Questions re: potential hazards on daycare playground...maybe I'm just paranoid?
virginiagirl11
member
DS is starting daycare next week and we're doing short visits this week to prep him for the transition. During our last visit, his class went out to play on the playground.
This playground is for babies and toddlers only, which is good. DS won't get mowed down by the older kids, who have their own space in which to play. However, there were a couple of things on this playground that caught my eye and, as a first time parent and type A mom, I wasn't sure if I was just being overly paranoid.
1. There was a planter butted up against a piece of play equipment with some tall, thin wooden sticks poking up through the soil. There was nothing growing in the planter and it looked a bit neglected and dried out, so I asked one of his teachers if the sticks needed to be there. There were three or four that were at the perfect height to poke a toddler in the eyes if he tripped over the planter as he toddled around. The teacher, who is nice but seems like a bit of a flake, sort of laughed and waved them off and said, "Oh, there are supposed to be beans growing here but it doesn't really look like they are, does it?" That was it. It seems like a nice idea in theory but now it just looks like a hazard to me.
2. There is a pile of very large sticks/broken branches near the fence inside the perimeter. They've been there for over a month because I remember seeing them when I visited last month. I guess they haven't given the teachers any problems but it just seems totally unnecessary to me to have them there, especially as the parent of an extremely curious, busy toddler who is still a bit unsteady on his feet. Would this concern you?
3. This is probably just my super paranoia speaking, but is it normal for baby/toddler playgrounds to have concrete sidewalks? Don't get me wrong, most of the playground is mulched, but there is a long, wide sidewalk that lines one edge of the playground where you access the door to the building. When we went outside during our visit, DS's teacher pushed a big bin of toy trucks/cars out the door but left it on the sidewalk so that the kids had to leave the mulch and go onto the concrete to access the bin. Again, I would have pushed the bin another three feet out into the mulch but that's just me I guess?
WDYT, are these things worth addressing? Remember we are brand new, DS starts on Monday, so I need to tread a bit carefully in the beginning.
: sticky baby 4.25.11 : #2 due 5.18.13
Re: Questions re: potential hazards on daycare playground...maybe I'm just paranoid?
I'll give you #1. A planter w/ sticks poking up that they aren't even using? No point and sure, it could be a hazard.
But you started losing me on #2. A pile of sticks? Eh, it's called nature.
And #3?? You totally lost me on that one. A sidewalk? Yes- most playgrounds I've been to have concrete around them at some point. And so what that the toys were left on it? The kids are all the same age - the worst that will happen is that they'll toddle into one another, fall down on their bums, and then get back up and go on their way.
I'd bring up #1 but that's about it.
~Benjamin Franklin
DS dx with celiac disease 5/28/10
All of this. The bean poles could go, they probably have somewhere else on the property that they can grow beans. But #2 and 3...we walk on concrete every day...sticks are nature... it will be fine.
Where are you in Virginia?
Pretty much above. but to add.. you can nicely point out #1, but if they intend on growing something as part of a lesson for the toddlers then they might just be there. I know in my sons' 2 year old room they have been growing some small plants as part of a lesson.
And with #2, the kids are running totally wild, there are teachers there to watch them and I've seen kids in DS DC pick up sticks or rocks, the teachers just talk to them about not playing with them/not being safe and then toss them over the fence.
#3 Um, hard surfaces exist everywhere I have no idea why you would have a problem with a sidewalk, kids will fall bump their heads, skin their knees, etc it's part of growing up and learning.
I agree completely.
Me too. Bumps and scrapes are going to happen. It's not like there is a pile of knives or boxes of matches out there.
I also agree. We don't pick up every stick in the yard (DD loves sticks) and we have concrete patios. It's just the nature of the world. Sure, she's fallen down a few times, but she lives.
This.
#1 is a hazard, I would bring it up to the director. Even if they are growing beans, it doesn't need to be at a spot where they could fall on it.
#2 - not a huge problem, but an odd place for a pile of sticks. More than likely the kids haven't given them a second thought because of the fun they have on the playground.
#3 - I think the concrete is absolutely the norm. After all, with those bins of trucks, where better to push them than on the sidewalk? Your son is going to fall and scrape his knees eventually. It happens.
I agree with this. If you are confident that the teachers are doing their jobs and keeping an eye on the kids, I wouldn't be too concerned about what you've listed.
This. Some things are true dangers and some are called life.
Thanks, everyone. I wasn't kidding about being type A and paranoid.
I'm learning...slowly...to let go.
We went back today and the bean sticks were gone. Awesome. I didn't have to say anything.
I checked out the random pile of branches and decided they weren't all pokey up in the air, so I'll deal with it.
The sidewalk...I was most concerned about that from a standpoint of the kids not being able to reach the vehicles in the bin, falling around it, tripping on the seam between the mulch and the cement, etc. But I looked at it again today and decided I was worrying too much.
No, I am not completely confident that his teachers are doing their jobs in preventing injuries...I don't love them and don't have 100% trust in them. But we're new and I'm anal so maybe it'll change and I will find that I can trust them.
Thanks again for the reality check.
BFP # 1 - 12/19/09 EDD 08/27/10 - D&C 1/26/10 @ 9w5d
BFP # 2 - 06/05/10 EDD 02/17/11, DS1 born on 2/14/11
BFP # 3 - 04/10/13 EDD 12/21/13 - D&C 05/15/13 @ 8w4d
BFP # 4 - 07/27/13 EDD 04/08/14 - CP 07/29/13
BFP # 5 - 09/14/13 EDD 05/28/14, DS2 born on 5/22/14
Everyday "hazards" are one thing, but not being able to trust the teachers is a whole separate issue. Not sure where in VA you are, but I live in a very small town in central VA where daycares are SCARCE, so it is either the crap one in town or find someone who does home-based care. We opted for home based care until DD was pre-school age. Are there other options nearby you can check out?
#1, I think they should move it.
#2, NBD. The kids probably like playing with sticks. I know DS does.
#3, I don't think this is a big deal. If there were swings or equipment on concrete, I'd be worried, but I don't think what you described is worth giving a second thought to.
You can't prevent your kid from tripping & falling. Just wait, by age 2 s/he will be covered in bruises & small cuts & you won't know how s/he got most of them.
DD fell on the little concrete path at the door to the playground for their daycare on like day 3 in the one year old room, she was still getting used to wearing sneakers...big old scrape on her forehead, they cleaned it, she cried for like a minuter or 2. It was no big deal & I photoshopped it out of photos from that time period LOL. (and also DS tipped a chair over in the lunch area in the first couple weeks inthere too & chipped his front tooth. It happens.)