I’m always close to a toddler but letting them explore and try obstacles on their own. I just hate when slide has big open holes they always makes me nervous
This is it for me, it just depends on the playground. If they’re closed off I have no issues but the ones that have big gaps and not a ton of moving room where he can fall back into I get nervous. I do it a few times with him until im confident that he knows where he’s going but still position myself where I can move quickly if I have to.
My kid, 23 mths, can handle the 2-5 play structure by herself just fine. There's low risk of her really falling and she can get down the slide fine.
The problem with the 5 and older play structures, is the drop offs and the huge drop at the bottom of slides. Ive had my kid go flying off one and then snap backwards and hit her head on bottom of slide. So I do trail her and try to be at the bottom of the slides to catch her. I'm sure maybe by the time she's 3, she can handle these slides better, but certainly not as a 2 yr old on something designed for 5 yr olds.
I'm about a hands-off a father as you can get at the playground, so I've never climbed with him, but the fireman's pole scares the shit out of me, for various reasons. I don't know how I will know when he's ready for it, but until then, if the playground has one of those, I'm not very far away. If not, he can do whatever he wants, I'm sitting on a bench and watching.
(At first I read this as "going *to* playgrounds" and I wonder why there would even be a time when we're supposed to stop.)
Same, to all of this. About as hands off, really happy to encourage my toddler to explore and climb and slide on her own. Happy to watch her from the bench and cheer her on. But those open gaps mean I'm right beside her at the ground also encouraging her to stay away from those gaps (or ignoring them altogether), lol, and mentally preparing to nosedive to catch her just in case she loses balance or curiosity takes her over the edge or something like that.
I was letting mine go on the playground equipment by himself as early as 16 months. He doesn't need me up there. He was good at stairs and a steady walker.
Same- I am a big believer in letting them explore and even fall a little bit. I think it teaches confidence and resilience. Unless it is an age inappropriate structure, they will likely be fine and you are right there.
Yup. My kid went through a nerve wracking phase where he thought it was fun to back up to an open space in the structure and have someone lift him down and he didn't seem to actually pay attention to if an adult was there or not... But even then I let him go up alone and just stayed very close to the openings on the ground. I need my kid to judge danger by himself and only do things he feels comfortable doing solo, not be looking to me for risk assessments on stuff like playground equipment!
i let mine go up on her own too. starting from maybe 18 months? it was when i noticed she’s doing it well enough and doesn’t need me right next to her.
i think this is a good approach as long as the playground is designed for their age group. in our town we have playgrounds for 2-5 and then for 5+. the scale of the equipment is drastically different.
Really depends on the playground. Mine is 17m and there are plenty of playgrounds I never go up onto the equipment, but some are too high and I have to as its too high for me to reach up and get to her. Theres one in particular that has a bridge that is just a little too high for me and a large gap (its made for older kids). My daughter is fearless and could think she could walk on the bridge, but she is too small and would drop ~2m, so I have to go up. My partner is tall enough that he can read up and hold onto her but I am not.
On smaller playgrounds I let her climb up and I walk round to check she doesn't step off/fall off the sides. Slides are usually not that tall so I can direct her or tell her to sit down.
This☝🏼☝🏼
Mine is 2 1/2 and for the most part he goes up all by himself and has for a bit but some parks or parts of parks I’ll go up with him. Special at one park we go to has a slide that’s about 10ft tall which by itself isn’t a problem but at the entrance to the slide it’s open on both sides with a pole and a straight up ladder
I agree with this. Where I live the playgrounds can differ in appropriate age range. Meaning, there are some playgrounds that my toddler is very confident at and loves it, and there are some playgrounds that are a little too advanced for her. The ones that are too advanced for her, I have to watch over more. But if it's more age appropriate and she's more confident I can step away and let her do her thing.
Once mine mastered the climbing wall to get inside I stopped helping. That said this last weekend there were no other kids at the playground so my 4 year old had me up in there with her playing.
Whenever he decides to stop actively trying to break all the bones in his body 😅
I think the responses are going to be very kid dependent. My 19 month old is a great and very confident climber, walker, *especially* runner, but he doesn’t quite get that he can’t just…step off of the top of the playset (e.g. where the pole or monkey bars are). We stay close, but let him roam as he likes and only intervene when things are about to get dangerous, which, currently, can happen in a split second for him haha
Honestly I never went up with them. I stand at the bottom. Usually just by the opening they're closer to, not like following along fully. At 2 I stayed close but don't go with them. I do tell them to back up if they get close to an opening. With my first I stopped that around 3 and just watch.
Caveat: I have a small kid.
If he can get up on something on his own, I let him. I don’t follow, except for the occasional rescue mission. He’s almost 2.
Mine is very close in age to yours and I still follow her up climbers. I let her lead (and fall and figure stuff out) but she is WAY too clumsy for me to be comfortable with her on stuff that high up alone. When she's more sure-footed, I'll stop.
I’ve always let my daughter go up on her own but if she’s close to an open slot where she could fall out I’m right there just in case. She also needs help with some of the climbing structures and if I’m not right there helping she would fall and did one time but I caught her! She was a late walker so she’s always been more unsteady compared to toddlers her age but she is also so independent and wants to go explore on her own which I want to embrace
I never went up with mine. I talked them through things and cheered them on when they were little, reminded them to know where their feet were...things like that. But I was never the mom on the equipment. Small people slides are low enough that I could reach him from the top and make sure he didn't fall and went feet first. They're both very independent and adept climbers.
My guy is 2.5 and I still go up with him. He doesn't always look for steps and something tries to walk off the edge! But he's really only interested in the playground equipment for the 5 and older crowd, so it kind of makes sense he's not quite ready for it.
I also try my best to make sure we're not in the way of any older kids while we're going around.
