussions about a similar regulation:

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/...cle_4418df68-b988-5aff-b244-21965ba9edcd.html

 

[Dawnlight]

Here's a great take on this issue- Lenore Skenazy has it right on so many levels:

http://www.parentdish.com/2010/08/10/let-adults-hang-out-at-the-playground-even-if-they-dont-have-k/

What would you do if you saw a man hanging around the playground and he didn't have any kids there?
Well, soon that question may be moot. Miami Beach is just the latest locality considering legislation that would make 19 playgrounds "children's play areas" -- i.e., strictly off limits to any adult not accompanied by a kid. Laws like that are becoming more and more common, according to nonprofit playground promoting organization, KaBoom. But are they making our playgrounds -- and children -- any safer?

The opposite.

"You should be able to go outside at lunch and sit in a public park and watch the children play," says KaBoom spokeswoman, Alison Risso. That's not just civil, it's safer. The more eyes on the street -- and the swings -- the better.

And yet, listen to this. A grandmother I know, Rochelle, went outside to read in her Manhattan neighborhood. The spot she chose was sentimental. "It was a park that my kids played in when they were little, so I was on a bench." But when she looked up from her book, she saw the parents "glaring" at her. "I got uncomfortable, and I left," Rochelle says. It was only then that she noticed the sign at the entrance: No unaccompanied adults allowed.

She was mortified to realize she disobeyed the rules. I'm mortified to realize these rules exist. Mortified to live in a society that thinks it is wise to always think the worst of every adult. Remember the story from this past spring? California parents noticed a guy lurking in their local park. A mom wrote on the neighborhood list serve, "He does NOT have children and pretends like he does and is there to do pull-ups. He takes pictures of the kids with his phone."

Soon 40 terrified parents were meeting with the police. The local news put the suspect's picture on TV. The police started tracking him and discovered (drum roll, please): He WAS doing pull-ups. And he was using his cell phone's stopwatch to time them.

Not to take dirty pictures of kids.

KaBoom's Risso lives in Silver Spring, Md. There, too, a middle-aged man recently started coming to the playground, solo. One of the moms finally ended up talking to him.

Turns out he's a refugee from the earthquake in Haiti. He's new to the country, and alone. He thought that by coming out to sit in the community, he would become a part of it.

Won't he be surprised to learn that, increasingly, this doesn't make him a neighbor. It makes him a criminal.

 

[sunshinehighway]

Here's a great take on this issue- Lenore Skenazy has it right on so many levels:

http://www.parentdish.com/2010/08/10/let-adults-hang-out-at-the-playground-even-if-they-dont-have-k/

What would you do if you saw a man hanging around the playground and he didn't have any kids there?
Well, soon that question may be moot. Miami Beach is just the latest locality considering legislation that would make 19 playgrounds "children's play areas" -- i.e., strictly off limits to any adult not accompanied by a kid. Laws like that are becoming more and more common, according to nonprofit playground promoting organization, KaBoom. But are they making our playgrounds -- and children -- any safer?

The opposite.

"You should be able to go outside at lunch and sit in a public park and watch the children play," says KaBoom spokeswoman, Alison Risso. That's not just civil, it's safer. The more eyes on the street -- and the swings -- the better.

And yet, listen to this. A grandmother I know, Rochelle, went outside to read in her Manhattan neighborhood. The spot she chose was sentimental. "It was a park that my kids played in when they were little, so I was on a bench." But when she looked up from her book, she saw the parents "glaring" at her. "I got uncomfortable, and I left," Rochelle says. It was only then that she noticed the sign at the entrance: No unaccompanied adults allowed.

She was mortified to realize she disobeyed the rules. I'm mortified to realize these rules exist. Mortified to live in a society that thinks it is wise to always think the worst of every adult. Remember the story from this past spring? California parents noticed a guy lurking in their local park. A mom wrote on the neighborhood list serve, "He does NOT have children and pretends like he does and is there to do pull-ups. He takes pictures of the kids with his phone."

Soon 40 terrified parents were meeting with the police. The local news put the suspect's picture on TV. The police started tracking him and discovered (drum roll, please): He WAS doing pull-ups. And he was using his cell phone's stopwatch to time them.

Not to take dirty pictures of kids.

KaBoom's Risso lives in Silver Spring, Md. There, too, a middle-aged man recently started coming to the playground, solo. One of the moms finally ended up talking to him.

Turns out he's a refugee from the earthquake in Haiti. He's new to the country, and alone. He thought that by coming out to sit in the community, he would become a part of it.

Won't he be surprised to learn that, increasingly, this doesn't make him a neighbor. It makes him a criminal.

