Last night a neighbor set up one of those huge water/slip in slides that you slide down. They asked ds if he'd like to, so I let him. However, I took a lawn chair and put it on our deck so I could see ds, 6.5. He does not know how to swim yet and although those things aren't deep I'm really cautious about water.

There were about 12 kids on the thing, ranging in age from about 11 to under 3. Although the parents were all 'there' no one was 'watching' except me, and then I was joined by dh when he got home. I should add here that when ds went down 'funny' and was sputtering, I ran over there and just 'joined' them even though the neighbors were having their own picnic and didn't technically invite us. It was a little ackward, but I wanted to be there to watch ds.

Anyway, It started to get rough (there were all boys there) and kids were going wild on the thing. At one point, the boys were tossing wet tennis balls at each other, which is fine but when wet tennis balls are heavy and I was worried ds would get clonked in the face!

The crowning glory was when there was only one boy on the top of the slide, and another one decided to deflate the slide! The boy (around 9) was caught in between the top of the slide and the top of the 'structure'. As ds was not on it at the time, my attention was elsewhere and Finally one of the parents noticed what had happened and started to re-inflate the thing.

Am I the only one ever that worries about safety?!! It seems like no one even cares! I know I'm on the overprotective side, but would this sceanario not bother anyone else at all?!

Wherever I go, I feel like the odd man out because safety just doesn't seem like an issue anymore! I mean, every 20 mins. or so I told ds to get out and take a rest - he was exhausted and I didn't want him to get too tired in the water. Of course he resisted, but we pushed the issue and made him rest for a moment or two before starting the next round.

Maybe I'm just hopelessly stuck in the 40's. I just don't know.

Well...everyone is different, obviously. I would let my child go on the slip and slide - even a non swimmer, there is no 'swimming' on it at all and a very thin layer of water. It's safe IMO. My kids love the slip and slide - the more the merrier! We often have 10 + kids in our yard using ours. They put dish soap on it, to make it 'faster'...LOL!

I guess I'm wondering what kind of slip and slide this is where you wanted him to rest 'out of the water'. Was it a pool too?

How does your DS feel about this? I guess to me, yes, it seems a bit overprotective, but we're probably all overprotective about different things. A wet tennis ball...what IF indeed your son got hit with it. Then what? He wouldn't be hurt badly by it...kwim? It's a ball. They're playing. Kwim? The slip and slide is safe, even when it's deflated...a slip and slide - wouldn't bother me. Whether it's inflated or not, it's safe IMO. But perhaps something that wouldn't bother you - would bother me.

Please don't take offense to this but do you think you're OVERLY anxious about your DS? If so, maybe it's something to talk about with your doctor?

I know you feel like you're the only one that cares about safety...I can't speak for your neighbors, but I can say for myself that I do care about safety but I also let my kids do things too. I think it's important for them to learn their independence, get some bumps and bruises, learn how to interact with others etc on their own. I don't want my kids to have to rely on me being there all the time and I want them to have the skills to speak for themselves, know what to do in different situations etc But that's just me of course.

Well I think there's a happy medium. I am known for being overly protective in many ways. But at the same time, I believe you have to let kids be kids and sometimes that means getting hurt or upset. Most of the things you described probably wouldn't have bothered me that much. Yes, I wouldn't want my child to get hit with a ball in the face, but on the body...not that big a deal. I guess the part I REALLY don't get is the rest every 20 mins thing. I would think if your child was tired he would automatically rest.

I do think it's important to protect our kids, but it's also important to not hover to the point they can't appropriately interact with other kids. I'm sorry you're feeling like the "odd man out".

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If these other kids were constantly taken to the emergency room or had other Life threating things happen to them Daily while no one watched them , I Would Worry.
But in General I Think kids can take a lot and can be really rough and Crazy and still be OK.

What if you hadn't run over? It doesn't seem like he actually needed your assistance.

Why is this a huge deal? We have a inflatable slide like that and it occasionally comes unplugged. Even my two year old thinks it's hilarious. All that happens is that the slide very slowly deflates and someone gets it going again after a few seconds, usually before it even gets close to the ground. While obviously not desirable from a safety standpoint, it's really not that big of deal. A nine year should VERY easily be able to free himself with any risk. We also have a bounce house and that occasionally comes unplugged. While I see how a very, very young child may become trapped in that situation, it seems unlikely that someone wouldn't notice in plenty of time.


