[blparent] kids and the park

Tue Jan 3 16:46:45 UTC 2012

Hello Miranda and List,
When we started taking Austin, our oldest, to the park, we always had him on
a child leash.  He was a little over a year old, so he wasn't great at
coming when called yet, and he has always been such an active "busy" boy
that I was always a little concerned that he'd run and play and would be
difficult to locate.  We always had bells on his shoes, which helped a lot,
but I felt a lot safer having him on the leash.  Of course that meant I had
to climb behind him.  This had great advantages.  I was able to talk to him
about everything we were experiencing together, I was able to make sure he
stayed safe, and if he fell, I was right there to make sure he was all right
and encourage him to climb again.  Of course there were disadvantages as
well...  Mostly that I couldn't talk to a lot of the other parents who were
just watching their kids from more of a distance.  As Austin has gotten
older however, we allow him to run around and play as long as he answers us
when we call him.  This was a slow transition, but has worked well so far.
If he doesn't answer, then we go home, period.  Now, we do take into account
that the play ground is large, so if he doesn't answer us the first time we
call we will move to a different area and call again.  If we find that he's
hiding however, and just chosing not to answer, then we will go home.  He
has actually never tried this, and he usually likes us to be near him when
he is playing, even if we don't climb around after him as much, so he's good
about telling us where he's going so we can follow him.  Now we're starting
all over with our daughter, Oriana.  She is much more cautious by nature,
and much more willing to hold hands, so we haven't used the child leash as
often with her.  Although she is still not two yet, so we do a lot of
climbing around after her to make sure she is safe.
	I think going to the park ahead of time to learn the lay out is a
great idea.  I also love to go during times that aren't so busy whenever
possible.  This means nice days when older kids are in school.  The older
kids at our playground tend to run around all over the place and aren't
great about looking out for little ones that may just happen to be "in their
way."  Of course, when summer comes, all bets are off smile.  But you can
still sometimes catch a break by eating an early lunch and going around noon
when a lot of families have gone home for lunch.  Of course, this is the
hottest part of the day, which may not be ideal either.
I hope some of this helps.
Melissa
-----Original Message-----
From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Miranda B.
Sent: Monday, January 02, 2012 3:53 PM
To: 'NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [blparent] kids and the park

Hi,
When your children are young, is there any way to go to the park without a
sighted friend and be able to get around well? This may sound like a silly
question. I'm just curious as to anyone's thoughts, experiences and tips.
I do know that going to the park ahead of time (maybe with a sighted friend)
and learning the layout is an obvious help of course. Any other ideas would
be great.
Thanks, and have a wonderful week!

In Christ, Miranda

-----Original Message-----
From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Veronica Smith
Sent: Monday, January 02, 2012 1:02 PM
To: 'NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [blparent] kids and the park

We all have that fear or I should say, I have that fear.  But we cannot keep
our children  in a glass bubble and kids must play.  If you have a big
enough backyard, you could have lots of play equipment, but you can't have
all the kids in the neighborhood.  Parks are fun and wide open.  You can
also play with them at the park, I do.  My daughter and I go once a week or
so and throw the Frisbee, I throw, she runs and we play kick ball, I kick,
she runs, we play tag and I chase her around and around and she laughs and
laughs, which makes it easy to find her.  I listen well and around and
around we go.  We take lunch and have picnics and when the other kids come,
I sit close by and listen to them.
We have contest of who can fly the Frisbee the furthest, or hit the birdie
the longest or with a soft at, hit the bll across the park.  

-----Original Message-----
From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Stephanie Mitchell
Sent: Saturday, December 31, 2011 10:10 PM
To: NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List
Subject: Re: [blparent] kids and the park

All the kids are sighted.  I guess it's my fear of something happening that
holds me back.
Steph

 ----- Original Message -----
From: "Jo Elizabeth Pinto" <jopinto at msn.com
To: "NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List" <blparent at nfbnet.org Date sent: Sat,
31 Dec 2011 21:19:04 -0700
Subject: Re: [blparent] kids and the park

Are your children sighted?  If you go and get a general idea of the park
layout when you don't have all of them with you, that might help.  
The older
ones will be handy to keep track of the baby, especially if they know to
come when you call them.  If you take the toddler by him- or herself, you
could follow along closely or put bells on the shoes, or a box of Tic-Tacs
in a pocket so you can track that way.

Jo Elizabeth

"How far you go in life depends on you being tender with the young,
compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of
the weak and the strong.  Because someday in life you will have been all of
these."--George Washington Carver, 1864-1943, American scientist

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Stephanie Mitchell" <mumwith2kids at gmail.com
Sent: Saturday, December 31, 2011 9:03 PM
To: "NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List" <blparent at nfbnet.org
Subject: [blparent] kids and the park

 I have a almost 5 year old and a 8 year old, and a 16 month old.  
One of
 the things that has really bugged me is going out with the kids.  
I'd
 never had the guts to take them to the park.  I'd wanted too, but am not
sure how I would keep a track on them all, esspecially when I don't know
the lay out etc.  So, do any of you do this? If so, how?
 Thanks,
 Steph

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