Tag Archives: playground

Flying Against The Seat

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No, not the swings! Anything but the swings! Don’t take the swings away. I remember a set of swings in the back corner of the old elementary school I attended in Alaska.

Dear Free-Range Kids: The risk adversity in the U.S. is out of control. I just read about the CPSC recalling 7 million candle holders because there was a single incident of one (one!!) melting.

This comes on the heels of a discussion we had at our Parks Board last week where the playground designer came in to talk about the safety of playground equipment. The gist of it was: there is such a permeating fear of lawsuits and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC) that playgrounds are required to be as generic as possible, lest a lawsuit occur. There was great discussion about the $600 test each playground inspector must take every three years to be certified to be able to even inspect a playground, and the number of people we have employed just to complete inspections on the equipment in our city alone. Each playground is inspected every 3-6 months: every screw and nut is examined, along with the width of all the poles, and evidence of settling, protrusions, wear, etc. It takes several hours to inspect one playground thoroughly and completely.

Swings are still allowed, but the CPSC rules –”which are treated as law” — are so stringent on how and where they’re installed, it’s almost not worth putting them in. It was so sad to listen to how the paranoia that has determined how playgrounds will be built, resulting in homogeneous, boring play zones for kids.

I was in the fourth grade. The elementary school I went was so old that it was closed a year or two after. There were a set of swings in the very back corner of the playground that my friends and I loved. The chains on these swings were longer than on others. We would lean into the seats of the swings with our stomach/ or chest, go to opposite corners of the swing set, and then we run in a circle causing the chains to twist. The result would send one or both of us flying against our seat and in some cases nearly hitting our back on the horizontal bar from which the swings hung. MYGOD what fun!

One afternoon, my wife and I took a drive around town to tour the various preschools. It was Sunday, so they were all closed. All we could do was check out the playgrounds. And that’s when we noticed something unusual.

“These playgrounds all suck,” my wife said.

She was right. Compared to the glorious expanse of fun our daughter had grown accustomed to at her preschool in upstate New York, these Jersey playgrounds were downright pathetic: small, cramped, and devoid of any remotely interesting equipment. They looked more like pens for dogs than playgrounds for kids.

And then we realized, simultaneously, what was missing: “No swings!”

I don’t think there are any swings in the play area for the preschoolers where Sophia goes either. Luckily I take her to other playgrounds on a regular basis and she knows the joys of swinging. I have yet to find a set of swings like the ones in that old playground in Alaska. They probably don’t exist anymore, but if I find any I’ll surly teach Sophia and Lukas how to fly on the swings!

Kurt and Sophia on the swings

Picture taken 9/20/2011. Kurt and Sophia on the swings at the Puyallup Fair.

Wave to the camera

Woo! Swinging!

nablopomo

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Yo Adrian!

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Sophia was about eighteen months old when she had her first bloody nose. It wasn’t a gusher but there were drops of blood. She had been climbing the metal ladder rungs on the playground. She lost her footing and hit her nose on the way down.

Last night Sophia got her first black eye. She was jumping up the stairs like a giant frog. She must have hit her cheekbone on the edge of a stair while jumping up, I couldn’t really tell from my vantage point at the top of the stairs. It stunned her so much she went to lean back on her butt. Forgetting that she was on the stairs she then rolled down four steps.

Yo Adrian!

Picture taken 8/27/2011 Sophia's first shiner.

And she was just healing from her last wound too. Three weeks ago, we were at a bus stop. She ran to the bench, which was backless and slipped right off of it. She wedged herself between the bench and the glass wall of the bus stop shelter. Her back slid down the glass wall. I’m not sure if she hit the metal framing on the bottom with her back or not, but either way she has serious road rash on her back. It’s still pink in that spot, but the scabbing is all gone.

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Camp Is So Great, They Give Us Chocolate Cake!

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The last day of camp I managed to convince Sophia to leave “friend” in the car, but again when I had to put her down to sign her into camp she began crying. Today her buddy didn’t even try to have me put the camp shirt on Sophia. She does eventually wear the shirt each day, but only after I’m long gone.

