Playground Politics

We've been to the spray park every summer here. Somehow, we made it halfway through this summer before showing up.

"Hello, old friend," Shane thought and hugged the pole.

Shane made a friend instantly.

I brought a bad of paper and my phone and planned to relax and think, but I never seem to be fully able to. I watch Shane, watch the other kids, and watch the other parents instead. Situational awareness and observation are part of my profession.

There was definitely some playground politics that went underway for over half an hour. Shane and his new friend wandered off the spray park and onto the playground. There were a couple of older boys there (7-9ish?). They had a sandbox and some toys and Shane desperately wanted to join in (Shane's water park friend got bored and wandered off).

The boys let Shane stay in proximity at first, but it was clear some sort of drama or disagreement was building.

I watched, but was too far back to hear with all the other noises. I wanted to give Shane and the boys time to work out the issue on their own.

Later, an older girl (10? 11?) came and the boys seemed to be telling her that Shane wanted to use "her" sandbox. The parents of the other kids were closer and seemed oblivious. The instinct to swoop in and "rescue" my kid tugged at me.

This went on back and forth for almost fifteen minutes. There was no yelling, tears, fighting, or any red flags that signaled immediate attention. Eventually, Shane wandered over to me (and that's when the other parents started to pay attention).

"Daddy, they won't let me play in that sandbox. They think I want to use their toys, but I don't. I just want to dig. I don't want their toys, but they're stopping me." etc. Shane said. (Details are his thing).

"It's a public park. You can use the sandbox, but their toys are theirs. Go for it, bud. Be nice and have fun." I pitched my voice to carry without shouting.

"Ok!"

Shane bounded back off, and I heard one of the other parents say, "He can use the sandbox."

Shane was still young man of the group, but he managed to make himself useful. There was some sort of pool the kids wanted to build. He found a water bottle and filled it up from the spray park.

It took him a few times to figure out how to fill it quickly. The kids sent him back if it wasn't full.

Things went pretty well the rest of the time. Shane showed the boys how he filled it up so they could (and then kept explaining after they got the gist of it).

We spent around an hour and fifteen minutes at the park. I stayed under my tree in the shade, and the boys dug a "Pikachu pool."

When we left, the older boys were frustrated with each other. They were chasing each other on the playground and throwing mulch. I'd bet they were brothers. Shane was oblivious, because he was "washing" all the mud off in the spray park (I timed that well, heh). He played another five minutes in the water park before I threw him in the car (it was hot!).

Shane's a great kid. I know I'm biased, but I think he's remarkable for his age.

Meanwhile, I got jack done. My paper was nearly blank.