Mom Code Monday: The Playground

Summer is upon us and for people who stay at home with their children, that means lots of outside time.  Our yard is fairly small with only one small piece of play equipment and a small sandbox, so sometimes you just have to shake things up and take your kids to a playground.

Finding the right playground is very important.  You need one that has all the amenities you and your child could ever dream of:
-Slides
-Swings
-Monkey bars or some sort of hanging apparatus (for the older children)
-Water fountain
-Bathrooms that aren't pot-a-potties (Please don't traumatize your child and bring them to one of those.  Can you imagine being little and possibly falling into that?!  It gives me anxiety just thinking about it.)
-Picnic tables
-Trees that provide shading
-Trash cans
-Padding if your child falls
-Fences
-Snack bar (a mom can dream)
-Security guard



After finding the perfect park, take a mental picture or even a real one of what your child is wearing, just in case.  Then let them run free and chat it up with your girlfriend! If no one is there, feel free to actually play with your child.

Ideally that is how the whole park scenario goes, but that is not realistic because someone always has to ruin the fun.

Things to watch out for:
-Someone trying to take your child or coax them away to create a better chance for them to take your child.
-Someone else's child doing something to your child.  Break out the, "oh no you di-n't!" if necessary.
-Your child doing something to another child.  This one is actually one you could ignore if nobody at the park knows you.  Just look around with a disgusted look on your face as if to say, "Whose kid is that anyway?  Get him under control!"  Nobody will know that that is in fact your child mistreating another child.
-Another parent touching or telling your child what to do or what not to do.  One time at a busy park, my son was standing next to a little girl who fell.  Her "supervisor"  (maybe her grandma, but hard to know) came raging over, put her hands on my son's shoulders and moved him to the side so she could proceed to spank the little girl.  I was up and ready to fight in two seconds flat.  Who does that!  She didn't even need to move him!
-Your child touching something germy like garbage left by someone else or some animal fecal matter.

The park can be an amazing place if you're able to find the right one and keep the cons at bay.  Enjoy the long nap or rest time that follows the trip to the park!