Does anyone else's toddler not actually play at the play ground?

Did anything happen to make him not like the slide or swings? My little boy had a bad experience on a slide once, which made him too scared to go on slides for a few months. We had to start him on a really small slide to get him confident enough to use them again.

good point. Could try showing them what to do. You know ru out the play things and talk about what you enjoyed. Could help them to feel brave again and ready to try again

@Rachel He went down a little baby one twice...and I think it tickled his tummy. So now he says he's scared. And won't get back on one. ...same with the swings

She loves the park until another child is on something next to her. Like if she’s on the swing and a child sits on the one next to her she will get off 🫣

If it’s a boy over the age of 5 running around she will freak and ask to leave or refuse to play on anything until the boys have gone.

When she was 2.5 she (accidentally the boy was very sweet and felt very guilty as was an accident) got completely wiped out by a boy about 8. Knocked her in the air and winded her/grazed her chin and since that moment she’s very very nervous around older boys.
She was getting better thanks to having a boy best friend but about 6 months ago a boy with additional needs slapped her as she came down the slide so we are back to square one of being terrified of older boys 🫣😂

Has something happened to cause him to be scared?

Give him time. Just keep taking him to the park so that he is exposed to the swings and slides, and hopefully, he will get the confidence to use them again one day x

Maybe do it with him? Like let him sit on your lap while doing it

My son says it tickles his tummy. But he ALMOST went down the slide today! Baby steps I suppose.

Also, I went down the slide to show him, and I got stuck in the middle because I have myself a thick backside. 🤣🤣

😂

You're not supposed to have children on your lap whilst going down a slide as you can break their legs if they get caught whilst going down.

I came to the comments to spread awareness about this too! Super dangerous

At 3 mine preferred to skate on his scooter at the skate park lol. He was given one for his 1st bday and we didn’t use it until 18m. From then? Game over. He wanted to go skate park nearly every day we were there 2-3 days a week lol. Try a scooter and take him to a skate park, or choose a park that squirts water so a water park. Mine loves getting wet on a hot day, and then he scoots to dry off, then he goes back and runs in the water. He loved the flying Fox too. I dunno my 3yr old is not shy, he’s very social very confident but I always let him do what he himself can handle and at 3, he can handle the flying Fox. He’s more inclined to run and jump on the playground if he’s w a friend and he had a couple of play date buddies from birth that we just invite each other out. He wants to play w Benji or Sebastian or Carter (boys he’s grown up with)

That’s completely okay & it is valid for him to feel scared. When he’s ready to try it then he can. I know it can be frustrating but there’s also probably a lot of sensory overload he’s experiencing & prefers low-stimulation. Understanding neurodiversity & how we ALL have different sensory inputs helps us understand how our sensory needs differ from our children’s & others’ as well as to meet our children’s needs & support em thru things like this. Follow @theotbutterfly on IG to learn more🫶🏼 And you can find more support thru these struggles with @themompsychologist & @biglittlefeelings on IG too