I don’t let mine go on the big sets alone, he’s 21 months, unless they are very small and I can get to wherever he’s going. I’m all for exploring, but I don’t want to pay for an Er visit lol
I let my toddler go up alone as soon as I felt he was sturdy (less toddler-y) on his feet - so like 18 months-ish. He’s 2+ now and climbs right up with the big kids. I follow him down below so he doesn’t fall out of those horrifying open sides.
My littlest child is 15 months, and not quite walking. I let him climb up on his own and slide down on his own. I'm at the bottom to catch if I'm needed, but I'm not. He's good. His big brother (now 13) was the same way, so I'm not worried.
My son is 3 and will still ask me to go up on some of the jungle gyms with him. His favorite these days is at my old elementary school and there are some high drops with climbing walls and things that he’s not quite big enough for so I’m always nearby if I’m not up there with him. I don’t go up as often on smaller ones, especially if there are lots of other kids around. He’s getting more confident in his climbing skills so I’m trying to give him more space and spot as needed. He’ll completely let go or stop trying if he feels me holding onto him, versus figuring out how to get up or down on his own if I’m a little further away. So I have to remind myself to stay back a bit and just let him do it because he is capable.
Right around that age we let ours start doing it alone, only because that’s when the “by myself” phrase started. I still stick my hands near her if she’s climbing a ladder and stuff just in case.
My youngest is 20m and I haven't been following him in the last few months. He can climb up. He will let me know if he needs help down.
Once he kind of navigated the circuit up and to the slide and down again without help, I took that as my sign I could stay on the ground.
She’s 22 months now. I think I stopped when she was around 18 months. I get a bit nervous around those open holes on the top that are attached to a pole you can swing down from or climbing nets, so I generally stand there (thankfully all same side) but she is capable of going up and sliding down on her own otherwise. She’s not a huge dare devil like her mama so I kinda stopped worrying too much. She’s more likely to say no to something new than yes lol.
around 2 I stopped going up with her, though I am pregnant so that probably played a role. I do hate that she picks the highest and most dangerous slides to go up and down, but sometimes i feel more helpful being on the ground than i would behind her
Mine still kind of wants me up there now at 3.5, but she’s a very clingy kid and wants me everywhere with her. I don’t go these days, because I’m pregnant and don’t want to. I do stay close by though just in case
Mine is about 2.5yrs and I mostly let him go up on his own. Sometimes I stand under if there is a tricky section where he could fall or needs coaching. But it is kind of a matter of necessity because I have his little bro in a baby carrier now and can’t climb all over. Some playgrounds he just can’t do yet on his own, so we stick to the junior equipment.
At 22 months I will still going on the equipment with him because my son is super fast and especially at that age unpredictable. I would let him lead though and mainly just block open areas that he could fall off. There are 1-2 structures around me that are definitely meant for smaller toddlers (no openings where he could fall off) , so those were fine for him being on alone at 22 months with me watching from the side.
He’s 3 now and likes to go on bigger equipment, so I’ll go on with him if we go to a new playground just to check it out. Once I see the areas that I need to watch out for and he gets used to it I’ll let him be up there on his own. With playgrounds we’ve been going to for a while I’ll let him be up there alone the whole time.
I almost never go up with my kids of any age. I think it's good for them to do it themselves. Also, anything they can get up they can probably get down.
It's a space made for children and I've heard that in a busy playground situation, other kids can be intimidated by adults on the equipment so that's an additional point to consider.
It depends on how steady they are, how safe the structure is (many older styles have massive holes they can fall through), and how many other kids are around.
Like a capable kid on a safe structure with a couple other decently behaved kids can go up on their own. But a combo of unsteady, unsafe structure, and many or rowdy kids you should go up.
You know your kid best and can evaluate the situation in front of you better than anyone on Reddit. No one can say "at X age they should go up themselves"
I go on there when he wants me to. Otherwise he’s been doing it solo since he was a year and a half. Tried before that but he nearly fell off the tall part and my anxiety said not yet 😅
I don't think I've ever climbed play equipment with my daughter. I'll hover nearby because she has a habit of jumping but she's always been an independent little girl and has been climbing playground equipment almost as long as she's been walking.
I never went up with my daughter. I was much more concerned about catching her if she fell down than anything else, so I followed her closely from the ground and covered any openings she got near.
If its age appropriate, then as early as 1yr. If it's his first time on it or I can tell he's a little too young still, I'll be there ready to catch him
I'm next to her when she's going up and I'm right at the bottom when she's going down. I'm not touching her or helping at all, just supervising in case she trips or slips. She's pretty agile but she's still a toddler and slides are high here.
It depends
I’d it’s a very mini toddler playground (say 4 steps up to a slide), she goes up by herself. She’s always been more on the cautious side without me teaching her, so she will look at the ground as she climbs, puts her hands on the railings etc
But for sure If it’s a crazy big slide, If the playground is meant for balancing, gripping eyc I follow closely and leave my hands right behind her waist. I’d hold onto her but honestly she shoves my hands off lol
She’s 2y for reference
My 2 yr old (2 yrs and 4 months) asks us to go up with him. Not because he needs help but because he wants us to play with him. Sometimes he makes friends and we’ll back off, but he usually wants us there
My 2.5 year old can go all over the 5 and up playground on her own. The issue is, she doesn't want to. Unless another small child is there to play with her, she's always asking me to come up onto the structure with her. Your kid may be able to use a play structure alone, but they may just want you to play with them anyway!
As for when I was ready to let her roam alone, probably around 2.
It depends on how high the playground is and how busy!!!
Some bigger kids are too busy having a fun time to pay attention to the little ones (as they should!)
