

To wish adults wouldn't throw balls up the slide at soft play?

(64 Posts)
YesIamYourSisterInLaw Wed 20-Mar-13 18:00:01

Because I can't explain to my toddler why its ok for them to do it and not him. Obviously as adults we are able to comprehend not throwing them when someone is coming down the slide etc but young children do not have that logical thought yet.
Why do it? you pains in the ass

aldiwhore Wed 20-Mar-13 18:02:00

If it's in the toddler area YANBU.

UnChartered Wed 20-Mar-13 18:03:07

because it's fun and interacting with the children?

ChocsAwayInMyGob Wed 20-Mar-13 18:05:27

I throw them up the slide so my son can roll them down again.

I don't do it if others are on the slide.


fluckered Wed 20-Mar-13 18:07:43

unless balls in soft play areas are now concrete with nails sticking out of them yabu.

thebody Wed 20-Mar-13 18:15:04

They are soft balls so what does it matter.

Let your dc throw them. Unless he's on course for a fast bowler for England then he isn't really going to mortally wound anyone.

Catchingmockingbirds Wed 20-Mar-13 18:16:44


Tailtwister Wed 20-Mar-13 18:17:15

Slide etiquette is an important thing to learn imo. If you treat it as a toy to throw things up (or encourage them to climb up from the bottom) sooner or later they'll end up with a foot in the face from a child sliding down. Best to teach it early on imo.


Wishiwasanheiress Wed 20-Mar-13 18:17:26

No but my 2yr old doesn't want one in the face from ur child when u stop and they don't. And vice versa obvs. Agree with op. YANBU.

claraschu Wed 20-Mar-13 18:17:35

Agree with thebody. Let him throw balls (within reason); they don't hurt anyone.

catgirl1976 England Wed 20-Mar-13 18:21:59

My 15mo DS climbs up from the bottom

He enjoys it

If someone is coming down I stop him

If he gets a foot in the face at some point, meh - lesson learned

It's softplay. It's pretty padded and soft. Throwing balls will not cause wounding

Rhubarbgarden Wed 20-Mar-13 18:26:57

Yanbu. It might sound petty, but trying to explain to a toddler why throwing balls is ok at soft play but throwing rocks in the garden is not ok is not easy.

Goodwordguide Wed 20-Mar-13 18:35:05

But surely throwing a soft ball is ok and throwing rocks is not and that's something children need to learn very early on?

zippey Wed 20-Mar-13 18:38:55

I love throwing balls up slides. It's soft play, the clue is in the name. Play means having fun.

dzidzia Wed 20-Mar-13 18:44:10

It may be soft and padded, but my Dd came back with huge bruise on her cheek. I agree OP slide is for sliding down

SolomanDaisy Wed 20-Mar-13 18:44:16

What, the soft balls from the ball pool? Half the fun is throwing them. Children need to learn what and when it's ok to throw. Ball pool balls at soft play are fine for throwing.

Neighbourhoodwatchbitch Wed 20-Mar-13 18:56:01

Lol... Were you at Zoomania in Aylesbury today?

Looks guilty

JollyYellowGiant Wed 20-Mar-13 19:01:55

Slides are for sliding down. DS was taught early on that this is the case. He still can't work out why some other children are allowed to climb up. I don't understand why you wouldn't teach your child appropriate behaviour from the start.

He is also not allowed to throw balls, anywhere, because although it is fun for a 13month old to throw things around, by the time they get bigger they could hurt someone. Again, DS was taught this from the start.

We have had free entry to a local soft play (3 min drive away) since DS was 11 months so have visited most weeks when the place is quiet.

