Dear Other Mommies At the Park

Dear Other Mommies at the Park:

Hi, it’s me.  You know, the mommy that you’re always looking around for or giving stink eyes to.  I may not be a helicopter parent but believe me, I am paying attention. I almost always know where all of my kids are (and if I don’t, one of them knows where the others are).

And I know that you’re not really looking around for me because you don’t see me hovering but because of what my kids are doing.  Yep, that’s my kid walking UP the slide and sitting on top of the monkey bars.  And I’m the mommy that encourages my kids to go down the slide face first, prompting yours to want to try it to.

But I’m not here to apologize.  I’m not sorry that you think my children are encouraging your children to do unsafe things.  I’m not sorry that you think I don’t care about my children’s safety.

In fact, that’s as from from the truth as you can get (despite kidshealth.org saying they are not acting safely or responsibly).  I allow them to do things that are usually deemed playground inappropriate because I know that it is developmentally appropriate for children to want to explore their environment in lots of different ways.  And more importantly, I know that it’s developmentally IMPORTANT that they be allowed to do these things.

With the rise in  ADHD and Sensory Processing Disorders diagnoses, more and more studies are showing that our children not moving enough during the day, especially with school hours becoming longer and academic pressures becoming stronger.  But simply adding more movement and exercise to child’s day won’t make one bit of difference if children aren’t allowed to move in lots of different ways.

Children are wired to want to roll, climb, hang upside, spin and jump.  They need to feel their bodies moving forwards and back, side to side, up and down and quickly and slowly because without experiencing these things, their vestibular systems (responsible for balance) will not full develop or could develop incorrectly.

It is estimated that only 1 in 12 children today have normally developed core strength and balance systems for their age.  Does this really matter?  Of course it does!  A weak core and balance systems affects every part of daily life.  Children who aren’t strong enough to sit upright will have trouble with writing (this is where the lately hyped W-sitting comes into play), children will appear clumsy and awkward.  They may have trouble excelling in sports and will seem fidgety in class.

So, while your children play safely and go down the slide nicely on their bottoms, I will rest well at night knowing that my children are working on fully developing their vestibular systems.  That they are being given the opportunity to explore not only their world but all the ways their bodies can move.

So I’m really sorry if you feel it’s unsafe for your child to climb up the slide, but I’m more concerned about the life-long perils of them not climbing up the slide.

Sincerely,

THAT Mommy at the Park.