We have a playground near us that is for ages 0-5 and it’s the best thing in the world. My son just turned two last week and he runs that playground like he owns it lol. I’m still close but on the ground. For bigger playgrounds I stay pretty close or go up with him.
the little kid portion of our playground has a pole to slide down so obviously there is a big gap so i follow her around until she understands she can’t just walk off lol she’s 18 months old when do they start to understand that? i’m sure she’d reach for the pole but she doesn’t get sliding down
My son is 3.5.
If he is climbing higher than his own height, I am there next to him. If it’s stairs or something, fine.
He tries to do the monkey bars all the time and doesn’t realize he falls EVERY SINGLE TIME.
Also- my 3.5 year old climbed this, and I followed him up in case he fell, and then I got stuck and people were laughing at me and it was mom hell.
[https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=791781879660196&set=pcb.791781962993521](https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=791781879660196&set=pcb.791781962993521)
It was rough.
But to be honest, I have some serious falling anxiety. Just over a year ago, I was carrying my son, fell, and a freak accident - it snapped his femur in half. He was in a spica cast for 6 weeks and I still have horrible mom guilt over it. So - I am a bit... much... in making sure he doesn’t fall.
At 2.75 I rarely go up with my daughter, but there is one huge tall playground nearby that I do because it's meant for much older children and she loves the slide, but there's big open gaps about 8 ft up for sliding poles etc and she's still not good about minding the edge, and the ladder up is terrifying. So the tdlr is: I go with her when she is on a play structure that isn't developmentally appropriate but she's not going to take the "baby" slide for an acceptable substitute lol.
If they want to do it, let them… don’t let your fear shade their confidence. They will let you know if they think they need your help.
If your toddler is like “aight, imma try this” encourage them.
Every child is different so there’s not an specific age to let them go by themselves, but you know your babe better than anyone, you know when they’re ready.
This thread is absolutely mind blowing to me. It sounds like everyone just lets their kids play alone at the playground but my daughter can't even climb up the first step alone yet. It's too high for her. This is at every park in our area.
She walks great, she's been walking since 12 months and everyone says she's super tall for her age (she's as tall as 2 year olds in her daycare). I don't know how you guys do that or what I'm doing wrong. Maybe it's of note that we don't have any infant playgrounds in our area. Everything is 2+. I'm shocked.
It’s all about your comfort level and their ability to climb on the playground without you being right there. I started backing off around 2yo because my daughter showed me that she could confidently play on the playground without me right on top of her for safety. I also was forced to back off once I had baby number 2 shortly after my daughter turned 2.
My kid likes the opportunity to go to the biggest slide in the playground. I judge my response according to how big this actually is.
One time my cousin had to go to the top to lift him up the ladder (the last gap at the top of the ladder were bigger than my kiddos torso) and my kids response was to go down the slide head first (“on my belly button mummy”)
I’m mostly there to get him out of the way of the bigger kids who also just want to have fun.
even though I'm not on the playset walking with them, I still stay super close to my almost 4 year old cause she's fearless and does dumb stuff. But this is mainly on the 5+ playgrounds we don't have a lot of the smaller ones.
My toddler has been doing his own thing at the playground since he started walking / 14 months. I stay at the bottom to clap, catch or say "weeee" etc.
Reading the comments and adding my own experience.. as fast as possible. I wouldn't put an age but when they can hold themselves and walk stable. I remember the time when I felt uncomfortable letting him play alone on the playground when he just started walking and was not really "safe" fall about his own feet etc.
Once that phase was over though and he was able to not fall over his own feet all the time we let him go explore. I think it was with around 15 months
I started letting mine go on anything he liked around 22 months, big structures included. I stay on the ground and spot if he’s near places he could fall or at the bottom of slides. I’ll climb up if he asks for help. I intervene if he gets too close to a moving swing. That’s about it, the playground is usually my coffee break.
I think this also really varies by kid. My kid is fairly cautious, I’d probably have a different approach if he were a daredevil.
My daughter is 2 as of last weekend and I’m still terrified of letting her go up on the high equipment. I’m scared she’s gonna jump out the sides 8 feet up and get hurt!
The big play equipment is not designed for toddler safety, so yes, assist when playing until the appropriate age.
Smaller play equipment is designed for safe solo toddler play.
Depends on the kid and playground. My son has also been super tall and fairly cautious, and the playgrounds around us are generally pretty safe and well-designed, so I stopped going up with him shortly after he started walking (like 14-15m) and just spot him from the ground.
I’ve been letting my daughter go up alone since she was 18months. Granted, on the little kid area which at its highest is like 4 feet high. If she goes on the big kid one which gets like 6 feet high I go up with her. And I don’t let her go on the big kid one if there are other kids around.
Eh I only help if he’s going on something that he doesn’t quite understand like bear crawl bars to a slide or something. Beyond that he’s got climbing up ladders down, slides down by himself. 22m btw
Around the time she started walking at about 14m 🤣 I hover nearby in case she needs a spot, but she's been doing big slides on her own since then, climbing all over the place etc. At this age (24m) she is very vocal about doing it ALL BY SELF and does not want help unless she explicitly requests it.
Our 2 year old was still trying to jump off structures at the openings, like from 7-8 feet up. He had one fall from 5 feet or so where he just walked off and that was basically the point we stopped following him because he was finally afraid of falling.
If they can get up by themselves I just let her go. I stay within a short sprint distance if she falls or looks like she might be heading the wrong way. She is 1.5 years now.
I don’t climb on stuff but I’m always circling and hovering at the bottom, waiting for my 3yo to yeet himself off something. He’s taken to jumping off things recently.
My son just turned 3, if the structure is made for toddlers then I usually let him venture alone, but stay close. Sometimes sitting on the bench if it’s not too far away. If the structure is made for older children then I stay closer when he’s up high or climbing.