Good reminders on how just talking to someone and not jumping to conclusions can stop drama before it starts.

 

[Dawnlight]

I've heard of some problems with teenagers taking over play structures and knocking over smaller kids around here. Some have been making out on various playground equipment or breaking the equipment because they were sized for small kids. There's also been vandalism. That's one rationale behind several of the prohibitions that start at 12 years. I know it's arbitrary in some places, but it's just the way they're trying to tackle the problem. It's kind of a blunt tool, but that's often how laws and regulations are made. There are some teens who behave badly, so the rules apply to all them them.l

Then those specific teenagers should be dealt with, but there should not be laws placed that exclude an entire group of people from publicly funded places due to their age or status as a parent or non-parent. We do not exclude people based on gender, race, religion, orientation, and we shouldn't based on their age either. It's wrong.

 

[bcla]

Then those specific teenagers should be dealt with, but there should not be laws placed that exclude an entire group of people from publicly funded places due to their age or status as a parent or non-parent. We do not exclude people based on gender, race, religion, orientation, and we shouldn't based on their age either. It's wrong.

I previously stated that sometimes the only tools available are blunt tools. Without a general law or regulation, enforcement can be construed as an attack on protected classes. The rationale for excluding adults without children include homeless, drug users, and limited resources for age-specific equipment. There does however have to be a rational basis for it to be legal. I mentioned that New York City's ordinance that allows for "Exclusive Senior Citizens Areas" in city parks. As long as there's a rational basis, these can be legal.

Heck - the public pools around here often have age-specific times, as well as senior-only times. They're paid for with public money.

 

[phorsenuf]

Here's a great take on this issue- Lenore Skenazy has it right on so many levels:

http://www.parentdish.com/2010/08/10/let-adults-hang-out-at-the-playground-even-if-they-dont-have-k/

What would you do if you saw a man hanging around the playground and he didn't have any kids there?
Well, soon that question may be moot. Miami Beach is just the latest locality considering legislation that would make 19 playgrounds "children's play areas" -- i.e., strictly off limits to any adult not accompanied by a kid. Laws like that are becoming more and more common, according to nonprofit playground promoting organization, KaBoom. But are they making our playgrounds -- and children -- any safer?

The opposite.

"You should be able to go outside at lunch and sit in a public park and watch the children play," says KaBoom spokeswoman, Alison Risso. That's not just civil, it's safer. The more eyes on the street -- and the swings -- the better.

And yet, listen to this. A grandmother I know, Rochelle, went outside to read in her Manhattan neighborhood. The spot she chose was sentimental. "It was a park that my kids played in when they were little, so I was on a bench." But when she looked up from her book, she saw the parents "glaring" at her. "I got uncomfortable, and I left," Rochelle says. It was only then that she noticed the sign at the entrance: No unaccompanied adults allowed.

She was mortified to realize she disobeyed the rules. I'm mortified to realize these rules exist. Mortified to live in a society that thinks it is wise to always think the worst of every adult. Remember the story from this past spring? California parents noticed a guy lurking in their local park. A mom wrote on the neighborhood list serve, "He does NOT have children and pretends like he does and is there to do pull-ups. He takes pictures of the kids with his phone."

Soon 40 terrified parents were meeting with the police. The local news put the suspect's picture on TV. The police started tracking him and discovered (drum roll, please): He WAS doing pull-ups. And he was using his cell phone's stopwatch to time them.

Not to take dirty pictures of kids.

KaBoom's Risso lives in Silver Spring, Md. There, too, a middle-aged man recently started coming to the playground, solo. One of the moms finally ended up talking to him.

Turns out he's a refugee from the earthquake in Haiti. He's new to the country, and alone. He thought that by coming out to sit in the community, he would become a part of it.

Won't he be surprised to learn that, increasingly, this doesn't make him a neighbor. It makes him a criminal.

It's such a shame how quickly people assume the worse. Our son was very involved with little league. We loved watching the kids play. probably more so then watching major leaque. LOL
When we moved down here we lived near a LL field. We would drive by and feel nostalgic and even talked a few times about stopping to watch. But we figured people would get freaked out that we were there if we had no kids playing. Such a shame how adults have to think about such things before they can do something they find enjoyable.

 

[MattsPrincess]

I think things like this stand as further proof that we're becoming an insanely fear-based society. I understand that the intent is to keep children safe from predators, but it fails in it's execution. As an adult that's chosen not to have children, I should still be able to go take a walk, sit on a bench, or even swing at my local park without having to worry the cops might show up. But no, let's just keeping passing more and more vague laws that alienate us from one another and spread fear. It seems like such a 'slippery slope' to me...next thing will be having separate "adult" and "families only" parks, water parks, etc. with cops standing at all the entrances checking ID's to make sure.

