Cronky Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 It makes you bloody weep: Parents no longer required to look after their kids The final push toward state control of children began this week in Watford, as the Council declared two adventure playgrounds were no-go areas for parents. Council rules excluding adults apply to two undercover play areas - Harwoods and Harebreaks. Early reports suggested that parents now needed to be CRB checked in order to supervise their own children. This was denied by a spokeswoman for the Council, who explained that it was simply inappropriate for parents to remain on site. and "Parents drop children off and it is then the job of play workers to manage the children. If adults are on site, it prevents them looking after the children, as they have to spend time managing the adults, which is not their job. She further explained that this situation is no different from that which operates in schools or nurseries and parents would not expect to be allowed to come into those places. How long before some daft muppet of a civil servant in the Isle of Man suggest we copy this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cronky Posted October 29, 2009 Author Share Posted October 29, 2009 It's also reported in the Daily Telegraph: Council bans parents from play areas Only council-vetted "play rangers" are now allowed to monitor youngsters in two adventure areas in Watford while parents must watch from outside a perimeter fence. and Councillors in Watford claim they are only following Government guidelines and cannot allow adults to walk around playgrounds "unchecked". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slim Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 The final push toward state control of children began this week in Watford, as the Council declared two adventure playgrounds were no-go areas for parents. More misleading and sensationalist reporting. These aren't playgrounds, these are drop in centres similar to the schemes the MSR run here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbms Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 Does not matter what they are, what right does any council have to deny a parent the right to supervise them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scarbunny Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 It depends, are the parents trained in supervising the activities the children are involved in? From Watford councils website Activities include: Half-pipe, zip line, American swing, den building, arts and crafts, plus a wide range of sports activities. If the staff have to be concerned for the welfare of the parents as well as the children then it reduces the level of care and supervision being shown to the people who are doing it. OK so den building and arts and crafts are parent friendly, but would you want to be watching over your kids doing this a school? These play parks are like the Venture Centre, I know as a kid I would rather not have had my parents around fussing when I was doing that sort of stuff. This doesn't appear to be a "keep parents away they might rape and murder the little ones" type decision more a "keep parents away as they get in the way and make it more dangerous" type decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slim Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 This doesn't appear to be a "keep parents away they might rape and murder the little ones" type decision more a "keep parents away as they get in the way and make it more dangerous" type decision. Exactly, reading between the lines there's quotes from the council about the staff not having time to manage parents as well as children and about people using it as a meeting place for parents. Sounds very much to me like they've got a problem with cling-on parents and have invoked the most literal interpretation of the register to get rid of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 Does not matter what they are, what right does any council have to deny a parent the right to supervise them. Parents don't sit in classrooms supervising the lessons, or stand on the sidelines during football training or at the back during ballet practise. I feel so sorry for kids nowadays, ferried everywhere, all play supervised, everything done with Mum & Dad watching and commenting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slim Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 I feel so sorry for kids nowadays, ferried everywhere, all play supervised, everything done with Mum & Dad watching and commenting. And worrying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDave Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 I went to these supervised activity things when I was a kid - ran by the local community/sports centre where parents could drop of their kids for the day during the school holidays. I don't recall any of the parents hanging around back then. In fact they couldn't get away quick enough! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarface Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 If you have kids, try organizing a party for them and their friends, one Saturday afternoon, at say two o'clock. The first thing you'll see as you get to the venue at one forty five, (Jungle world was ace! :( ), is that despite the fact that you said "Two", there are usually at least a couple of kids and their parent(s) waiting, poised and ready to leave their little darlings with you, so they can go shopping, unencumbered, for the max amount of time. I would, under the circumstances expect and encourage the parents of younger children to remain. Anyone who asked if they could help out would be made most welcome. The fact is, that a lot of parents are very glad of the babysitting services that a party provides and quite honestly, based on our own experiences, I cannot see many people kicking up a fuss, since in the main they can't get away fast enough Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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