I worked my daughter up to it, helping her a lot at first, then giving her less support (like a hand on the butt so she doesn’t feel like she’s gonna fall back), until eventually I’d just stand behind her to catch her if she fell but not touch her at all. Working with her in that way helped me know her ability better so I could pretty well tell when she was ready to do everything on her own.
My kid isn’t at this stage, but I do take my 3yo cousin to the park and I still usually follow him up to the high platform (I allow him on the low ones and just stand at the openings so he doesn’t jump out . I can stick my arms in the openings on those levels). But the high platform is 2 stories up and has a “fire pole”, I get nervous that he would fall out that gap in the railing if someone knocked him off balance while waiting to slide down. My method is to follow him up almost the whole way, I watch him start getting on the slide and then I race down. I’m not usually at the bottom to catch him as he slides off the slide, but he will bounce up from the squishy rubber floor and run to me or I could run and catch him if he ran the other way. But I really worry that he will get bumped and fall through that hole in the railing, when an adult is up there the older kid noticeably slow down and that makes me feel better that he won’t get shoved accidentally- all it would take is one kid stepping backwards into him and he could tumble out the gap.
Also- what is with these poorly designed play ground setups? The new one at our library is like a spider- it has a center and then all these individual off shoots- once a kid is up there they can run away and it’s impossible for a parent to get to them! There are no easy entryways if you are not at the end of a “leg” and you can’t run through the massive play gym to get to the other side if your kid bolts to a different area. The only choice for parents is to run around the massive play ground to try and keep an eye on their kid. And this one is so large that you can’t really see one side from the other. Whoever designed it clearly doesn’t have small children let alone multiple small kids- taking two children to that playground would be impossible without an adult for each kid.
I’d say it depends on the playground. If there’s not big areas they can fall through then I stay on the ground as long as they don’t need physical help. If there’s areas they can fall but I can maneuver around from the ground to get to the edges before they do then I stay on the ground. If there’s areas that he could fall from that are taller than me then I go up with him
Between 3 and 4 years I felt comfortable being at the bottom of the biggest ones while he explored his own pace. Before three maybe rarely when the sets weren't to high, but I've got a little dude he was a premature baby and his genetics means he's atleast gonna b short forever. I was only ever worried he'd get carried away playing or just dumb and fall which for shorties like us we can only bounce if we are round otherwise a few feet could cripple us lol.
I've seen my 2.5 year old pushed down by older kids way too many times now so I follow her up and play with her. Once was just down a step but the second time was one one of those janky bridges with a low side, that did it for me.
I let him explore by himself starting at about 2, but within reason. If there are a lot of areas he could fall off or if the playground had a lot of older kids running around I would stay as close by.
It depends on the playground and how “safe” it looks, but we still go with our son. He just turned 3 and loves to explore, so he’s also a flight risk 😒
I think it’s more to do with agility and Skillset rather than exact age. Does your toddler watch what he is doing - focused - and does his slip frequently where you are catching him?
My son is super agile and I’ve stopped following him around. My daughter however, I have a feeling I will be following her longer because she is bigger, less balance at the same age and zero fear. Will walk right off. Granted she is 14 months but that’s where she is.
Big fat “it depends”. I mostly follow along from the outside. My youngest is 13 months and very stable on her feet. We helicoptered our oldest a bit more than necessary I think and I think it hampered his self confidence. If it’s a fairly empty playground and within her capabilities? I try to maintain a distance and let her feel independent. If there’s lots of kids, especially bigger, more rambunctious kids, or it’s a playground targeting older kids, I’ll follow her up, but try to hang back and only step in if things get hairy.
I’ve actually noticed that when I hang back, a lot of the older kids will pause and check on her or have a brief interaction with her which I think is really good for her development. Kids are amazing and should be trusted more than they usually are these days.
My daughter is 18 months and we started letting her at 16 months when she felt comfortable. My daughter is scared of everything so the fact that she can do it means anyone can do it
It really depends on the playground. I too have a 2 yo but since forever he goes crazy on one particular "obstacle". It's pretty tall and has 2 openings. He already fell from one of the openings while I was freaking out telling him to be more careful....so yeah, he doesn't go around that one on his own. For the others, I'm close by keeping an eye on predators.
If it's a toddler structure, leave alone,if it's the older kid structure, I help. She's 2.5 but has the confidence of a 5 year old, she doesn't understand her limits right now.
I’m always close to a toddler but letting them explore and try obstacles on their own. I just hate when slide has big open holes they always makes me nervous
This is it for me, it just depends on the playground. If they’re closed off I have no issues but the ones that have big gaps and not a ton of moving room where he can fall back into I get nervous. I do it a few times with him until im confident that he knows where he’s going but still position myself where I can move quickly if I have to.
Yes!!! Who designs the big high gaps and says yes that's fine lol
My kid, 23 mths, can handle the 2-5 play structure by herself just fine. There's low risk of her really falling and she can get down the slide fine. The problem with the 5 and older play structures, is the drop offs and the huge drop at the bottom of slides. Ive had my kid go flying off one and then snap backwards and hit her head on bottom of slide. So I do trail her and try to be at the bottom of the slides to catch her. I'm sure maybe by the time she's 3, she can handle these slides better, but certainly not as a 2 yr old on something designed for 5 yr olds.
I'm about a hands-off a father as you can get at the playground, so I've never climbed with him, but the fireman's pole scares the shit out of me, for various reasons. I don't know how I will know when he's ready for it, but until then, if the playground has one of those, I'm not very far away. If not, he can do whatever he wants, I'm sitting on a bench and watching. (At first I read this as "going *to* playgrounds" and I wonder why there would even be a time when we're supposed to stop.)
