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Citizen complaint of the day: Pushy toddler parents need to dial it back at Jamaica Plain playground
By adamg on Sun, 11/06/2022 - 3:53pm
A disgusted citizen files a 311 complaint about parents of toddlers forcing kids over 8 to leave the playground at the Lawndale Garden Terrace Park off the Southwest Corridor Park so their rugrats can play there:
Adults with toddlers have been asking children 8+ to leave the park so the toddlers can play but this space was designed for older children (7-12 I believe) and is nestled between two parks made for the 1-9 crowd. This is the only play space for older kids in the area and, although this should be able to be solved with friendly discussion, is isn’t happening. All of my experiences with older children and younger mixed have been fine but this is a recent change of dynamic and its unfair and isolating to older kids.
Earlier citizen park complaint from JP:
Out of control pickleballers in Jamaica Plain.
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Comments
Heh heh heh
What's the over under on the the people forcing the kids out having "No Place For Hate / Everyone Is Welcome Here" signs on their front porches? I'd bet the over.
Time for a bunch of fourth grades to organize a sit in. Stop toddler tyranny.
Oh, hell no.
Hope the parents of the older kids stood their ground and did not leave the playground. That’s an entitled snd unreasonable request. Man, people can be such turds.
That’s the new JP. So glad
That’s the new JP. So glad not to be there anymore.
I’m at this playground all
I’m at this playground all the time with my niece and have never witnessed an issue. JP doesn’t miss you.
This playground is definitely meant for older kids. It’s got a bunch of climbing stuff toddlers can’t do.
Kinopio is the exact kind of
Kinopio is the exact kind of point-scoring douche I am glad to be away from.
Yawn
Yeah, lots of white people tell people of color they've never noticed racism somewhere that plenty of racism occurs.
Opportunity to teach their kid a life lesson
Sometimes even if you’re right, the argument isn’t worth it.
If I was the parent I’d be tempted to leave because finding another spot is more fun than arguing with an Ahole in a playground.
We Left
We did leave because my son was visibly upset by the way the dad was speaking to me. There was no reasoning with this man, who ironically was on the play structure himself telling our kids they were too old.
Also, I'm the parent of Black children. I've seen too much to know how this can go if I remain arguing with this man. He considered them a threat before they even started playing (they were discussing a cops and robbers type game broken into two teams) and felt entitled enough to speak directly to the kids when I was 15 feet away. He in no way responded respectfully when I approached him calmly and in fact told me to "Stop talking." I no longer felt safe to be honest and my kids were done with playing before they started.
Awful. Hate how Black
Awful. Hate how Black children aren't allowed to be children in this country.
Sigh.
I'm so sorry this happened to you, and my first thought was to wonder whether this was white parents being afraid of Black and brown children, as I've experienced so much with my own kids.
This is exactly what I imagined probably was the case; highly privileged first-time parents of toddlers really really want this sort of world where their kid never plays with plastic toys, doesn't know TV exists, has never witnessed a conflict, and so forth. They have no perspective that even the most Waldorfed and Montessoried kids are still going to engage in horseplay and polarizing-type games and whatnot when they're the age to do such things, because that's normal child development. And it's of course amplified in their minds when it's Black and brown children horsing around and calling each other "bad guys" and whatever.
Sorry you had to deal with
Sorry you had to deal with this brat. He sounds like the worst kind of parent. Part Karen part helicopter parent.
I had a really bad feeling
about this story, mostly because I was afraid it was going to end up being another case of jackass white guys targeting POC. And here we are. I am deeply sorry this happened to you. If you are able to provide a description of the jackass in question, I promise I will keep an eye out for him, and I really, really hope that I'm there if this kind of thing ever happens again. It is some unbelievable bullshit that this happened, and I want to make sure you never have to deal with it again.
Are the parents of the older kids there?
I wonder if the parents with toddlers are talking to parents of older kids, or asking unaccompanied older kids to leave. It might be easier to intimidate an 8 year old than a 40 year old.
Possibly, yeah
I live literally across the street from this playground, and my kids play there all the time. Sometimes they play there unaccompanied (because, again, I can watch them from the front window). There's also a local contingent of ~9 year olds who live within ~100 yards of said playground, who I often see playing solo either there or at the adjoining skate park. I've never heard of anything like this happening to kids at the playground. That makes sense, because as others have pointed out, most of the equipment on this particular playground is geared for kids 5 and up. But now I'm gonna start hanging out within earshot, and the first parent I hear pulling this kind of shit with an 8-year-old is going to get to talk to an irate 6-and-a-half-foot-tall 40 year old instead.
Nope
Absolutely he did not speak to me.
When I asked him why he didn't come to me with his concerns he said "What do I have ESP?"
FFS
So, weighing in as a former developmental psych person with early childhood clinical certifications...they aren't making the correct argument if they claim this is about safety.
Developmentally appropriate playgrounds do have equipment for different ages, and it should be separated for safety. You actually don't typically want school-age kids running around on structures with toddlers or preschoolers on them.
