babsi

This is one of my hates here that none of the parks are gated, the town I come from in England the parks are gated properly - some even have a section for little and one for older kids.

My little boy just loves to run about, that is all he does when he is there, we had a near miss at the weekend with an escalator and since then my anxiety about something happening has increased.

In the last week or since the better weather we have been to park, there is one that we don't go to because imo it is too near a busy main road.

I posted about something similar on another forum and lot of people were saying that they wouldn't go to a park with their little ones unless they were gated.

Do other people feel the same as this? Should parks be gated?

mart2612

i know what you mean, even the gardens have no fences round them,
some gardens have electronic fences for there dogs, i had to laugh maybe thats what they do to the kids as well
i thought it was just my kids that tried to escape from everything

Ben W Bell

Some parks are indeed gated. Stanley Park on King is gated I believe as I go past it every day.

babsi

There are no gated parks within walking distance for me which is my point. There are 6 parks off the top of my head that aren't gated.

One park near here has the park, pavement, busy road, it only takes seconds for something to happen.

Maybe Stanley Park is gated because it is on King as it very busy, at last they are using some common sense.

The incident on Saturday really shook me up, my husband and I both thought the other was holding his hand and then we saw him running towards an escalator going down, it was very close, very.

Almost Canadian

I can't see what the problem is here. If you are that concerned, keep a careful watch on your boy

minihaha

When you have a really spirited little boy like I do, things can happen in seconds. It only takes them a split second to decide to run off not aware of any dangers around them. It is extremely difficult at times to always have you eyes on them especially when in a store with many people about and loud distractions for the child.

Sorry there are no gated parks near you. When you have a child so full of energy it can turn a nice relaxing day at the park into something so not fun at all. Fill your car trunk full of so many distracting toys and games as you can.

And if needed use a whistle to get his attention if he decides to run off. Sounds like treating him as a dog but hey if it works and he might like the game of runnning back to Mommy for a treat when he hears the whistle.

good luck hel soon grow our of it im sure.

x mrs minihaha

iaink

The main kids play area in Belleville is gated...but of course other people are coming and going all the time so its not hard for them to escape anyway.

Its always a parents job #1 to keep an eye on them regardless.

mart2612

i agree that split second is all it takes, it can make outings very stress full even the best behaved child and watching them closely just a second can change everything

babsi

You know the insinuations here that I don't keep an eye on him are a bit below the belt.

I don't just have my eye on him, I am following him wherever he goes, I can't do much more than that.

He is 2 so he doesn't listen to me especially when he has all that space.

I am seriously thinking about posting elsewhere with the sly digs all over the place on this particular forum, this is a topic I have been worked up since Saturday over, this isn't just a debate on some news, this is actual real life.

At least in England they have the common sense to have gated parks, I think it could be a law, but oh no you can't keep your children locked up here, you get enough dirty looks and even comments if you take the reins out. Canada, so wonderful.

Thanks minihaha for your words, he is 4, so at least another 2 years of this.

mart2612

my little boy is 3 and he has always been a live wire and at that age they have no sence of safety or consequences. it was one of the things that shocked me about canada is that no where had gates or fences and i know that i will really struggle with that for my children as i will be staying beside a lake. i am a nursery nurse and safety is everything and if you have 2 children you cant shadow both at the same time.

babsi

mart 2612, it just takes a second, that is all, there is park we go to that has 1 section for kids and then for dogs.

I really try and teach Kai not to go the dogs area, but he sees one and runs over and I am chasing after him as I don't know what these dogs are like, but I know what he is like. Then the road is really nearby. It is really stressful constantly being with him and sometimes thinking ahead. Another thing we can be on the see saw either end, he gets off quickly and is running somewhere. I just want to have a gate, that is all, what harm does it do anyone?

mart2612

i totally understand it is ok people saying watch them but i know how quick they can be,
they are not developmentally able to understand at 2. 2 year olds are a handfull without being in a stress full situation.
i cant work out why one of the most safety concious countries doesnt have fences and gates.
have u lived there long,
my daughter was 3 and let go of my hand and ran out of a shop and down an escalator, i was frantic as i was holding her hand and just a split second she was gone.

Almost Canadian

I wasn't implying anything.

I just said that if you were that concerned about it, keep an eye on him.

I can't believe that any youngster is able to outrun a physically capable adult that is keeping an eye on them

dthomas

In Northern Quebec we don't have gates either, but we do have a simple solution: .308 caliber. This solves all of our dog problems. I suppose you could use a .22 snub nose in the 'burbs - just remember to keep pulling the trigger till it goes 'click'.

http://www.alexross.com/81122-big.jpg

minihaha

It depends how much of a head start they get. When in a park you tend to give them a bit more freedom, then when they do bolt on you its amazing how much speed they can soon do. Ive had to rugby tackle my 3 year old just before a road he couldnt see when he bolted out of a park one day. When they wanna go they go.

mrs minihaha