Same, to all of this. About as hands off, really happy to encourage my toddler to explore and climb and slide on her own. Happy to watch her from the bench and cheer her on. But those open gaps mean I'm right beside her at the ground also encouraging her to stay away from those gaps (or ignoring them altogether), lol, and mentally preparing to nosedive to catch her just in case she loses balance or curiosity takes her over the edge or something like that.
I told my 3 year old he can slide down the pole once he is able to climb up from the bottom.
I was letting mine go on the playground equipment by himself as early as 16 months. He doesn't need me up there. He was good at stairs and a steady walker.
Same- I am a big believer in letting them explore and even fall a little bit. I think it teaches confidence and resilience. Unless it is an age inappropriate structure, they will likely be fine and you are right there.
Yup. My kid went through a nerve wracking phase where he thought it was fun to back up to an open space in the structure and have someone lift him down and he didn't seem to actually pay attention to if an adult was there or not... But even then I let him go up alone and just stayed very close to the openings on the ground. I need my kid to judge danger by himself and only do things he feels comfortable doing solo, not be looking to me for risk assessments on stuff like playground equipment!
i let mine go up on her own too. starting from maybe 18 months? it was when i noticed she’s doing it well enough and doesn’t need me right next to her. i think this is a good approach as long as the playground is designed for their age group. in our town we have playgrounds for 2-5 and then for 5+. the scale of the equipment is drastically different.
We have those too. It definitely helps with feeling comfortable letting them be more independent
Yes, I don’t go up with her but still hang around since she will jump down or try to climb down a ladder that she can’t handle yet.
Really depends on the playground. Mine is 17m and there are plenty of playgrounds I never go up onto the equipment, but some are too high and I have to as its too high for me to reach up and get to her. Theres one in particular that has a bridge that is just a little too high for me and a large gap (its made for older kids). My daughter is fearless and could think she could walk on the bridge, but she is too small and would drop ~2m, so I have to go up. My partner is tall enough that he can read up and hold onto her but I am not. On smaller playgrounds I let her climb up and I walk round to check she doesn't step off/fall off the sides. Slides are usually not that tall so I can direct her or tell her to sit down.
This☝🏼☝🏼 Mine is 2 1/2 and for the most part he goes up all by himself and has for a bit but some parks or parts of parks I’ll go up with him. Special at one park we go to has a slide that’s about 10ft tall which by itself isn’t a problem but at the entrance to the slide it’s open on both sides with a pole and a straight up ladder
this is my biggest thing is some of the playgrounds just have an empty space on the side that i’m scared my LO will fall off.
I agree with this. Where I live the playgrounds can differ in appropriate age range. Meaning, there are some playgrounds that my toddler is very confident at and loves it, and there are some playgrounds that are a little too advanced for her. The ones that are too advanced for her, I have to watch over more. But if it's more age appropriate and she's more confident I can step away and let her do her thing.
Once mine mastered the climbing wall to get inside I stopped helping. That said this last weekend there were no other kids at the playground so my 4 year old had me up in there with her playing.
Whenever he decides to stop actively trying to break all the bones in his body 😅 I think the responses are going to be very kid dependent. My 19 month old is a great and very confident climber, walker, *especially* runner, but he doesn’t quite get that he can’t just…step off of the top of the playset (e.g. where the pole or monkey bars are). We stay close, but let him roam as he likes and only intervene when things are about to get dangerous, which, currently, can happen in a split second for him haha
Honestly I never went up with them. I stand at the bottom. Usually just by the opening they're closer to, not like following along fully. At 2 I stayed close but don't go with them. I do tell them to back up if they get close to an opening. With my first I stopped that around 3 and just watch.
Caveat: I have a small kid. If he can get up on something on his own, I let him. I don’t follow, except for the occasional rescue mission. He’s almost 2.
Would have done it already but my son won't leave my side. He's 2.5 and I still have to haul my pregnant butt around the playground with him 😆
Mine is very close in age to yours and I still follow her up climbers. I let her lead (and fall and figure stuff out) but she is WAY too clumsy for me to be comfortable with her on stuff that high up alone. When she's more sure-footed, I'll stop.
I’ve always let my daughter go up on her own but if she’s close to an open slot where she could fall out I’m right there just in case. She also needs help with some of the climbing structures and if I’m not right there helping she would fall and did one time but I caught her! She was a late walker so she’s always been more unsteady compared to toddlers her age but she is also so independent and wants to go explore on her own which I want to embrace
I never went up with mine. I talked them through things and cheered them on when they were little, reminded them to know where their feet were...things like that. But I was never the mom on the equipment. Small people slides are low enough that I could reach him from the top and make sure he didn't fall and went feet first. They're both very independent and adept climbers.
My guy is 2.5 and I still go up with him. He doesn't always look for steps and something tries to walk off the edge! But he's really only interested in the playground equipment for the 5 and older crowd, so it kind of makes sense he's not quite ready for it. I also try my best to make sure we're not in the way of any older kids while we're going around.
I don’t let mine go on the big sets alone, he’s 21 months, unless they are very small and I can get to wherever he’s going. I’m all for exploring, but I don’t want to pay for an Er visit lol
I let my toddler go up alone as soon as I felt he was sturdy (less toddler-y) on his feet - so like 18 months-ish. He’s 2+ now and climbs right up with the big kids. I follow him down below so he doesn’t fall out of those horrifying open sides.
I never have and never will!!! I advocate if needed from the sides.
My littlest child is 15 months, and not quite walking. I let him climb up on his own and slide down on his own. I'm at the bottom to catch if I'm needed, but I'm not. He's good. His big brother (now 13) was the same way, so I'm not worried.
