"Playground Assistant" -- hire a 5 year old at $5/hr

[Anonymous]

Strange!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Letting your kid go around begging ("selling" junk) is a good way to make the neighborhood dislike you.

Could work that way, didn't for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the one hand, this sounds an awful lot like trying to host paid playdates.

On the other hand, my older kiddo, at age 5, would have made an excellent playground mother's helper for the younger kids. She was very interested in helping 2-3yo kids and less interested in playing with other 5yo. I say this mostly jokingly. At 7, that same kid would've made a great playground monitor and would have 100% told everyone how to use every single piece of equipment.

If that was my kid I would have been concerned that she didn't seem to have age appropriate friends or behavior. Nobody wants to play with the kid bossing them around telling them they're doing it wrong.

DP with a similar kid, and your concerns are ridiculous. My daughter became a CIT at 12, junior counselor at 16 and head counselor at 18 with several college students reporting to her. Graduating with a degree in Early/Elementary education next year. She just loves little kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the one hand, this sounds an awful lot like trying to host paid playdates.

On the other hand, my older kiddo, at age 5, would have made an excellent playground mother's helper for the younger kids. She was very interested in helping 2-3yo kids and less interested in playing with other 5yo. I say this mostly jokingly. At 7, that same kid would've made a great playground monitor and would have 100% told everyone how to use every single piece of equipment.

If that was my kid I would have been concerned that she didn't seem to have age appropriate friends or behavior. Nobody wants to play with the kid bossing them around telling them they're doing it wrong.

DP with a similar kid, and your concerns are ridiculous. My daughter became a CIT at 12, junior counselor at 16 and head counselor at 18 with several college students reporting to her. Graduating with a degree in Early/Elementary education next year. She just loves little kids.

Whatever. Kids work on social skills for reasons. It's important that kids get along with their peers. Kids constantly seeking out younger peers would concern me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the one hand, this sounds an awful lot like trying to host paid playdates.

On the other hand, my older kiddo, at age 5, would have made an excellent playground mother's helper for the younger kids. She was very interested in helping 2-3yo kids and less interested in playing with other 5yo. I say this mostly jokingly. At 7, that same kid would've made a great playground monitor and would have 100% told everyone how to use every single piece of equipment.

If that was my kid I would have been concerned that she didn't seem to have age appropriate friends or behavior. Nobody wants to play with the kid bossing them around telling them they're doing it wrong.

DP with a similar kid, and your concerns are ridiculous. My daughter became a CIT at 12, junior counselor at 16 and head counselor at 18 with several college students reporting to her. Graduating with a degree in Early/Elementary education next year. She just loves little kids.

Whatever. Kids work on social skills for reasons. It's important that kids get along with their peers. Kids constantly seeking out younger peers would concern me.

Np. Do you have experience with kids other than raising your own? This is normal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter used to go door to door selling painted rocks and drawings she had made to the neighbors, she made a lot of money that way. At age 5 or 6. A few years later she sold bracelets she had woven. I had nothing to do with any of it.

Odd that you are bragging about being a negligent parent. If a random 5 year old came peddling at my door with her parent nowhere in sight, I'd call the police.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A parent on a neighborhood listserv is trying to market her kindergarten-age daughter -- "highly verbal," "highly entrepreneurial," and "preschool graduate" -- as a paid mother's helper at the playground for kids ages 3+. The girl is asking $5 an hour to interact with kids. Mom says she will linger in the background and offers to keep a look out "discreetly supervising for safety/quality control," but makes it clear that she thinks her daughter should/can be the one to actually watch other people's children. The idea that the girl will eventually want her own push on the swing or a turn on the slide herself doesn't seem to have occurred to her -- although she does call it a "playdate" when she encourages people to contact her to arrange an outing.

Any chance she's trying to be cute or clever, and actually advertising her own babysitting business? I've seen people advertise when they are looking for a nanny or dogsitter--writing the ad from the point of view of the baby or dog. Maybe she's trying a similar tactic, but writing from the point of view of her own child who will also be around.

[Anonymous]

So tacky.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the one hand, this sounds an awful lot like trying to host paid playdates.

On the other hand, my older kiddo, at age 5, would have made an excellent playground mother's helper for the younger kids. She was very interested in helping 2-3yo kids and less interested in playing with other 5yo. I say this mostly jokingly. At 7, that same kid would've made a great playground monitor and would have 100% told everyone how to use every single piece of equipment.

If that was my kid I would have been concerned that she didn't seem to have age appropriate friends or behavior. Nobody wants to play with the kid bossing them around telling them they're doing it wrong.

DP with a similar kid, and your concerns are ridiculous. My daughter became a CIT at 12, junior counselor at 16 and head counselor at 18 with several college students reporting to her. Graduating with a degree in Early/Elementary education next year. She just loves little kids.

Absent any other issues, it’s not concerning, but pp is correct that a child’s tending to do better socially with younger kids and adults than with same age peers is very common in kids within certain disorders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the one hand, this sounds an awful lot like trying to host paid playdates.

On the other hand, my older kiddo, at age 5, would have made an excellent playground mother's helper for the younger kids. She was very interested in helping 2-3yo kids and less interested in playing with other 5yo. I say this mostly jokingly. At 7, that same kid would've made a great playground monitor and would have 100% told everyone how to use every single piece of equipment.

If that was my kid I would have been concerned that she didn't seem to have age appropriate friends or behavior. Nobody wants to play with the kid bossing them around telling them they're doing it wrong.

