Just out of curiosity.....

maiatene

Do y'all play with the kids when you take them to the park? I'm sitting in the park now with my 6 month old and I'm letting the toddler  (3) do his thing.... however I noticed that I am literally the only mother who is not actively playing with her child. I play with him in the house so I don't necessarily feel the need to do so when we come to the park. The park is more for running around and meeting/playing with friends. Even when he was smaller and couldn't necessarily navigate everything by himself I still let him be and minmize our contact to be more of me spotting him than actually playing together. Is that the norm or am I neglecting mom LOL

VexedMommy

I always brought my daughter to the playground so she could play with other kids.  I played with her if no one else was around.  I also helped her make little friends if she was having trouble with that, but for the most part I let her hang and do her own thing.  If she came to me asking me to play or help her do something I usually would for a little bit though. 

rachswi

I remember that if it was just us at the park, mom would play with us. If there were other kids, she would let us play with them. And I always would invite whoever I was playing with to come to my birthday party (whether it was days away or months away)... I have several distinct memories of bringing people up to meet my mom and saying "mom, this is ___ and she's coming to my birthday party!"

I think the park is a good place to practice social interactions. Let him play! Intervene when necessary but let him get to know others!

VexedMommy

rachswi said:

I remember that if it was just us at the park, mom would play with us. If there were other kids, she would let us play with them. And I always would invite whoever I was playing with to come to my birthday party (whether it was days away or months away)... I have several distinct memories of bringing people up to meet my mom and saying "mom, this is ___ and she's coming to my birthday party!"

I think the park is a good place to practice social interactions. Let him play! Intervene when necessary but let him get to know others!

My daughter used to do this all the time!  She used to invite everyone and their brother (literally!) to her birthday party!  Now she invites them to our house and tells them she will get them a snack.  My apartment is right across the street from the playground and the neighborhood kids all play there so my house is constantly invaded with grimy children eating my food.  Grrrrrrr. . . .

Elyse1384

I play with DS, but that is entirely a personal preference.  I work long hours and miss him terribly during the week so weekends are my time to hang with him. That said, I personally don't notice/judge what another parent might elect to do as I think every parent knows what is best and what their child needs.  DS is at daycare M-F and has tons of time for social interaction with kids his age.  If he was home with me, I might want him to learn to play with kids his age.  

maiatene

@Elyse1384 that I totally get - when I worked I wanted to spend as much time with my son as I could when I could. I'm a SAHM now and since I'm home with him and play with him there I didn't think I needed to do so at the park, especially if it was full of kids. Literally every other mum was playing and I was the only one on the bench.

lyankowi

I stand and supervise her playing but no I do not play with my kid unless she asks me to.