[blparent] playgrounds and climbing structures (Stairs)

Thu Oct 4 17:22:11 UTC 2012

I gated off the stairs because we have a tile floor at the bottom that 
wouldn't have been fun for a baby to land on.  But I put the gate about 
three steps up from the bottom so Sarah could practice going up and down. 
As of yet--knock on wood--she hasn't fallen down any stairs.  I can't say 
the same for myself, which is why we now have an unbreakable rule--any item 
found on the stairs that someone could trip on goes straight in the trash, 
no questions asked.

Jo Elizabeth

Truth is tough. It will not break, like a bubble, at a touch; nay, you may 
kick it about all day like a football, and it will be round and full at 
evening.--Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
-----Original Message----- 
From: Pipi
Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2012 7:41 AM
To: Blind Parents Mailing List
Subject: Re: [blparent] playgrounds and climbing structures

I didn't use baby gaits to block off our stairs when Savannah was a
baby. I sort of freaks out the first time she actually found the stairs,
but after thinking for a minute I calmed and realized that I'd rather
her learn from day one the safe proper way to go up and down stairs.
I did have the luxury of having wide carpeted stairs in the house at the
time. Where we live now, Savannah has fallen down the last few steps
recently and she is almost 4.
Pipi
On 10/3/2012 1:59 PM, Jo Elizabeth Pinto wrote:
> I read somewhere that it's better to expose your baby to stairs and teach 
> him because if you don't, the first time he encounters stairs, he won't 
> have any idea how to navigate them and he'll be in more danger than those 
> babies who have learned.
>
>
>
>
> Jo Elizabeth
>
> Truth is tough. It will not break, like a bubble, at a touch; nay, you may 
> kick it about all day like a football, and it will be round and full at 
> evening.--Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
> -----Original Message----- From: Brandy Wojcik
> Sent: Wednesday, October 03, 2012 12:49 PM
> To: 'Blind Parents Mailing List'
> Subject: Re: [blparent] playgrounds and climbing structures
>
> He is just the right age to start showing him how to go down stairs
> backwards. Ladders are a bit trickier, but as he goes up and down he will
> learn. Teaching him to say mommy help will also be good.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blparent [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Pickrell,
> Rebecca M (TASC)
> Sent: Wednesday, October 03, 2012 11:13 AM
> To: 'Blind Parents Mailing List'
> Subject: Re: [blparent] playgrounds and climbing structures
>
> You know, your son won't care about this structure for some time yet. I'd
> just keep him away from it until he gets the skills to play on it.
> If you have access to stairs, teach him how to use them.
> He's got lots of time to play on this structure.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Ronit Ovadia Mazzoni
> Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2012 11:01 PM
> To: 'Blind Parents Mailing List'
> Subject: Re: [blparent] playgrounds and climbing structures
>
> Hi everyone,
> Thanks for your responses. I guess I described the structure incurrectly
> because there were several places with drop-offs from high locations.
> Toddlers were playing on it but maybe it was not meant for toddlers. There
> were only rails on certain parts of the structure, not all parts. That is
> why I was nervous. My son is cautious, it's true, but he doesn't know when
> not to go off a ledge or down a stair. There were many stairs and he 
> doesn't
> know how to go down stairs and he doesn't realize that he doesn't know 
> how,
> so that was also a worry of mine.
>
> The suggestion of using my telescoping cane folded up is a good idea. I 
> will
> try that next time. I also have a leash and have started using it with him
> just around our complex. I never thought of using it on the playground or
> structures. I will have to try this to see if it would be a good solution, 
> I
> wouldn't want the leash part to get tangled while he was playing.
>
> Thanks for your thoughts. I don't feel comfortable just walking alongside
> this type of structure with all the openings yet, but maybe as he gets 
> more
> stable and older, I will.
> Thanks.
> Ronit
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Bernadetta Pracon
> Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2012 6:50 PM
> To: blparent at nfbnet.org
> Subject: Re: [blparent] playgrounds and climbing structures
>
> Ronit,
> Could you possibly walk alongside the structure on one side? If this is a
> toddler structure, I can't imagine that it's very tall, nor that it's not
> secured with rails on either side, or something similar. It's a tough call
> with newly walking toddlers, because though you want them to explore their
> environment and have experiences appropriate to their age, you also want 
> to
> watch out for their safety.
> I think you should stay close by and walk alongside or even around the
> structure as your son explores it,  and ask an available person who might 
> be
> willing to just keep an eye on him from time to time and let you know if
> anything's wrong. Climing up into the structure, while it might help you
> feel at ease regarding your son's safety, it will frustrate him, like you
> said, and might prohibit him from being able to establish friendships and
> connections with other kids at the park.
> Because, as you said, other mothers aren't in the structure with their 
> kids,
> so he might feel a little too singled out--the other kids might see that 
> as
> well. True, you have to approach things differently, and as a mother of a
> small child, I completely understand your apprehension for his safety. But
> sometimes, you just have to let things happen.
> Blind or sighted, if parents let their kids explore and play, injuries are
> bound to occur. Kids are kids. they have accidents. Yes, you might be
> scrutinized more heavily as a blind parent by onlookers and such, but the
> kids of sighted parents get into trouble at playgrounds too.
> It's really a question of how much you are willing to let him explore and
> how you'll deal with the potential of him getting injured--even slightly.
> My uncle took my two year old cousin to a playground a few years ago.
> He's a sighted, responsible parent. She went down a slide just a foot away
> from where he stood and her arm happened to be angled a certain way, so 
> that
> while she slid down, her arm broke in two places. He wasn't really able to
> do anything about preventing it short of not allowing her to go down the
> slide, or personally taking her down it.
> Sometimes, we just have to allow our kids a little bit of freedom, even if
> they're as small as toddlers. It's important for a child's independents to
> be able to explore in a presumed safe setting. I'm not saying we should
> allow  or kids to roam the streets alone or take bike rides at ten o'clock
> at night, but if you're at a playground and you're supervising your kid,
> there's only so much you can do. Let him go and explore a little.
> If you need a piece of mind, perhaps you can go to the park when there
> aren't any kids around, or at least not on that particular structure, and
> have someone sighted explain it to you in thorough detail. You can even go
> inside of it to explore it on your own and commit it to memory, so that 
> you
> can better gauge whether  this is safe for your son to go it alone.
> That's an idea.
> Hope it helps.
>
> Bernadetta
>
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