The snack for this day is about as unimpressive as the Nilla Wafer mini-burger day. The kids will be making their own chocolate cup cake. On the healthy side, there will also be a yogurt shake with bananas and strawberries. Sophia loves yogurt and bananas, but she does not recognize it in a liquid shake form and therefore won’t eat it.

Friday:
Today…
I made a…Picture Frame
I ate a… Cupcake (What a shock, really? She ate sugar? And the healthy part, the shake? She didn’t even touch it.)
I liked…Playground

My day was… (in this part of the form the buddy circles one of three choices: fabulous, good, ok) Sophia’s buddy circled fabulous.

Under comments she wrote, “I’m going to miss seeing Sophia every day! Camp was so much fun! Her giggle and smile make me smile! Have a great rest of summer!”

Camp photo and the frame Sophia made

Sophia had the same buddy each day of camp, it’s part of what makes this camp special. The buddies are high school students who volunteer and are teamed up with one child for the week. In general, that one on one interaction is supposed to help the kids boost their skills because it’s all about catering to the child, but not in the same ways that mom and dad might. Other moms who bring their kids to Sophia’s playgroup that had already sent their kids to camp in previous weeks talked about how much their kid loved their buddy. One mom said that her son, who is two months older than Sophia, takes the camp picture and sleeps with it at night. Except for the one Occupational Therapist that Sophia sees weekly at one of her classes, she seems rather indifferent to the various staff members and her buddy.

I have the pictures and frame from camp up on the mantel. I brought them down so that I could take a picture of it for this post. Sophia was interested in the frame, but only because she wanted to take the stickers back off it. “Do you remember your buddy from camp?” I ask. No answer. “Did you like your buddy?” No answer. “Did you have fun with your buddy at camp?” Nothing.

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Cookies Made to Look Like a Burger are still Cookies

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The third day of camp we arrived right on time for sign in and at the time Sophia’s buddy came up to us I was squatting trying to convince Sophia to put “friend” in her backpack and to give me back the house keys she was playing with in the car. Sophia saw her buddy and moved around behind me, away from her buddy, and tried to cling to my back. She didn’t cry and she didn’t retain all the Velcro qualities of the previous day, but she still didn’t want to separate from me on her own.

After she was whisked away, I went through the daily paperwork which indicates, who signed the child in, who will sign them out, and that the child doesn’t have any allergies to the food items that will be offered at snack time. I realize that fresh foods are more difficult to keep and because of that, the cost can add up, but I’m still very disappointed in what will be served today.

They made a mini-burger with Nilla Wafer cookies for buns, half an Oreo cookie for the meat patty, and I’m guessing half the white filling. The filling was colored with red and green food coloring for the ketchup and lettuce. On the side were chips that looked very similar to shoe- string potatoes used to represent fries. The only healthy part of the snack was the other side, which were slices of ham that had cream cheese spread on them. The ham and cheese are rolled and sliced for bite-sized ham and cheese swirls. I guess I should just be happy Sophia is in an environment where she can see other kids her age eating these things. It’s just that it would be nice if those things were more like, oh I don’t know, strawberries, carrots, peas, or hell even a real mini-hamburger would be nice.

When I picked up Sophia her buddy told me that Sophia really liked the playground a lot, especially the slide. I already knew that but it’s nice that she had fun with someone other than mommy at the park and that it was clearly visible to her buddy. Last year for Sophia’s second birthday not-a-nanny came to visit. I told her Sophia really likes swimming and runs to the locker room when we arrive and invited her to come with us. After Sophia’s class she asked, “Does Sophia really like it?” We may not see not-a-nanny very often but she knows Sophia well and she couldn’t tell. Yes, she likes it. She’s not protesting and occasionally she’ll smile briefly. That’s about the most I get from her. Sophia and I took a break from her swim classes from about February to June this year. Sophia wanted to play at the park instead and I didn’t want to push swim class to the point of making her hate it, so we took a break. She loves swimming again and now I think it shows a more. She actually participates in class a little more.

Sophia’s buddy also told me that Sophia is very ticklish. Again, yeah, something I know. If a parent with a ticklish kid and doesn’t know it, uummm wow. They’re probably the sort of parent that needs the advice I was receiving from the therapists. Like, “You need to sit on the floor and play with her.” No shit, really?

