I am dying to take the kids to a playground. They are dying to GO to a playground.
Unfortunately, there are no playgrounds open yet. Interestingly, they are open one county to the north (Palm Beach), but I am not quite desperate enough to drive there.
(Yet.)
The case loads in this state have sort of stagnated at ~2-3K/day, with ~200 daily within our county. This is not 0, but it is certainly progress from ~2 months ago when the rates were 5-8x that. I feel like going to an outdoor playground (+ masks for the big kids & lots of hand sanitizer) would be reasonable.
(Plus it doesn’t seem to make sense that I could theoretically take them to Target, Flamingo Gardens, various restaurants, freaking MyGym and DISNEY WORLD — but not a playground. RIGHT?!)
Anyway, I’m off with both kids today and in lieu of the playground I suppose we will do our usual neighborhood walk + pool. Grateful that we still have these options.
And in other news, the world lost an amazing human last night.
I’ve heard people say that 2020 can’t get much worse but I’m not sure that’s true . . .
19 Comments
Absolutely playgrounds should be open. I think that was phase 2 here in dc. We raced over the first day they opened back in June.
Just a quick pro playground word! It’s been a life saver in Colorado. Not sure I ever thought something so simple could mean so much…
I agree it’s reasonable. Go early, sanitize often, and have fun!
it’s reasonable but they are CLOSED!!!!! like, roped off. frustrating!
Ugh! So annoying! Minus one for my reading comprehension.
Remembering the life of RGB should be a celebration! The sadness comes when women, mothers in particular, don’t understand why they get to live the kind of life they are living in the 21st century. That is the thought that brings me to tears.
Yes, I was just telling a friend that, young women not understanding what all RBG did for all women’r rights.
Our playgrounds here in Oregon finally open last week but then because of fires we could not even open our doors. So yesterday after much needed rain I took my kids and to the playground and it was amazing! I wanted to cry and at how wonderful it felt. The sense of normalcy and the fact that they were able to do a kid thing after so much has been taken from them was refreshing. Honestly, I think the drive would be worth it. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear about what you do!
That is frustrating that your playgrounds are still closed. We went to a small neighborhood playground the other day and brought a picnic lunch. We were the only ones there and it was awesome. The fact that they’re still closed is probably less related to safety and more related to who profits from their being open (i.e. families) vs who profits from the other places being open (corporations $$).
SO incredibly sad to read of RBG’s passing. And I agree, let’s not tempt fate. It could, and may, get worse.
Omg why are playgrounds closed? I agree that the reopening in many places (including my own area) is driven by $$$ not by science or actual value to people. Playground time (also masked to the extent possible- even my little guy who is roughly G’s age can do it for a little while) is basically the only thing we do outside out house/yard. We would be even more frustrated and sad without that. Meanwhile, plenty of people are participating in indoor dining and going to casinos. While my kids can’t go to real school. If I think about it too much I get so angry it’s not productive. This is why we need real leadership from our government right now!!!!
That is so strange that you can go to all those places but not the playgrounds. Ours opened in July, two weeks before childcare. Softplays etc are still closed. But having the playpark is amazing and I just can’t understand what the risk would be. We tend to go at quieter times, and hand sanitize when we arrive and leave, but I am pretty risk adverse and we went on the first day they opened.
Do any of the communities nearby (read: within 30 minute drive) have tot lots? For lack of better explanation, these are like mini playgrounds within neighborhoods – usually a slide, few swings, sometimes a sandbox or one other thing.
In our area, these opened before the “big official playgrounds” plus are just harder to enforce closures since they are usually tucked away often in wooded areas. We’ve been hitting them up for a while now and my oldest knows that he’s only allowed to go on the swings if there are other kids there – if empty, the whole thing is fair game. They aren’t as big so maybe wouldn’t provide as long of entertainment, but better than nothing – if they exist near you and are open! Maybe something to look for? (Or perhaps these are very local just to me and this is a terrible suggestion!)
I totally know what you mean, but I don’t think they are a thing here! Even our gated community playground is closed with caution tape & signs around it (but the pool is open? inconsistent!).
Bahhh that’s too bad. I totally feel for you. Though one thing we’ve discovered is that our four year old is really into tag – so now he just requires an open field and he’ll run around with us or his younger brother yelling “you’re it!!!” If we also bring a frisbee, soccer ball, and bubbles, we can actually kill like 1.5 hours in an open field with no other equipment! Hope your area decides to open things soon!
Ours are still closed in Los Angeles. I can’t wait for my kids to finally get to go to one! I never realized how much I could miss simple things like a playground!
Playgrounds have been open for most of the summer in MA, but they have been more of a mixed blessing than I expected. It has been sometimes been a wonderful option for my kids (3 and 6). However, they add a big undercurrent of stress for me because the level of crowding is so uncertain. I always have to warn my kids that it’s too crowded we can’t stay, and we have had times when unsupervised maskless kids showed up and I’ve had to take my crying kids home. Outside seems to be very low risk, but when the kids and parents around us aren’t wearing masks (with signs mandating them) it always makes me wonder what other risks they’re taking and want to stay away.
Ours are also still closed, although our neighborhood playground frequently has fence-jumpers (parents with two children under 5, for example) who are seen happily playing behind locked gates. And the second park in our neighborhood has had the gate ripped open and the signs torn down at least once. We have had at least one meltdown seeing the fence-jumpers, and it’s hard to explain to a 5 year-old! I hear our playgrounds will open soon, and I’m looking forward to it! I think most kids won’t be masked, but my kiddos will wear their masks and be happy to be out. It has been so hard lately – I’m glad our numbers are down (probably temporary), but am struggling with feeling like the only people carrying on with masks and distancing and virtual school. Even my medical friends are eating out multiple times a week and all their preschool and school-aged kids hang out (inside, unmasked) all the time, and I’m starting to feel like I’m crazy (even though I’m convinced we’re doing the right thing). This is hard for sure!
Ours have been open to ‘play at your own risk’ since June, I think? I was so glad because we don’t have much for outdoor toys at our house (we are super minimalists) so we lived for walks and time at the park to fill weekends. Our son is 2.5 and I can not get him to wear a mask, so I just make sure he stays away from other kids and I bring wipes to wash his hands. It seems like you are unlikely to get it from surfaces so I feel like the playground is a pretty safe place to take young kids. Our cases have never been really bad here in Minnesota, though. We had our 1-day high yesterday of 1300 cases. I hope it doesn’t continue to climb but with kids back at college, I kind of assume it will. But I don’t think we’ll ever get as bad as some states. Minnesota is pretty blue and people are great about wearing masks – or at least adults are!
All still closed here in San Diego. You can go to the casino or eat inside a restaurant but my poor kid can’t use a swing set 🙁 Similar disconnect to online school but everyone thinks youth sports every day of the week is just fine.