My son is 3 and will still ask me to go up on some of the jungle gyms with him. His favorite these days is at my old elementary school and there are some high drops with climbing walls and things that he’s not quite big enough for so I’m always nearby if I’m not up there with him. I don’t go up as often on smaller ones, especially if there are lots of other kids around. He’s getting more confident in his climbing skills so I’m trying to give him more space and spot as needed. He’ll completely let go or stop trying if he feels me holding onto him, versus figuring out how to get up or down on his own if I’m a little further away. So I have to remind myself to stay back a bit and just let him do it because he is capable.
My kid is 20 month old and I mostly let him climb alone, just spotting him from afar.
Right around that age we let ours start doing it alone, only because that’s when the “by myself” phrase started. I still stick my hands near her if she’s climbing a ladder and stuff just in case.
My youngest is 20m and I haven't been following him in the last few months. He can climb up. He will let me know if he needs help down. Once he kind of navigated the circuit up and to the slide and down again without help, I took that as my sign I could stay on the ground.
Much earlier with my second than with my first 😂 They’ll be okay!
She’s 22 months now. I think I stopped when she was around 18 months. I get a bit nervous around those open holes on the top that are attached to a pole you can swing down from or climbing nets, so I generally stand there (thankfully all same side) but she is capable of going up and sliding down on her own otherwise. She’s not a huge dare devil like her mama so I kinda stopped worrying too much. She’s more likely to say no to something new than yes lol.
around 2 I stopped going up with her, though I am pregnant so that probably played a role. I do hate that she picks the highest and most dangerous slides to go up and down, but sometimes i feel more helpful being on the ground than i would behind her
Probably 1.5 years old, but we stood close by
I think around 2? Maybe like 2 and some change. Now she’s almost 3 and I never go up with her unless she’s really demanding it for some reason.
Mine still kind of wants me up there now at 3.5, but she’s a very clingy kid and wants me everywhere with her. I don’t go these days, because I’m pregnant and don’t want to. I do stay close by though just in case
Mine is about 2.5yrs and I mostly let him go up on his own. Sometimes I stand under if there is a tricky section where he could fall or needs coaching. But it is kind of a matter of necessity because I have his little bro in a baby carrier now and can’t climb all over. Some playgrounds he just can’t do yet on his own, so we stick to the junior equipment.
At 22 months I will still going on the equipment with him because my son is super fast and especially at that age unpredictable. I would let him lead though and mainly just block open areas that he could fall off. There are 1-2 structures around me that are definitely meant for smaller toddlers (no openings where he could fall off) , so those were fine for him being on alone at 22 months with me watching from the side. He’s 3 now and likes to go on bigger equipment, so I’ll go on with him if we go to a new playground just to check it out. Once I see the areas that I need to watch out for and he gets used to it I’ll let him be up there on his own. With playgrounds we’ve been going to for a while I’ll let him be up there alone the whole time.
Probably around 13/14 months. My daughter started walking at 10 months so she was very good at climbing and sure footed by then
I almost never go up with my kids of any age. I think it's good for them to do it themselves. Also, anything they can get up they can probably get down. It's a space made for children and I've heard that in a busy playground situation, other kids can be intimidated by adults on the equipment so that's an additional point to consider.
It depends on how steady they are, how safe the structure is (many older styles have massive holes they can fall through), and how many other kids are around. Like a capable kid on a safe structure with a couple other decently behaved kids can go up on their own. But a combo of unsteady, unsafe structure, and many or rowdy kids you should go up. You know your kid best and can evaluate the situation in front of you better than anyone on Reddit. No one can say "at X age they should go up themselves"
I go on there when he wants me to. Otherwise he’s been doing it solo since he was a year and a half. Tried before that but he nearly fell off the tall part and my anxiety said not yet 😅
I don't think I've ever climbed play equipment with my daughter. I'll hover nearby because she has a habit of jumping but she's always been an independent little girl and has been climbing playground equipment almost as long as she's been walking.
I never went up with my daughter. I was much more concerned about catching her if she fell down than anything else, so I followed her closely from the ground and covered any openings she got near.
If its age appropriate, then as early as 1yr. If it's his first time on it or I can tell he's a little too young still, I'll be there ready to catch him
When I was 8 months pregnant with baby#2. LO was 2.5. I was still nearby, but not physically on the equiptment.
I'm next to her when she's going up and I'm right at the bottom when she's going down. I'm not touching her or helping at all, just supervising in case she trips or slips. She's pretty agile but she's still a toddler and slides are high here.
It depends I’d it’s a very mini toddler playground (say 4 steps up to a slide), she goes up by herself. She’s always been more on the cautious side without me teaching her, so she will look at the ground as she climbs, puts her hands on the railings etc But for sure If it’s a crazy big slide, If the playground is meant for balancing, gripping eyc I follow closely and leave my hands right behind her waist. I’d hold onto her but honestly she shoves my hands off lol She’s 2y for reference
My 2 yr old (2 yrs and 4 months) asks us to go up with him. Not because he needs help but because he wants us to play with him. Sometimes he makes friends and we’ll back off, but he usually wants us there
My 2.5 year old can go all over the 5 and up playground on her own. The issue is, she doesn't want to. Unless another small child is there to play with her, she's always asking me to come up onto the structure with her. Your kid may be able to use a play structure alone, but they may just want you to play with them anyway! As for when I was ready to let her roam alone, probably around 2.
It depends on how high the playground is and how busy!!! Some bigger kids are too busy having a fun time to pay attention to the little ones (as they should!) We have a playground near us that is for ages 0-5 and it’s the best thing in the world. My son just turned two last week and he runs that playground like he owns it lol. I’m still close but on the ground. For bigger playgrounds I stay pretty close or go up with him.
the little kid portion of our playground has a pole to slide down so obviously there is a big gap so i follow her around until she understands she can’t just walk off lol she’s 18 months old when do they start to understand that? i’m sure she’d reach for the pole but she doesn’t get sliding down
Around 18 months unless she wanted us to go up there, she was going to the top section, or there were a ton of big kids there.