JollyYellowGiant Wed 20-Mar-13 19:03:12

Sorry, should clarify, he can throw balls at home or in the football area of soft play, just not in the toddler area or around the slides.

hazeyjane Wed 20-Mar-13 19:05:34

Do you mean the soft squooshy slides? Like big wedges of cheese? They have this sort at our local softplay and ds climbs up it, and rolls balls down it, because he does this when he uses the nursery soft play for physio. I wouldn't let him do it if there were other children on it though.

catgirl1976 England Wed 20-Mar-13 19:10:47

Umm..........slides, and other bits of play equipment are for playing on

There isn't a set of rules on how play equipment should be used. Children need to explore, use imagination and learn what they can and can't to via trial and error.

Parents need to supervise to ensure safety and fair play (eg "No you cannot climb the slide now as this little girl is having her turn" or "you cannot throw rocks, they are hard and will hurt people") but not stop them exploring or trying things out.

drjohnsonscat Wed 20-Mar-13 19:12:33

My children are allowed to climb up slides. Because its a play area and as long as they are not being dangerous it's all fine. They are also allowed to just twirl round on the swing instead of swinging on it and may try to climb up the fireman's pole instead of down it. There are no regulations on this beyond common sense unless I have missed the latest edict from Ofplay - the govt playground regulator.

quesadilla Wed 20-Mar-13 19:15:25

I can't see the problem, myself, unless your child is doing it in an aggressive way.

SmiteYouWithThunderbolts Wed 20-Mar-13 19:18:49

slide etiquette grin That one will tickle me all night long.

YesIamYourSisterInLaw Wed 20-Mar-13 19:30:12

Yes it's in the toddler area and yes the balls are soft ish but there not made of sponge and still hurt when throw in another child's face. Plus it's not always just toddlers in the toddler area.
To me it just mixed messages, yes you can throw it now but not in 2 seconds no thats not ok.
No not squishy slides they are actual slides just smaller for toddlers.
Neighbourhood no your safe it wasn't you grin

Neighbourhoodwatchbitch Wed 20-Mar-13 19:34:51

I was hoping that lol! There wasn't anyone else in the ball pit at the time! My LO is only 15 months so I was quite enjoying the confusion on his face because he didn't know where the balls were coming from lol!

catgirl1976 England Wed 20-Mar-13 19:38:23

Our softplay has a ball pit where they post balls into tubes which suck up the balls into a big cage thing overhead and then when it is full it opens and hundreds of balls fall from the ceiling and onto the heads of the toddlers

This is DS's favourite thing in the world

He stuffs the tubes like a manic robot and when the klaxon sounds flings himself directly under the cage, looking up excitedly waiting to get a facefull of falling balls

One hasn't had his eye out yet smile

pamelat Wed 20-Mar-13 19:51:39


My DH does this and I "told him off" for possibly encouraging ds to throw stuff up there BUT ds doesn't, he seems to realise it's a grown up thing, and I decided it wouldn't hurt anyway.

I don't let ds climb up slides but that's because I do think that could hurt him and whoever is appropriately sliding down!!

YesIamYourSisterInLaw Wed 20-Mar-13 19:53:05

Cat girl we go to a bigger park that has one of those but the balls are the foam ones that are half eaten by the kids hahaha
Ds loves it and I love the cannons you can use to shoot them up to the cage

Rhubarbgarden Wed 20-Mar-13 20:03:34

Our local soft play has a sign up saying "No throwing balls".

CloudsAndTrees Wed 20-Mar-13 20:05:10

I can get On board with rolling balls up the slide, but children climbing up the slide are a complete pain in the arse, for lots of reasons.

claraschu Wed 20-Mar-13 20:15:19

Life is full of contradictions, mixed messages, and inconsistency. kids are smart and understand this, given the chance. Some people can drive, others can't; some people joke around and surprise you, others are very straight ahead; some people respond well to whining and blackmail;others don't; some objects are ok to throw, others aren't.

catgirl1976 England Wed 20-Mar-13 22:56:23

Oh that sounds fab YesIam grin DS would love cannons!

babanouche Wed 20-Mar-13 23:02:06


I second the poster who said slides are for playing on. Why limit your child's exploration with a bunch of made up rules about slides only being for sliding down? You can climb up them, lie across them, roll down them, whatever. Let the kids play.