However, where on earth are they getting 8? Playground equipment is sold based on motor skills and typical size. They're typically sold for 9-23 months (toddlers), 24-48 or 24-60 months (preschoolers) and 5-10/11/12 depending on the brand and whatnot (school-age). And of course in practice there will be some overlap, as you get kids with advanced or delayed motor skills who might do better on the other equipment. But if they're kicking out kids over 8 rather than like 4 or 5, this means they apparently think it's fine for a 25-lb kid who's walked for a few months and an 80-lb kid who can sprint and jump off of structures to be on the same equipment. In other words, they don't actually have safety concerns; I imagine it's probably about moral fragility and they don't want to have to potentially explain to toddlers that school-aged kids are allowed to come and go unsupervised and might play in ways in which they taunt each other etc. God forbid people have multiple children or go to multi-age spaces where you might have kids at different stages and might not be able to maintain blissful toddler utopia.
Also, I'm familiar with this playground. Like most playgrounds in the city, it's kind of a hybrid of 2-5 and 5-10 equipment since it has a rope net and a pole, but also it's compact and doesn't have extensive platforms where school-aged kids can really get up enough running speed to trample anyone. These people should fuck off, and should learn a little more about child development.
Thank you!
To be clear - it wasn't "Age 8" it was "You're too old to be here" to a group of kids and it's not the first time as you can see from other comments.
Resolution: People’s Court
This dispute needs to be televised. I would like to see Judge Wapner, or Judge Judy, or any of the afternoon court room types sort this one out.
Actually I just want to hear the lame adult complainer present their case in public.
I'm not sure if you are
I'm not sure if you are referring to me as the complainer but to be clear I didn't file a complaint, I just requested new signage on the age appropriateness of the park. In the description section was the text you saw. The whole "Dial back" "disgusted" etc. was all words Universal Hub put on a simple 311 request for signage to avoid future disputes.
Treating Playgrounds like dog parks...
...is not how Boston playgrounds work. They've never worked that way. Unaccompanied children have always been welcome anywhere in Boston.
I'll grant you though that there are portions of playgrounds exclusively designed for toddlers. I wonder if the big kids are hogging the little kids equipment?
Having checked out a Google Street view image (Use 186 Lamartine St) of the playground equipment it does look like little kid equipment but that's no reason for older kids not to hang out there. Teenagers on the other hand would be ridiculous just hanging out there unaccompanied by little kids. So not cool.
Why mention dog parks? Kids
Why mention dog parks? Kids get so many comparisons to dogs. Having a dog doesn't make you a parent.
Having a child doesn’t automatically make you
A parent too.
I mentioned dog parks
Because there are parks made specifically for dogs but entitled dog owners routinely try to make all parks, dog parks @Plen-T-Pak. Playgrounds are made for all young children unless something has seriously changed.
OT: When @robo is right, he's right.
But parents aren't entitled?
But parents aren't entitled? ROTFLMAO
Thank you for the gut buster today - you made my Monday.
Parents aren't entitled - that's a knee slapper. LOLOL
Your reading comprehension
Your reading comprehension seems very low anonymous poster. I'd hide behind "anon" myself if I was going to post something that stupid and condescending.
What happened to the
What happened to the wonderful neighborly JP vibe?
That left a long time ago.
That left a long time ago. It's JPlandia now...
This never would have
This never would have happened in old Southie.
He's not lying!
This has happened to me at that park. Most parents are great but lately I can't bring my 11 and 12 year olds in there without dirty looks from parents of younger children. My sons are respectful but play age appropriate games and JP parents love to judge each other.
Well the good news
is that in six years, these parents of toddlers will be parents of 8-year-olds, and I am 100% certain that they will have the ideological consistency and fear of hypocrisy to keep their kids away from these parks, and not start yelling at parents of toddlers that this is a park meant for older kids.
Nice dream...
...but the odds are against you.
Always some stinky apples in the best looking barrel
I've been in JP for 14 years. Have met many folks with longer residences. There are stinkers among them. Folks who have perfected the street angel, house devil style. Local worthies who will cheat a person out of money or stab them in the back when they don't get their way.
But on balance I believe that JP is an excellent place to live. Aside from the local nasty nabobs I believe that most folks in JP are decent. I base that claim on experience.
Add that JP offers a rarity of inestimable value. An embarrassment of riches in parks. Consider the research that indicates that spending time in a park has positive correlation to good mental health. For an urban area, where there is also easy access to downtown (well, when the Orange line runs well), this neighborhood is a great area to live in.
What was the purpose of making this comment?
"Someone else experienced racism in this neighborhood, but I assure you that I find it a good place."
Uh...OK?
No surprise here
I am not surprised that the above commenter would find it necessary to put down a comment which notes that - believe it or not - there are still decent people in a beauty in this neighborhood for anyone to enjoy. Sad, but given usual tone of negative comments, predictable. Words written while wearing a cloak of superiority adds nothing of value. That is the kind of negation I would expect from the circle of Donald Judas Trump. But not from a person claiming to be progressive.
A close reading, instead of looking for opportunities to add to noise, is revelatory. Early in the string is a comment titled
I chose to disagree with that comment by pointing out that there are both stinkers in JP who are not part of "the new JP." But the apparent need to offer meaningless challenge does help support that person's sarcasm.