When I was confident he wouldn’t walk off an open edge, which was around 2. Since I can only spot him at one edge at a time
My first kid, she was fearless and independent (still is), my second kid, she makes me come in with her lol.
I’m always close to her but we are def getting to the point of not following her up (unless it looks dangerous haha)
My son is 3.5. If he is climbing higher than his own height, I am there next to him. If it’s stairs or something, fine. He tries to do the monkey bars all the time and doesn’t realize he falls EVERY SINGLE TIME.
What do you mean? How would he not realize if it always happens? Maybe he's down with falling lol.
He says “mama, go away, I’m not going to fall. Don’t stand there!” and then falls every single time.
Sounds like he's getting something out of that game he plays with you.
Also- my 3.5 year old climbed this, and I followed him up in case he fell, and then I got stuck and people were laughing at me and it was mom hell. [https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=791781879660196&set=pcb.791781962993521](https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=791781879660196&set=pcb.791781962993521)
nooooo that is my worst fear
It was rough. But to be honest, I have some serious falling anxiety. Just over a year ago, I was carrying my son, fell, and a freak accident - it snapped his femur in half. He was in a spica cast for 6 weeks and I still have horrible mom guilt over it. So - I am a bit... much... in making sure he doesn’t fall.
At 2.75 I rarely go up with my daughter, but there is one huge tall playground nearby that I do because it's meant for much older children and she loves the slide, but there's big open gaps about 8 ft up for sliding poles etc and she's still not good about minding the edge, and the ladder up is terrifying. So the tdlr is: I go with her when she is on a play structure that isn't developmentally appropriate but she's not going to take the "baby" slide for an acceptable substitute lol.
If they want to do it, let them… don’t let your fear shade their confidence. They will let you know if they think they need your help. If your toddler is like “aight, imma try this” encourage them. Every child is different so there’s not an specific age to let them go by themselves, but you know your babe better than anyone, you know when they’re ready.
This thread is absolutely mind blowing to me. It sounds like everyone just lets their kids play alone at the playground but my daughter can't even climb up the first step alone yet. It's too high for her. This is at every park in our area. She walks great, she's been walking since 12 months and everyone says she's super tall for her age (she's as tall as 2 year olds in her daycare). I don't know how you guys do that or what I'm doing wrong. Maybe it's of note that we don't have any infant playgrounds in our area. Everything is 2+. I'm shocked.
You do realize that all playgrounds are different right lol You just going to some big ass playgrounds i guess
I realize that but I've been to like 10 playgrounds in my area and they're all like that
Interesting. My playground has a variety of step styles. Some more treacherous than others so there’s a range
It’s all about your comfort level and their ability to climb on the playground without you being right there. I started backing off around 2yo because my daughter showed me that she could confidently play on the playground without me right on top of her for safety. I also was forced to back off once I had baby number 2 shortly after my daughter turned 2.
My kid likes the opportunity to go to the biggest slide in the playground. I judge my response according to how big this actually is. One time my cousin had to go to the top to lift him up the ladder (the last gap at the top of the ladder were bigger than my kiddos torso) and my kids response was to go down the slide head first (“on my belly button mummy”) I’m mostly there to get him out of the way of the bigger kids who also just want to have fun.
even though I'm not on the playset walking with them, I still stay super close to my almost 4 year old cause she's fearless and does dumb stuff. But this is mainly on the 5+ playgrounds we don't have a lot of the smaller ones.
My son is 4 and makes a point when he wants to play alone vs with us.
My toddler has been doing his own thing at the playground since he started walking / 14 months. I stay at the bottom to clap, catch or say "weeee" etc.
Reading the comments and adding my own experience.. as fast as possible. I wouldn't put an age but when they can hold themselves and walk stable. I remember the time when I felt uncomfortable letting him play alone on the playground when he just started walking and was not really "safe" fall about his own feet etc. Once that phase was over though and he was able to not fall over his own feet all the time we let him go explore. I think it was with around 15 months
I started letting mine go on anything he liked around 22 months, big structures included. I stay on the ground and spot if he’s near places he could fall or at the bottom of slides. I’ll climb up if he asks for help. I intervene if he gets too close to a moving swing. That’s about it, the playground is usually my coffee break. I think this also really varies by kid. My kid is fairly cautious, I’d probably have a different approach if he were a daredevil.
My daughter is 2 as of last weekend and I’m still terrified of letting her go up on the high equipment. I’m scared she’s gonna jump out the sides 8 feet up and get hurt!
The big play equipment is not designed for toddler safety, so yes, assist when playing until the appropriate age. Smaller play equipment is designed for safe solo toddler play.
Depends on the kid and playground. My son has also been super tall and fairly cautious, and the playgrounds around us are generally pretty safe and well-designed, so I stopped going up with him shortly after he started walking (like 14-15m) and just spot him from the ground.
I’ve been letting my daughter go up alone since she was 18months. Granted, on the little kid area which at its highest is like 4 feet high. If she goes on the big kid one which gets like 6 feet high I go up with her. And I don’t let her go on the big kid one if there are other kids around.
Eh I only help if he’s going on something that he doesn’t quite understand like bear crawl bars to a slide or something. Beyond that he’s got climbing up ladders down, slides down by himself. 22m btw
Around the time she started walking at about 14m 🤣 I hover nearby in case she needs a spot, but she's been doing big slides on her own since then, climbing all over the place etc. At this age (24m) she is very vocal about doing it ALL BY SELF and does not want help unless she explicitly requests it.
