Three Playground rules that should be followed

Okay Mommies and Daddies of the OC,  or really all over the world need to hear this! We need to come together and enforce some playground rules! If we all have similar rules for our kiddos when going to the park, EVERYONE will have a better time.

I’ll start by saying; playgrounds are extremely important to the girls and I, we have a pretty small apartment with no outdoor space. Thankfully we live in a city with a beautiful playground around every corner and we use them like if they were our backyard. That being said, here’s some rules I’d like you to think about next time you are hauling your kids to the playground.

Rules for the Playground #1-  Don’t hover your child. I do it, you do it, but lets work together as mommies and TRY to give them space.
I regularly need help remembering that playgrounds are our kids outlet to explore and discover this amazing world we get to live in. Playgrounds are meant to get dirty in, be loud at (to an extent), and for us to just let them live a little. I find myself always casting a shadow too frequently on my girls. Literally, I will stand over them so the sun won’t burn them under the 3rd layer of sunscreen I’ve coated their visible limbs in. We should, of course, always have an eye on our children to be sure they aren’t wondering off with a stranger or in imminent danger. But for the most part lets let them figure out how to use that weird contraption they call a ladder on their own, or see that a dandelion doesn’t taste as pretty as it looks.

Rule for the Playground #2- Don’t play in the sand. Haha, just kidding. But seriously there are a couple of rules for just sand we should all as mommies invoke.
– No throwing/kicking sand. Sand is the worst to get out of hair and eyeballs, so if it stays on the ground in a cute little castle, or on the ‘Outdoor Diner Table’ as your mashed potatoes all is well. But please stop your kids from throwing/kicking sand at another child.

* -If you bring sand toys, you should be prepared to share them. Write your name in Sharpie marker, take a picture of your stash, do what you have to do to make sure they all make it back to you, BUT sharing is caring. If your sand shovel is such an important toy that your child DOES NOT HAVE TO share, then leave it in the car.

Rule for the Playground #3- Any of my mommy friends would tell you this is my FAVORITE rule!
————UP THE STAIR, DOWN THE SLIDE!————
This should be a no-brainer mommies. It’s rude and dangerous to be walking up the slide when there is a line of kiddos waiting to go down that follow this rule. At the playgrounds, I am the slide police. I will stand around the slide and kindly say “Up the stairs, down the slide” till your child understands slide etiquette, or is too afraid of my death stare to continue.

My girls and I are really fun at the park I swear, but it would be marvelous if we as mommies could come together and crack down on some of these things to make playgrounds more fun for our kiddos and ourselves.

Please comment below some of the rules you find important to you and your family! I’d love to hear from you all!

~ Lachele