The fact that a group of a few adults (that were obviously part of an event) coming in to a public park, sitting on a piece of equipment to take a photo for said event, then going down the slide and leaving warranted dirty looks, calls to the event organizer and the parks department, and apparently quite a bit of internet research, is just painful.

 

[littlejimmy]

I previously stated that sometimes the only tools available are blunt tools. Without a general law or regulation, enforcement can be construed as an attack on protected classes. The rationale for excluding adults without children include homeless, drug users, and limited resources for age-specific equipment. There does however have to be a rational basis for it to be legal. I mentioned that New York City's ordinance that allows for "Exclusive Senior Citizens Areas" in city parks. As long as there's a rational basis, these can be legal.

Heck - the public pools around here often have age-specific times, as well as senior-only times. They're paid for with public money.

I like the term rational basis. This is what I fear you are missing here. The intent of the law is rational. I am not trying to be offensive, but your interpretation in this instance, is irrational.

 

[Dawnlight]

Heck - the public pools around here often have age-specific times, as well as senior-only times. They're paid for with public money.

The difference between this and a "no adults without an accompanying child" is that it is time-restricted; children can still use the pool at other times. I don't see the park being available ever to adults without children.

There are already laws against drug abuse; there are already laws against vandalism; there already laws against loitering. Why do we need to exclude an entire segment of society from public areas? Because there may be predators? Maybe we should exclude teachers from schools, too, as there are some that abuse children as well.

 

[Kayabee]

I called the park and rec dept. They have a number to report issues, although I had to go through a lot of options before I got to that selection. They also have park rangers for code enforcement. Mostly they try to get the homeless to stop sleeping at night. When I noted what was happening, the employee I spoke to said this shouldn't have happened and asked for the name of the event organizer.

One group left quickly. The first one I saw kind of lingered there for a while. One guy went down the slide and a few others jumped off the structure.

We eventually left, but it seemed like these groups would continue to be coming in even though it wasn't helping them. They were supposed to get a photo of their group at the wheel of a real ship, according to the guy I was in contact with. There are several in the area, and he claimed that the clue clearly wasn't talking about a play structure.

They should have been taken away and locked up! I bet they went to McDonald's after that and ordered Happy Meals. The darn punks!

OP you need to lighten up. I get coming here to post a little vent, but you have gone so far above that with all the links and photos and stuff. On the good side, you'd probably make a great detective.

 

[declansdad]

Wow, seems like a pretty trivial thing to worry about.

 

[verleniahall]

I will admit to being one of the crazys - i was pushing an empty baby swing the other day - i misscarried a year ago on saturday at 10 weeks. - the baby would have been 1 and i would have been swinging him/her in that swing - i was no danger to the children around - unless being a danger involved silent tears as i worked through my grief.

 

[Dawnlight]

I will admit to being one of the crazys - i was pushing an empty baby swing the other day - i misscarried a year ago on saturday at 10 weeks. - the baby would have been 1 and i would have been swinging him/her in that swing - i was no danger to the children around - unless being a danger involved silent tears as i worked through my grief.

Sorry for your loss.

 

[smiths02]

I think things like this stand as further proof that we're becoming an insanely fear-based society. I understand that the intent is to keep children safe from predators, but it fails in it's execution. As an adult that's chosen not to have children, I should still be able to go take a walk, sit on a bench, or even swing at my local park without having to worry the cops might show up. But no, let's just keeping passing more and more vague laws that alienate us from one another and spread fear. It seems like such a 'slippery slope' to me...next thing will be having separate "adult" and "families only" parks, water parks, etc. with cops standing at all the entrances checking ID's to make sure.

The fact that a group of a few adults (that were obviously part of an event) coming in to a public park, sitting on a piece of equipment to take a photo for said event, then going down the slide and leaving warranted dirty looks, calls to the event organizer and the parks department, and apparently quite a bit of internet research, is just painful.

I just went through a training earlier this year on identifying and preventing child sexual abuse. Some of it was informative, and I understand the need to protect children and identify abuse. However, some of it was so insanely fearful. Because most child sexual abuse happens from people the children know, it got to the point where basically it recommended children never be left with just one adult, even a parent or grandparent. How is that even possible? And why should we view everyone over age 12 (this video made a point to quote the stats on older kids molesting younger kids) as a predator?

 

[gemini2727]

I will admit to being one of the crazys - i was pushing an empty baby swing the other day - i misscarried a year ago on saturday at 10 weeks. - the baby would have been 1 and i would have been swinging him/her in that swing - i was no danger to the children around - unless being a danger involved silent tears as i worked through my grief.

I'm so sorry...