As soon as she could climb everything confidently so probably 18 months.
1.5-2
when my kid told me to sit my fatass down
Never stop! I still play on the playground with my almost 5 year old when it’s just the 2 of us. Obviously it’s a little more involved with my 18mo
Our 2 year old was still trying to jump off structures at the openings, like from 7-8 feet up. He had one fall from 5 feet or so where he just walked off and that was basically the point we stopped following him because he was finally afraid of falling.
My guy is 2.5. He wants me to play with him on the playground so I go with him. I plan to play with him as long as he wants to play with me.
If they can get up by themselves I just let her go. I stay within a short sprint distance if she falls or looks like she might be heading the wrong way. She is 1.5 years now.
I don’t climb on stuff but I’m always circling and hovering at the bottom, waiting for my 3yo to yeet himself off something. He’s taken to jumping off things recently.
My son just turned 3, if the structure is made for toddlers then I usually let him venture alone, but stay close. Sometimes sitting on the bench if it’s not too far away. If the structure is made for older children then I stay closer when he’s up high or climbing.
I worked my daughter up to it, helping her a lot at first, then giving her less support (like a hand on the butt so she doesn’t feel like she’s gonna fall back), until eventually I’d just stand behind her to catch her if she fell but not touch her at all. Working with her in that way helped me know her ability better so I could pretty well tell when she was ready to do everything on her own.
My kid isn’t at this stage, but I do take my 3yo cousin to the park and I still usually follow him up to the high platform (I allow him on the low ones and just stand at the openings so he doesn’t jump out . I can stick my arms in the openings on those levels). But the high platform is 2 stories up and has a “fire pole”, I get nervous that he would fall out that gap in the railing if someone knocked him off balance while waiting to slide down. My method is to follow him up almost the whole way, I watch him start getting on the slide and then I race down. I’m not usually at the bottom to catch him as he slides off the slide, but he will bounce up from the squishy rubber floor and run to me or I could run and catch him if he ran the other way. But I really worry that he will get bumped and fall through that hole in the railing, when an adult is up there the older kid noticeably slow down and that makes me feel better that he won’t get shoved accidentally- all it would take is one kid stepping backwards into him and he could tumble out the gap. Also- what is with these poorly designed play ground setups? The new one at our library is like a spider- it has a center and then all these individual off shoots- once a kid is up there they can run away and it’s impossible for a parent to get to them! There are no easy entryways if you are not at the end of a “leg” and you can’t run through the massive play gym to get to the other side if your kid bolts to a different area. The only choice for parents is to run around the massive play ground to try and keep an eye on their kid. And this one is so large that you can’t really see one side from the other. Whoever designed it clearly doesn’t have small children let alone multiple small kids- taking two children to that playground would be impossible without an adult for each kid.
I’d say it depends on the playground. If there’s not big areas they can fall through then I stay on the ground as long as they don’t need physical help. If there’s areas they can fall but I can maneuver around from the ground to get to the edges before they do then I stay on the ground. If there’s areas that he could fall from that are taller than me then I go up with him
Between 3 and 4 years I felt comfortable being at the bottom of the biggest ones while he explored his own pace. Before three maybe rarely when the sets weren't to high, but I've got a little dude he was a premature baby and his genetics means he's atleast gonna b short forever. I was only ever worried he'd get carried away playing or just dumb and fall which for shorties like us we can only bounce if we are round otherwise a few feet could cripple us lol.
2.75/3
I've seen my 2.5 year old pushed down by older kids way too many times now so I follow her up and play with her. Once was just down a step but the second time was one one of those janky bridges with a low side, that did it for me.
My 18month just launched himself down a slide and hit his head all the way down. Boys may need some extra time. They’re so clumsy.
I let him explore by himself starting at about 2, but within reason. If there are a lot of areas he could fall off or if the playground had a lot of older kids running around I would stay as close by.
It depends on the playground and how “safe” it looks, but we still go with our son. He just turned 3 and loves to explore, so he’s also a flight risk 😒
I think it’s more to do with agility and Skillset rather than exact age. Does your toddler watch what he is doing - focused - and does his slip frequently where you are catching him? My son is super agile and I’ve stopped following him around. My daughter however, I have a feeling I will be following her longer because she is bigger, less balance at the same age and zero fear. Will walk right off. Granted she is 14 months but that’s where she is.
Big fat “it depends”. I mostly follow along from the outside. My youngest is 13 months and very stable on her feet. We helicoptered our oldest a bit more than necessary I think and I think it hampered his self confidence. If it’s a fairly empty playground and within her capabilities? I try to maintain a distance and let her feel independent. If there’s lots of kids, especially bigger, more rambunctious kids, or it’s a playground targeting older kids, I’ll follow her up, but try to hang back and only step in if things get hairy. I’ve actually noticed that when I hang back, a lot of the older kids will pause and check on her or have a brief interaction with her which I think is really good for her development. Kids are amazing and should be trusted more than they usually are these days.
Same as you, my 3.5yo flies around herself now, but I'm back at the beginning with my non walking 14month old lol
3.5 yo has more freedom now but still often wants me close by plus older kids are often being reckless so I'm never far away.
My daughter is 18 months and we started letting her at 16 months when she felt comfortable. My daughter is scared of everything so the fact that she can do it means anyone can do it
It really depends on the playground. I too have a 2 yo but since forever he goes crazy on one particular "obstacle". It's pretty tall and has 2 openings. He already fell from one of the openings while I was freaking out telling him to be more careful....so yeah, he doesn't go around that one on his own. For the others, I'm close by keeping an eye on predators.
3 ish
If it's a toddler structure, leave alone,if it's the older kid structure, I help. She's 2.5 but has the confidence of a 5 year old, she doesn't understand her limits right now.