Depends on the equipment and the day we're having. She's 3 now and free reign of pretty much everything at this point. 1.5 I stopped "spotting" her but would still really watch. By 2 I was watching and it decreased from there.
She's an active kid used to outside stuff and has really good balance/physical control so I've never really worried too much about it TBH.
Post by gibbinator on Aug 21, 2014 16:32:41 GMT -5
Ds is 26 months and I still hover. I have friends with younger kids that just let them go up and down the giant slides. It makes me nervous... But admittedly most of my parenting anxiety focuses on injuries
Post by ilikedonuts on Aug 21, 2014 16:37:01 GMT -5
With a million big kids around not paying attention? 2. With not that many kids or just little kids? 18 months unless it was a huge playground with lots of open spaces at the top. Then 2. DD1 walked at 9 months though and has always been an awesome climber.
Depends on the specific equipment. There is some that I've let her play on unattended (well, I'm sitting 20 or so feet away) at 18m while there are others that I won't leave her side on at 2. I wouldn't say I'm a generally helicoptery parent, not by a long shot.
At 2, he was cool on most stuff. At 3, he's cool on almost all stuff (he has this idea he can do the fireman pole by himself that is not quite true). At 12 months, DD is still a hazard to crawl off the edge of stuff.
Now at 3 I sit on the bench. For most of 2 it was me standing nearby making sure he didn't knock another kid out of the way, get knocked out of the way by the bigger kids or go head first down the slide which is his favorite thing to do.
I stopped being right right there at 2. I certainly couldn't do it any earlier, he walked off a 4 FT high platform at 18 months, thank god I was there to catch him.
Now at 2.5 I can sit on a picnic blanket a few feet away and watch him.
DD is 2 and I pretty much let her go. If it is a new playground and there is something I am not sure she can handle I will spot her, but if she is doing ok, I let her go. I also get a lot of the "I can do it", so it can get hard to get too close.
Post by game blouses on Aug 21, 2014 17:11:37 GMT -5
Yeah, I need to step away when he's at the playground. He just turned 2 and is so bad at stairs, but is always trying to climb them on playground equipment. He was a late walker so I don't know if I'm hovering or if he does need a little more supervision.
DS1 sucked at ladders for the longest time, but would always attempt them anyway, so kept having to jump up and spot him. He was at least 2 before I could sit down and watch.
DS2 had better coordination and was confident on ladders and such by 18-20 mos. He was (is) tiny for his age so I know I got some side eyes for not hovering, but I know my kid. He was always fine.
Post by dcrunnergirl52 on Aug 21, 2014 18:13:28 GMT -5
Around 2 I stopped being right on top of them but nearby to help with turn-taking, high heights etc. By 2.5-3, I could sit a good bit aways and not worry. At 4, they can do just about everything without needing my help or me worrying about them leaving the playground if I can't see them for a moment or two.
Post by badtzmaru22 on Aug 21, 2014 18:17:07 GMT -5
It depends on which playground we're at, and how crowded it is. I would be fine with just watching from a little ways off now - she's 2.5, but she won't let me get away. "MOMMY!!! COME WATCH!!! MOMMY!! LOOK WHAT I'M DOING!!" Etc.
J is 26 mo but has some gross motor delays so I still have to watch him carefully to avoid injury at new places or show him how to climb etc. The playgrounds we frequent however o know what he can and can't handle on his own so he has more free reign.
I distinctly remember being at the playground with DH about a year ago when DD was 2, and saying to him, "Look at us; we're the only ones hovering." We were BOTH standing there, ready to catch her. It must have looked ridiculous.
We've been consciously easing off since. I know she obviously navigates the daycare playground by herself. I do keep her in eyesight at all times though.
Eh, it varies by which playground we are at and who else is there. There is a preschool playground near our house that she has been able to do pretty independently since last fall. We were at a playground yesterday that was swarming with much older kids and DD was trying to follow them around and do what they were doing so I hung close to her.
DD is 18 months now and there is no way I could let her play alone. She is a great climber but has no fear and will gladly jump off from way too high. She hates slides so basically I let her climb up and then have to help her down.
Post by ginkgoleaf on Aug 21, 2014 21:55:44 GMT -5
Depends on the equipment and how many other kids are there. At the park in our neighborhood I stopped hovering around. 2, bigger parks I still hover at almost 3.5.
If we had a toddler playground it would've been younger but we went to ones geared toward older kids with high open drops. One was even torn down last year because of safety concerns. The summer he turned 4 I stopped being nearby, summer he turned 3 I stopped being right next to him.
He just turned 6 and I had this on Instagram Wednesday with the caption "repeat to self I will not hover". Sometimes I want to still.