I do worry about safety but I also let the kids be kids. Nothing you described in your scenario sounds especially dangerous. I am sorry your feeling left out. You have an only child, right? I think something that might not be obvious to you is how siblings, and just older children in general, look after each other, rather naturally. We have several families that we get together with and have since all the kids were babies. I pay far less attention to the kids in that setting and from the outside, it may look like I'm not paying enough attention but these kids really do an incredible job of looking out for each other and making sure everyone get a turn, isn't left out, etc. They actually tends to do BETTER without an adult constantly sticking their nose in. The oldest in out group is 12 and my daughter, at 2 1/2, is the youngest.

I don't think I explained it correctly. It is called a slip and slide - but it was one of those huge inflatable Slides that shoots water down into a pool. It has another inflatable flat part like the 'old' slip and slides. Think of an air mattress squired with water. I was fine with that.

But the slide structure that went into a pool was about 12-15 feet tall and went into a pool.

I agree, if were an 'old style' slip in slide with the thin plastic, it would be no big deal. This was more a giant inflatable slide. Hope that clears it up.

Okay, by reading the responses so far, yes I guess I really am the odd man out!

Please don't take this the wrong way, but you made him get out every 20 minutes? That seems a bit excessive for a 6 and a half year old. I'm assuming he was wearing water wings or something, since you mentioned he couldn't swim yet and was sliding into a pool? What possibly could have happened to him in the 10 seconds that it would have taken to jump in the pool if he did start getting in distress , since it sounds like you were within 20 feet of him once you went over to the party.

I don't have kids yet, and I obviously wasn't there. But, the way that you have posted reminds me of my SIL. She is overprotective and it rubs off on the kid in the form of him being scared of many things and feeling like he has to ask her permission for every little thing (literally, Mom, can I go outside with Uncle Jay and play catch-even though he is almost 8 and we are at a dinner at their house)

I am not saying that you are like that at all, but I agree that there is a happy medium.

I'm a mama that stalks my kids at that PARK! Because there are tons of kids being unsupervised there and older kids running around little kids like nothing. Those structures can be very dangerous. I don't ever see how a mother or father can sit on a bench across the grass from the play center while there small child plays on a very large playset where they can't see them.

I'm way over hawk mama and I don't care what anyone thinks.

I think you did what you felt was safe and comfortable for your family!! I think its great you were watching over him and I personally don't like odd neighbor kids coming over or being invited over and their parents just stay closed in the house, I love it when a parent is active and involved.

Another reason why I can't stand play groups for moms groups...they all sit around or stand around talking and not paying attention to their children. NOT MY STYLE.

So mama...it's ok to be overly protective. Those that are kept close will be less likely to get hurt or kidnapped!

At my house balls aren't allowed to be thrown when others are nearby. They are to be thrown where no one is near.

As far as water activities it's very supervised where I live and I refuse to allow 2 or 3 kids going down the slide at once. No matter the size of slide.

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Happily married to my geek
Proud homeschooling, cloth diaperin, attached parenting, slinging, simplier, breastfeedin, sewing mama mades, christian and funky mama

I'll be an "odd man out" with you, Stormy.

First, I want to tell you that you will probably relax a bit more as your DS gets older and stronger -- I did.

I can see just the scenario you are setting up. The adults are having a good time and are not watching the slide. There are a lot of kids, and they are getting wound. The wet tennis balls, to me, is not something I would want to have my kid dodging. If the kids were all the same age, maybe . . . .

My worry would be that the kids would slide down on top of each other and keep someone under in the pool area too long. So, I understand your concerns.

Just for a laugh, I'll tell you my best "Weird Mom" story. We were at a T-Ball game, and a storm was blowing in. The clouds were black. We could hear thunder, and there was lightening off in the distance. I kept waiting for someone to call the kids off the field, and no one did. When the teams switched and my DD was put out in center field, I stood at the fence and called her in, walked her over to the coach and explained that we were going to have to leave because of the storm. I felt like such an IDIOT, but as we were leaving, I saw other moms going to collect their kids. They were feeling uncomfortable too, but they didn't know what to do.

You know, parents raise their kids many different ways for many different reasons. Don't feel bad for doing what you think is best. I think your DS will be the best one to tell you if you are being overprotective. Watch him for signs of wanting to be independent, and let him do as much as he can on his own, but be there to monitor the situation -- that's my advice.

Marlene