DP with a similar kid, and your concerns are ridiculous. My daughter became a CIT at 12, junior counselor at 16 and head counselor at 18 with several college students reporting to her. Graduating with a degree in Early/Elementary education next year. She just loves little kids.

Whatever. Kids work on social skills for reasons. It's important that kids get along with their peers. Kids constantly seeking out younger peers would concern me.

Np. Do you have experience with kids other than raising your own? This is normal.

It is not developmentally appropriate for kids to exclusively play with much younger playmates. I have 3 kids. One with special needs. Why do you think social skills groups exist?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This sounds like something my daughter would have suggested (who is 8 now and has been like this forever). She wants to sell things in front of our house EVERYDAY. I can only squash the entrepreneurial spirit so much, so occasionally I acquiesce and let things happen. I don't usually feel comfortable with grifting neighbors, but on the plus side, she earned $244 this school year.

Sometimes parents have to let their kids try out ridiculous ideas. This one sounds kind of fun.

My kid is like this too but there are still schemes I say no to and this would be one of them. Playing with younger kids on the playground is part of being a good neighbor just like helping our elderly neighbors we don’t charge for that. I would instead say they could set up a lemonade stand there.

Lemonade stands are unlicensed, untaxed and undercut legitimate businesses. Let’s not get carried away critiquing the “businesses” here.

Omfg get a grip. Your poor kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the one hand, this sounds an awful lot like trying to host paid playdates.

On the other hand, my older kiddo, at age 5, would have made an excellent playground mother's helper for the younger kids. She was very interested in helping 2-3yo kids and less interested in playing with other 5yo. I say this mostly jokingly. At 7, that same kid would've made a great playground monitor and would have 100% told everyone how to use every single piece of equipment.

If that was my kid I would have been concerned that she didn't seem to have age appropriate friends or behavior. Nobody wants to play with the kid bossing them around telling them they're doing it wrong.

DP with a similar kid, and your concerns are ridiculous. My daughter became a CIT at 12, junior counselor at 16 and head counselor at 18 with several college students reporting to her. Graduating with a degree in Early/Elementary education next year. She just loves little kids.

Whatever. Kids work on social skills for reasons. It's important that kids get along with their peers. Kids constantly seeking out younger peers would concern me.

Np. Do you have experience with kids other than raising your own? This is normal.

It is not developmentally appropriate for kids to exclusively play with much younger playmates. I have 3 kids. One with special needs. Why do you think social skills groups exist?

It's normal for kids to seek out younger children to play with. The only person saying pp or OP's child is doing this "exclusively" is you.

[Anonymous]

Some real weirdos here on this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the one hand, this sounds an awful lot like trying to host paid playdates.

On the other hand, my older kiddo, at age 5, would have made an excellent playground mother's helper for the younger kids. She was very interested in helping 2-3yo kids and less interested in playing with other 5yo. I say this mostly jokingly. At 7, that same kid would've made a great playground monitor and would have 100% told everyone how to use every single piece of equipment.

If that was my kid I would have been concerned that she didn't seem to have age appropriate friends or behavior. Nobody wants to play with the kid bossing them around telling them they're doing it wrong.

DP with a similar kid, and your concerns are ridiculous. My daughter became a CIT at 12, junior counselor at 16 and head counselor at 18 with several college students reporting to her. Graduating with a degree in Early/Elementary education next year. She just loves little kids.

Whatever. Kids work on social skills for reasons. It's important that kids get along with their peers. Kids constantly seeking out younger peers would concern me.

Np. Do you have experience with kids other than raising your own? This is normal.

It is not developmentally appropriate for kids to exclusively play with much younger playmates. I have 3 kids. One with special needs. Why do you think social skills groups exist?

It's normal for kids to seek out younger children to play with. The only person saying pp or OP's child is doing this "exclusively" is you.

Ok. The PP above said her kid was very interested in playing with younger kids and not in playing with kids her own age. That's a red flag. Ignore red flags at your own risk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the one hand, this sounds an awful lot like trying to host paid playdates.

On the other hand, my older kiddo, at age 5, would have made an excellent playground mother's helper for the younger kids. She was very interested in helping 2-3yo kids and less interested in playing with other 5yo. I say this mostly jokingly. At 7, that same kid would've made a great playground monitor and would have 100% told everyone how to use every single piece of equipment.

If that was my kid I would have been concerned that she didn't seem to have age appropriate friends or behavior. Nobody wants to play with the kid bossing them around telling them they're doing it wrong.

DP with a similar kid, and your concerns are ridiculous. My daughter became a CIT at 12, junior counselor at 16 and head counselor at 18 with several college students reporting to her. Graduating with a degree in Early/Elementary education next year. She just loves little kids.

Whatever. Kids work on social skills for reasons. It's important that kids get along with their peers. Kids constantly seeking out younger peers would concern me.

Np. Do you have experience with kids other than raising your own? This is normal.

It is not developmentally appropriate for kids to exclusively play with much younger playmates. I have 3 kids. One with special needs. Why do you think social skills groups exist?

It's normal for kids to seek out younger children to play with. The only person saying pp or OP's child is doing this "exclusively" is you.

Ok. The PP above said her kid was very interested in playing with younger kids and not in playing with kids her own age. That's a red flag. Ignore red flags at your own risk.

"Less interested" is not the same as "not interested."