Prior to moving here, I posted about how I needed to learn how to be more social because Ishu is so enamored with other babies and people. He constantly wants to go up to other kids and play with them. Which makes me feel like I, in turn, need to make conversation with those kids’ parents.

And, as I mentioned in that post, I never had a dog growing up so making casual conversation in the park isn’t my forte.

(Now, plop me in a bar with a few glasses of wine in me and that’s a whole other story).

I’ve got some basic questions down.

“How old are they?”

“He seems so social! Does he go to daycare?” (<– This one was a great one to use a few days ago. Because I found out that she was not his mama, but his nanny. A nanny who also babysits on the weekend, so I snagged her number for the future!).

But we’re still hitting a few snafus at the playground.

And, mostly, it’s related to other kids’ toys.

Like, yesterday, for example. A kid walked in with a walker and then tossed it to the side so he could go play on the structures. And then Ishu caught sight of this walker and wanted nothing more than to play with it.

At first, I pulled him back, saying, “Oh, that’s not our toy. We can play with the bubbles we brought!”

But, obviously, he continued to play with the walker.

So I picked him up and said, “That’s not ours to play with. Let’s play with our toys” as I walked him over to the stroller to get our bubbles.

He started kicking and crying, legs flailing and arms reaching for the kid’s walker.

I looked around for the kid and his grandma. Wondering if I should ask the grandma if Ishu could play with it. But they were a little far off.

So, after a few redirects and failed attempts to pull him away, I sort of felt flustered and let him go for it. After a few minutes, I was able to pull him away to go look at the birds.

Eventually, he walked back down to the walker and the grandma said, “Oh he can play with that!”

I said, “Are you sure it’s OK?”

“Yes, yes, of course. He doesn’t even seem to notice,” pointing to her grandson.

So, Ishu happily pushed the walker around for 5 minutes. And I took a deep breath, relieved that all felt balanced again.

But it felt so confusing in the moment.

Like there are toys and dolls and cars and trucks all over the playground. And it’s quite impossible to get your kid to NOT pick it up and play with it. There are only so many times you can say, “Oh! That’s not ours!” And, even if I DID bring toys of his own that he could play with, he’d still be into other people’s shit.

So, that’s where I’m at. A little confused about how to navigate the public space with other people’s things.

Playground etiquette.

Screw all those lamaze and deep breathing and birth preparation classes. Playground etiquette classes are what this mama needs. Please and thank you.

Question of the Day:

What are your thoughts on this? Are toys free for all when they enter the playground? And, if not, how do you explain that to a 1-year old?