Playgrounds? I’m So Done With You

There was a very dark and boring period of time before spring when I couldn’t wait for playground weather. We’d been cooped up so long, confined to indoor playdates and play spaces for too long. We all wait for this every year, right? (And surely our kids do, too.)

Dream playground?

Like this guy, I might run away….

Last year our summer playground events were so easy peasy. I put Puff either in her carrier or stroller while watching and sometimes helping Squish. She was content in either location and usually napped for at least some portion of our outing.

The swings were simple, as I only had one child to push (although lifting a 35-lb 3yo into/out of a swing while a 10-lb baby is strapped to your chest is hard!) at the time.

I had only one moving human to follow.

Squish basically ran the show with no objections from anyone else.

I was pretty much old hand at getting just one kid cleaned up from the sandbox and mulch.

Yet this year … oh boy, I can’t wait for playground season to be over! I seriously underestimated how hard it would be to keep tabs on two young kids at a time around a crowded park. Holy cow, yo! My kids almost never want to be in the same location at the same time – unless it’s covering themselves (not literally) with sand from the sandbox. They both need and loudly demand my help in lifting, moving, pushing, and generally helping them navigate the playground – Puff because she’s still so little and short, and Squish because she’s a wimp when it comes to doing things on her own.

Basically, mothering at a playground is now the hardest thing I do, and I try to avoid it as much as I can. Is that sad? You can say yes … I kind of agree.

But boy, I am so sick of giving one kid the shaft (“Mom! Help me climb this ladder/rock wall/thingie! Help!”) while I have two hands on her sister as I help her climb something that’s obviously too big for her. It sucks. It just sucks not being in two places at once. Or having an older child who refuses to do things totally on her own.

One good thing about Squish being in preschool is that I can now take her little sister to the playground solo – and it’s easy again!

I remember when playgrounds were easy and fun … and I can’t wait until they are again – with two kids in tow!

Do you feel this way? Or do you kids play completely on their own while you relax on the park bench? (If so, I’m insanely jealous right now.)