As for adults chucking balls up the slide - they're playing with the kids fgs. Presumably they're not lobbing them with a view to taking anyone's eyes out. Small children need to learn how to play without harming others. Watching adults interact with their children is one way of doing this.

ceeveebee Wed 20-Mar-13 23:11:18

Playing? Having fun? How very dare they!

Unless you are going to ban balls from your DCs life, it seems a perfect opportunity to teach them about taking turns etc. My 16 mo DTs also love to climb up the slide and now after a few feet to head incidents know to wait if the other one is coming back down. In fact at Gymboree they teach them to climb up them and throw balls up them.

WorraLiberty England Wed 20-Mar-13 23:19:48

OP, I'd be willing to bet my last penny that in years to come, you'll look back on this and criiiiiinge blush

It's such a non the queen of non issues, walking down non issue street, wearing a huge badge with 'non issue' emblazoned upon it, whilst selling a magazine called 'non issue'.

Trust me, it'll happen.

DoJo Wed 20-Mar-13 23:55:30

Children surely need to learn to be aware of their surroundings rather than hoping that rules will be applicable no matter what the circumstances. I think it's a shame to limit their play just in case when it would make more sense for them to learn 'this is ok, unless I say it isn't' which is true of most situations.

DigestivesWithCheese Thu 21-Mar-13 04:10:51

I hate it when they are allowed to climb up the bloody slides! Slides are for going DOWN. If you have your own slide at home then going up/throwing balls doesn't matter, but in areas where children are sharing, they all need to go in the same direction!!

The other thing that gives me soft play rage: bigger children racing around in the toddler area. Why don't the parents just say "Out of here, you are too big for this part"?

Flossbert Thu 21-Mar-13 04:36:41

I could potentially agree with all the "just let the children play" sentiments regarding letting kids go up the slide except that, actually, as they get older the children are plainly not supervised constantly and so the children that understand that slides are for going DOWN are stuck at the top, patiently waiting. And waiting. And waiting. Because they don't want to kick another child in the face, and I don't want them to teach them that they can/ should.

MrsKeithRichards Thu 21-Mar-13 07:10:48

You know it's only us adults that attach instructions and right ways to play equipment. Part of being a child is exploring, learning and using these things.

ohmyrainydays Thu 21-Mar-13 07:39:06

I hate it when children go up the slide the wrong way. It usually is a child that isn't being supervised and then there becomes a back log of children at the top because they won't get off. I think it's dangerous and shouldn't be encouraged.

catgirl1976 England Thu 21-Mar-13 07:51:01

Remind me to ensure I fully supress DS's sense of adventure, desire to explore an try things out and his imagination next time I take him out to play hmm

Maybe there could be a manual on how he should play and how much fun he is allowed

Crawling Thu 21-Mar-13 09:26:32

YABU let people play stop being a tyrant trying to dictate play rules.

zippey Thu 21-Mar-13 09:27:40

I dont think there is a right or wrong answer in this, but I would take the view to keep it fun and let children explore. For example, you can tell them that paper is used for writing and reading, but also for making paper aeroplanes, oragami, snowballs etc.

I think its great to throw balls on a slide and watch them come down.

KatoPotato Thu 21-Mar-13 09:31:50

YANBU. Why would anyone want to touch those grotty balls on purpose?

SissySpacekAteMyHamster Thu 21-Mar-13 09:32:25

I'm with Worral (well I would be if it was an issue) wink

YesIamYourSisterInLaw Thu 21-Mar-13 09:36:05

grin @ how I'm a tyrant
Worra I may look back and think meh but I doubt I'll cringe. If only this was the most cringeworthy thing in my life, if only.....

