Five years ago, I NEVER would have dreamed that I would become such an expert on playgrounds. With fairly decent weather year-round in Atlanta, the playground is almost always a cheap and convenient entertainment/outing option. We hang out at local ones during the week and on the weekend when we have dad's extra hands and we don't have to worry about rush hour traffic, we actually drive to other parts of the city to try out new ones.
But, as with with pretty much everything Baby Bunching, there are secrets to creating playground success with your Bunch. Your needs will change as your Bunch gets older, but in the very beginning, a playground can be rampant with pitfalls when you are trying to supervise an infant AND a very active toddler.
There are a few criteria to consider before taking on a playground with your Bunch. This list may seem overwhelming at first, but trust us - after awhile you will be able to evaluate the potential pitfalls of a new playground from the comfort of your vehicle, so you can decide if it's even worth unloading your crew. A few factors to consider:
- Age appropriateness of equipment. Yeah - we know your toddler is a daredevil who prefers to be on the equipment designated for 5th graders. No matter how agile he is (and believe me, I know - my oldest was SpiderMan in diapers), it is not safe for him to play on this equipment when you could become distracted at any time by his younger sibling. When you've got your Bunch on your own without dad's backup, stick to the toddler park if your Bunch is under 3.
- Ground cover. Few playgrounds have concrete anymore - if you find one that does, skip it. Steer clear of gravel, which is a giant pit of choking hazards when your kids are very young. Wood chips are OK until your baby is old enough to shove them in her mouth. Sand is usually fine. Rubber surfacing is great - just be sure the day is not too sunny so your little ones don't burn themselves crawling on the surface.
- Proximity to street. Our city has an awesome playground with rubber surfacing and age appropriate equipment. Too bad is literally yards from the city's busiest street and only half of it is fenced in. Clearly, none of the city's Parks and Rec planners have children. Your Bunch can probably run faster than you can. Save yourself the stress and find a park set a good bit back from the road.
- Crowds. Is the park frequented by other people with small children or are there lots of school-aged big kids that will run roughshod over your kids? Is the park typically very crowded? Is it easy to keep track of your kids? Which brings us to a related point...
- Visibility. Is the equipment laid out so that you can see your kids at all times? Or is the playground so big that they can slip from play area to play area without you really seeing them and get lost?
- Water hazards. Kids are drawn to water like moths are to flames. If you're on your own with the kiddos, might want to steer clear of that park with the sweet little creek running through it.
- Restrooms. Available? Clean? Potty training toddler - need we say more?
- Shade patterns. Babies and toddlers get overheated fast. Look for shaded playgrounds or unshaded ones for the winter months which may give you a bit more warmth in the cool late afternoon.
- Remoteness. As a mom with very young children, you do not want to be in a remote area alone with your kids. Our city has an awesome toddler park set back in the woods. And they use county prisoners to do trash pickup there. Again, someone in the city left their thinking cap at home. We prefer to visit this park in groups and steer clear of it on days we are playing by ourselves.
There are a few pieces of gear you need to have on hand for your playground visit, especially if you come with a baby who is not yet mobile. Make sure you always have a blanket (so you can spread out over the mulch, sand, gravel so your baby can sit/lay and watch), a stroller and some kind of carrier. You need hands to supervise your toddler as he tries to leap off some ledge or in case he needs to be rescued from a slide.
Hopefully these tips will spare you some of the agony we endured trying to scout out the perfect playgrounds for our Bunch. Select your playground strategically, and it can be tons of fun for you AND the tots. Happy playing!
(If you live in a particular area and know of some great Baby Bunching playgrounds or ones for Baby Bunchers to avoid, chime in here and let others know. With enough here we can start a list!)
Five years ago, I NEVER would have dreamed that I would become such an expert on playgrounds. With fairly decent weather year-round in Atlanta, the playground is almost always a cheap and convenient entertainment/outing option. We hang out at local ones during the week and on the weekend when we have dad's extra hands and we don't have to worry about rush hour traffic, we actually drive to other parts of the city to try out new ones.
But, as with with pretty much everything Baby Bunching, there are secrets to creating playground success with your Bunch. Your needs will change as your Bunch gets older, but in the very beginning, a playground can be rampant with pitfalls when you are trying to supervise an infant AND a very active toddler.
There are a few criteria to consider before taking on a playground with your Bunch. This list may seem overwhelming at first, but trust us - after awhile you will be able to evaluate the potential pitfalls of a new playground from the comfort of your vehicle, so you can decide if it's even worth unloading your crew. A few factors to consider:
- Age appropriateness of equipment. Yeah - we know your toddler is a daredevil who prefers to be on the equipment designated for 5th graders. No matter how agile he is (and believe me, I know - my oldest was SpiderMan in diapers), it is not safe for him to play on this equipment when you could become distracted at any time by his younger sibling. When you've got your Bunch on your own without dad's backup, stick to the toddler park if your Bunch is under 3.
- Ground cover. Few playgrounds have concrete anymore - if you find one that does, skip it. Steer clear of gravel, which is a giant pit of choking hazards when your kids are very young. Wood chips are OK until your baby is old enough to shove them in her mouth. Sand is usually fine. Rubber surfacing is great - just be sure the day is not too sunny so your little ones don't burn themselves crawling on the surface.
- Proximity to street. Our city has an awesome playground with rubber surfacing and age appropriate equipment. Too bad is literally yards from the city's busiest street and only half of it is fenced in. Clearly, none of the city's Parks and Rec planners have children. Your Bunch can probably run faster than you can. Save yourself the stress and find a park set a good bit back from the road.
- Crowds. Is the park frequented by other people with small children or are there lots of school-aged big kids that will run roughshod over your kids? Is the park typically very crowded? Is it easy to keep track of your kids? Which brings us to a related point...
- Visibility. Is the equipment laid out so that you can see your kids at all times? Or is the playground so big that they can slip from play area to play area without you really seeing them and get lost?
- Water hazards. Kids are drawn to water like moths are to flames. If you're on your own with the kiddos, might want to steer clear of that park with the sweet little creek running through it.
- Restrooms. Available? Clean? Potty training toddler - need we say more?
- Shade patterns. Babies and toddlers get overheated fast. Look for shaded playgrounds or unshaded ones for the winter months which may give you a bit more warmth in the cool late afternoon.
- Remoteness. As a mom with very young children, you do not want to be in a remote area alone with your kids. Our city has an awesome toddler park set back in the woods. And they use county prisoners to do trash pickup there. Again, someone in the city left their thinking cap at home. We prefer to visit this park in groups and steer clear of it on days we are playing by ourselves.
There are a few pieces of gear you need to have on hand for your playground visit, especially if you come with a baby who is not yet mobile. Make sure you always have a blanket (so you can spread out over the mulch, sand, gravel so your baby can sit/lay and watch), a stroller and some kind of carrier. You need hands to supervise your toddler as he tries to leap off some ledge or in case he needs to be rescued from a slide.
Hopefully these tips will spare you some of the agony we endured trying to scout out the perfect playgrounds for our Bunch. Select your playground strategically, and it can be tons of fun for you AND the tots. Happy playing!
(If you live in a particular area and know of some great Baby Bunching playgrounds or ones for Baby Bunchers to avoid, chime in here and let others know. With enough here we can start a list!)