Park & Playground Etiquette

We go to the park quite often. I have made some general observations at the various parks we go to that really make me wonder about people sometimes. This has led me to make a list of park etiquette that I wish more people would observe.

1. Interact with your children. I don't know how many times I have seen parents just sitting off to the side or talking on their cell phones. Sure, some of the older children do not want to play with their parents if there are other kids to play with but when there are no other children around I think parents should interact more. I recently took my toddler to the park to play and when we arrived there was a mom sitting at a picnic table and her girls were standing there. The mom was yelling at the top of her lungs at the girls telling them to go play or they were going to leave. I took my son to a small jungle gym and a few minutes later the little girls came over to play there too. The older of the two (they were probably 5yrs & 2 yrs) said she wanted to play a game with her mom but her mom didn't want to. The little girl had tears on her face. I felt bad for her.

2. Don't dump you pop or juice anywhere near the play ground. News flash -- sweets attract ants, roaches, and bees. These are the last thing I want to see crawling on my son. I don't think people realize when they are sitting in a picnic gazebo that if they pour out the rest of their pop in the grass that it is going to draw ants or other pests. Here in the south I constantly see little ant hills on the edge of picnic gazebo's because people pour out the rest of their drink. Also, make sure to wrap all food items in plastic bags before throwing them in the on-site garbage cans. Otherwise flies will get in and lay eggs....hatching maggots and well, I am sure you can figure out the rest!

3.  Pick up trash. Seems like a no brainer right? The parks around my area are usually always clean. Sometimes we find a juice bottle or a pop can that someone probably just forgot. My husband and I try to pick those up if we see them laying around....even though they weren't ours. We like to take pride in the community, even if just a little effort such as picking up a pop can at the park.

4. If you must smoke around the kids PLEASE (I beg of you) put your butts in the garbage. As a former smoker, I know it is not that hard.

5. Don't let your kids be a bully or a brat. Teach them to be nice and play fair early otherwise your kid will not have friends later in life. No one likes a bully or a brat.

Does anyone else have any park pet peeves?