I asked Sophia’s buddy if Sophia talked at all in the last three days and she told me that she herself hadn’t heard her say anything but that Sophia talked to the occupational therapist that runs one of the classes we attend. I wasn’t surprised at all. That therapist is Sophia’s favorite, but much like her enjoyment of swimming, it’s hard for anyone to tell.

Wednesday:
Today…
I made a…Pencil Critter
I ate a…Cookies (all she ate was the sugar, what a shock)
I liked…Playground

My day was… (in this part of the form the buddy circles one of three choices: fabulous, good, ok) Sophia’s buddy circled fabulous.

Under comments she wrote, “Sophia had lots of fun at the playground today! She loves the slide! Also becoming more comfortable every day!”

pencil critter

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Classes, starting with a full load

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The results of Sophia’s evaluation have come in. The only delay she shows is with her speech, which is 40% behind her peers. Everything else was marked as zero delay. They’re recommending Speech therapy intervention and an in house referral to nutrition and feeding.

The day of the evaluation I was told about some classes offered there, some are free, some have a small free, and others have a fee but would be free to us because Sophia qualifies for therapy. I signed up for three classes. I may not stick with all three, but I’m trying them out. One class is a preschool/play group. We’ve gone to that class twice so far. The first time didn’t go so well, but she improved a lot the second time.

The next class can very loosely qualify as a gymnastics class. Sophia definitely doesn’t need help with her gross motor skills, but I signed up to give her yet another opportunity to play with other kids her age since there is some free play incorporated in it. She was leery of the class in general, but she really latched onto the teacher. That was completely unexpected. I liked that she wasn’t hanging onto me for dear life, but it was odd.

I took her to the playground nearly everyday during the summer to help socialize her, and she does well in an environment where children outnumber adults. She’ll take off without me and play around and sometimes with the other kids. One time she found an older girl (about six or seven years old) on the playground to adopt as her big sister by taking the girl’s hand and just shadowing for the entire time we’re there. The girl was a part of a summer camp or YMCA group or something and one of the adults later told me that the girl had a sister Sophia’s age. Sophia must have just known. ;-)

At friend/family gatherings Sophia is very clingy and will cry if adults try to engage her. I generally have to take her to a quieter corner so that she can observe things. After a while she’ll usually get comfortable enough to take off and play with/beside the other kids, and when it’s time to go I can get her to wave bye-bye and high-five everyone.

I’ve had Sophia enrolled in swimming consistently since she was ten months old and she just recently started lean towards the instructor indicating that she wants to swim with her. It’s a very nice change of pace and it shows me she’ll be ready for the next swimming level when that time comes. I was a little worried, so when we started this new class and she tried to monopolize the attention of the teacher it was bizarre! In her case, I think that class might be more about learning to take turns.

The last class I thought was kooky. I chalked it up to being about as useful as alternative medicine type things like magnets for improving blood flow. I was wrong. Of the three classes, this one is definitely a keeper.

November, 30 posts in 30 days nablopomo.com

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Screaming Hilarity

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I don’t know why the cat never liked Sophia. She has always been very gentle, surprisingly so, for a toddler. She never pulled his tail and always petted softly. Well, she has finally lulled him into a false sense of security and she now takes full advantage of it. Sophia will now spot the quietly lounging cat in a room and run in yelling for the sole purpose of scaring him. She loves it. She is pure toddler evil in the cat’s eyes.

Last weekend we went to the racetrack to watch motorcycle racing. I specify motorcycle as if there is any other type of racing acknowledged by Kurt, though I must agree it’s much more entertaining when a right turn is an actual possibility and not just a fatal flaw. In case you weren’t sure or missed it completely, yes, that was a dig on NASCAR.

At the track they built a playground in the parking lot. There was only one other parent with her three older-than-Sophia kids. As her kids played tag she kept reminding them that there is a smaller child, a ‘little one’ playing there too. As soon as I let Sophia go she ran to the back side of the play equipment. The area is fully fenced so I didn’t have to worry about Sophia running off. The other kids ran past Sophia and she let out a loud scream. The other parent thinking one of her children hurt mine jumped out of her skin and flipped around to see what was going on. Kurt also looked for her as well as a friend that was with us. When Sophia noticed she had scared the adults and all attention was on her she laughed, completely uninhibited laughter.

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