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Im not sure if this is excessive worrying or a legitimate worry as a parent. Its in regards to public playgrounds. For some reason I always have the fear that these parks have hidden surprises due to the fact that they are public and accessible to anyone. Fears include other people leaving needles/syringes and nasty stuff like that. It doesnt help that there are news articles every once in a while mentioning these incidents. The last thing I want is for our kids to roam around and stumble onto these things.
Would you consider this excessive worrying as a parent? as a legitimate concern? do any of you do a scan of any playgrounds before you let your kids roam free? Any feedback would be appreciated.
...do any of you do a scan of any playgrounds before you let your kids roam free?
I would scan it when we got there, and walk around checking things out while the kids played. Then I'd go sit on a bench and watch them. But we lived and played in a safe area. I've literally never heard of anyone I know finding needles on a playground. I would think it's excessive to EXPECT to find them. A more realistic danger would be broken glass.
Older, bigger kids running around like crazy were always the biggest danger my toddlers faced on a playground.
I dont know why but for some reason if you google playground and syringes, a ton of articles come up of instances of such occurences. I dont even know how they would end up there in the first place. Maybe a scan of play area before would make the most sense.
I dont know why but for some reason if you google playground and syringes, a ton of articles come up of instances of such occurences. I dont even know how they would end up there in the first place. Maybe a scan of play area before would make the most sense.
Why would anyone Google that?
Definitely, scanning the play area would be a good idea. But there are some moms who believe the job description means anticipating every worst-case scenario. I've certainly had my moments.
I've never found anything like that at any of the playgrounds my kids have played at, even the ones that were in parts of town that have a bad reputation.
I've heard about teenagers using drugs at the little neighborhood parks in my area, the ones owned by the various HOAs. I've seen some weird looking teens huddled together at our neighborhood park and they usually leave when we show up, but they've never left anything behind. I'd be surprised if they were doing anything with syringes though.
Never found anything like that at the neighborhood parks we frequented when my children were little, nor heard any reports. My general rule of thumb would be that the park is probably about as safe as the neighborhood it's in. In my very safe, family-friendly area, playgrounds are raked and cleaned every couple of days and I had no reason to worry. In a seedy area, I would be more cautious. Though I do think hazards such as broken glass and cat poop are far more likely than needles and syringes. That sounds kind of like the paranoia about nonexistent razor blades in Halloween candy.
Definitely, scanning the play area would be a good idea. But there are some moms who believe the job description means anticipating every worst-case scenario. I've certainly had my moments.
I actually did do that and there were about three instances last year where this happened in the state I am in. But I guess it would probably be considered a low risk since these instances make headlines every time it happens.
Just put your phone away and watch your child. That is all you have to do. of course, you will make note if things are safe when you go in. But...searching for potential dangers...ugh. No. Let your child have fun and not develop a fear of their world
I dont know why but for some reason if you google playground and syringes, a ton of articles come up of instances of such occurences. I dont even know how they would end up there in the first place. Maybe a scan of play area before would make the most sense.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steephill2
I actually did do that and there were about three instances last year where this happened in the state I am in. But I guess it would probably be considered a low risk since these instances make headlines every time it happens.
What kind of area are these parks in that you legitimately worry about find needles? Maybe you need to find a park in a better area, if possible.
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