Crawling Thu 21-Mar-13 09:40:53

grin well your taking it in good fun grin

kelda Thu 21-Mar-13 09:44:47

YANBU at any adult playing in the soft play and looking like they enjoy it.

Soft play is for the parents ie. ME to sit at a table as far away as possible, read my book and stick my fingers in my ears if necessary.

Sunnymeg Thu 21-Mar-13 09:49:57

I still remember a boy in my class breaking both his legs by climbing up a slide and then another lad coming down and straight into him. I have a real thing about slides now because of that.

zzzzz Thu 21-Mar-13 09:51:22

Over prescriptive playing is incredibly boring, YABRidiculous.

HugeFloweryPants Thu 21-Mar-13 09:56:29

I second the going down the slide not up thing. Every other child takes 20 seconds to go down, nice flow of children using it and no queue. Until one precious darling's turn has to be a prolonged effort to go UP it and a queue that never was forms of children that take turns/ down kick others in the face. Precious darling then turns round, slides down...and straight back up again going up and down until their bored while every other child waits.

I think it's fair to play with one rule:
don't do anything that is likely to upset/ hurt others

There's still loads to do without being annoying

WorraLiberty England Thu 21-Mar-13 10:03:16


I said exactly the same thing to my DH in bed last night....

katrinefonsmark Thu 21-Mar-13 10:10:32

I agree with worra, I clicked on this thread for same reason I stop the remote on qvc- incredulous at the banality. That aside op you're right. No balls up the slide.

I have never seen anyone doing this at soft play.

I have, however, seen children take the ride-on cars to the top of the slide and roll them down, which is dangerous, and could have someone's eye out. Pisses me off that the parents ignore this behaviour.

KatoPotato Fri 22-Mar-13 15:50:34

Oh Worra you made me 'audibly hoot' once again!

hopefloats Fri 22-Mar-13 16:02:02

OP, it is called 'performance parenting' and the same parents will be found singing Wheels On The Bus in the supermarket and reading a book REALLY LOUDLY in any medical waiting room, to their offspring. This proves they are very good parents indeed.

catgirl1976 England Fri 22-Mar-13 16:46:54

I just sang Wheels on the Bus to DS on the bus

I read to him in waiting rooms

And I actively play with him at soft play

I just call it "Parenting" though. It's not a performance.

SolomanDaisy Fri 22-Mar-13 17:22:31

If singing the wheels on the bus in the supermarket is performance parenting, I think MN has finally reached the stage where any form of interaction with your child outside the confines of your living room is considered performance parenting. What super cool relaxed parents!

hazeyjane Fri 22-Mar-13 18:41:04

hopefloats, you're kidding right?! Playing with your toddler, singing to them and keeping them entertained in a waiting room, are all fairly standard things to do with your children!

MrsKeithRichards Fri 22-Mar-13 22:19:50

grin at performance parenting.

None of your examples constitute performance parenting. Cool laid back parent attempt fail.

larks35 Fri 22-Mar-13 22:27:57

Oh for goodness sake! It is quite easy to explain to a toddler that throwing balls up a slide when others are using them isn't on, it is also quite fun to throw a ball up the slide to your toddler and have him roll it back down to you. It is also quite easy to explain to your toddler that climbing up a slide isn't the done thing even if other children do it. It is also quite easy to explain to your toddler that he isn't having choclolate buttons even if others are. etc. etc. etc...

Your child is always going to witness others doing stuff that you don't want him to do. Rather than expect everyone to behave the way you want your child to, you need to develop a way of explaining your expectations to him regardless of what other people do.

ItsAllGoingToBeFine Fri 22-Mar-13 22:35:34

I loathe kids climbing up the slide. I have seen plenty of adults taking out wee kids on the slide - once you are going you can't stop, and an adult has a fair amount of weight/momentum behind them.

Even a kid hitting another kid at slide speed is pretty dangerous.

Really scares me when I see toddlers trying to climb up the big slides. Even worse when you can't see them in a tunnel slide.

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