One thing you probably didn’t think about prior to having children is how many Big Feelings
you’d have about public playgrounds. It’s almost like an unofficial social experiment at any given time, really. And one of the major points of contention between parents and children at the playground? The Great Slide Debate: To Climb, Or Not To Climb?
One mom is going viral on TikTok for her controversial stance on the whole climbing up the slide thing. She is adamantly in favor of it, and will defend her argument willingly to anyone who will listen.
“I’m that annoying mom at the park that lets her kids climb the slide and not only that, but I am encouraging them to climb the slide,” mom Emme admits. “I am so passionate about it. I will get in verbal disagreements with parents at the park about why.”
She didn’t immediately follow up with her reasoning (it came later in a follow-up video, though), which of course led to many, many parents sharing their thoughts in the comments section. Some people were understanding of her stance.
“Ok tell me why. I don’t let my kid and I really don’t know why. I think it was just ingrained in me from a young age. I hate it too.”
“Same but if there’s a bunch of kids there using it, we respect the others and use it as intended.”
Others shared their concerns about it being a safety issue.
“Teacher who has seen kids thrown from high on the slide while climbing up from being hit by a kid coming down that knocked them off. Ambulance call.”
“Lots of other ways to practice those same skills without being dangerous 8 ft in the air.”
“While climbing up a slide is fabulous for gross motor skills, if other children are present it creates a safety situation.”
In her second video on the topic, Emme clarifies why she thinks it’s a good idea for kids to climb up the slide at the playground.
“I’m so glad someone asked me why I encourage my kids to climb up the slide. I’m going to start with what I think is probably the more obvious reason, which is the gross motor skills,” she says.
“It’s just a lot more engaging for their little bodies and muscles to climb up the slide versus like, walking up a flight of stairs with a handlebar, which often most slides are on a play set, and they’re essentially crawling up the slide, right? And anytime that you’re crawling, you’re having that cross-spring connection, which is so good for their little developing minds.”
She does note that her kid knows that the kids going down have the “right of way,” meaning she doesn’t let them get in the way or potentially get hurt simply because she thinks it’s a good idea. She also says that when one child wants to go down, but another child is dead-set on climbing up the slide, it forces the two kids to communicate and utilize their problem-solving skills.
“My favorite is it forces kids to take turns in more of an abstract way rather than like waiting in line—‘it’s my turn after yours, you’re next after me.’ Like, my kid knows that going down has the right of way so if she’s climbing the slide and somebody wants to go down, she’ll slide down so that they can go down and have their turn, and she’ll try again,” Emme explains.
Fellow parents chimed in on this video as well.
“It drives me crazy when moms let kids do this because when my kids waited patiently to go down those kids were always in the way,” one parent says.
“What a great way to teach him to use his voice to the other kids,” Emme replies.
“They shouldn’t have to when they are using the equipment how it was designed for. You could totally get a play set for home or wait until kids aren’t around, but when toddlers are waiting patiently, they should be able to go down, without having to ask, especially because most of those kids don’t listen,” the user commented back.
Emme doubled down and noted that the playground equipment doesn’t have “rules” because it’s meant to be for “play.”
The thing about this debate is that, inarguably, we all live in the same society. Technically, a slide has its name because it’s what the object is meant for—sliding. And due to gravity, you can’t slide upwards. Her thoughts about forcing kids to communicate and problem-solve isn’t a bad idea, but the successful execution of those things is also dependent on many variables. Not every child can communicate effectively, not every child has the physical ability to climb up the slide and can therefore only use it to slide down, etc.
What are your thoughts on The Great Slide Debate?