No running with sticks .. or do you allow it? (6yo)

[Anonymous]

Sitting outside watching a group of boys run around with sticks right now. There is intermittent stopping of running to sword fight. Kids are age 7 to 11. They are all having fun. No one in the vicinity told them to stop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sitting outside watching a group of boys run around with sticks right now. There is intermittent stopping of running to sword fight. Kids are age 7 to 11. They are all having fun. No one in the vicinity told them to stop.

Remember getting those 4ft long stakes that surveyors use, and nailing or tying a cross bar hilt to the dull end to make a wooden sword to play with. Then using a trash can lid as a shield!
Fun times. I could beat most of the boys cause usually they'd be scared of getting hit. At least until this one got a military surplus helmet.

[Anonymous]

My friend's dad is an eye surgeon. Running with sticks (and oddly, fishing) are big problems. No running with sticks. I am amazed at how many parents allow running with sticks.

[Anonymous]

My kids play with sticks. They play with rocks. They run and climb trees. They enjoy the outdoors and come up with creative games with buddies in the woods. I love it. We camp, we hike, we embrace being outside.

We set some realistic rules. Obviously don’t hurt people with sticks and rocks. Obviously be careful with sticks and rocks. But we’re not nuts about it. And we don’t judge other parents who let their kids run with sticks. Our boys pick up sticks and whack them on trees. At one age, they experimented with sword fighting with them, but we watched carefully and stepped in when it got unsafe. They quickly lost interest. Now sticks are for building things, like forts or pretend beaver dams.

We do roll our eyes at crazy parents setting extreme ridiculous rules around outdoor free play. Like not climbing trees. Like not picking up sticks. Like not throwing rocks. We want our kids to explore the natural world with joy, while being conscious of safety, but not extreme.

Posting picture of boys holding sticks seems extreme to me. Sticks are not guns. They have so many uses. You are being ridiculous and you are teaching your kids to fear the natural environment. You’re also robbing them of creative free play opportunities that supports their developmental growth. Just stay home and keep them on screens already.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in the Rescue 911 era and I think that stuck with me. I found myself calling my 6yo to stop running with a stick while playing outside with neighborhood kids and realized many other neighborhood kids were also running with them.

Assuming other parents have no issues, is it just me?

I think my worry is you fall and get impaled in the eye or neck or chest.

I don't allow this. My children are 6, 4, and 2. They love running and sticks, so this type of thing happens fairly frequently. I yell at them to stop/freeze and explain potential negative outcomes of running with sticks, but they still do it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No running with sticks, no throwing sticks or rocks, no screaming.

No screaming? Outside? Interesting

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are the other parents out there watching their kids? No one I know would be okay with that. It’s an accident waiting to happen…but other parents may not be paying attention.

I told a kid not to throw sticks at the park one day and the mom turned to me and said if they can’t do it at the park then where can they do it. And I’m like, ummm nowhere…!

Were they throwing it *at someone? Otherwise MYOB.

You throw stuff in the woods, not a park. That’s the issue.

What if the woods are in a park?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are the other parents out there watching their kids? No one I know would be okay with that. It’s an accident waiting to happen…but other parents may not be paying attention.

I told a kid not to throw sticks at the park one day and the mom turned to me and said if they can’t do it at the park then where can they do it. And I’m like, ummm nowhere…!

Were they throwing it *at someone? Otherwise MYOB.

You throw stuff in the woods, not a park. That’s the issue.

What if the woods are in a park?

Then it’s a park not the woods. I assume you had a stick impaled in your head at a young age?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are the other parents out there watching their kids? No one I know would be okay with that. It’s an accident waiting to happen…but other parents may not be paying attention.

I told a kid not to throw sticks at the park one day and the mom turned to me and said if they can’t do it at the park then where can they do it. And I’m like, ummm nowhere…!

Were they throwing it *at someone? Otherwise MYOB.

You throw stuff in the woods, not a park. That’s the issue.

What if the woods are in a park?

Then it’s a park not the woods. I assume you had a stick impaled in your head at a young age?

Ok to be clear, your position is that there are no woods in parks?

[Anonymous]

Same, no running with sticks, or pens or pencils, or lollipops…. No running with pretty much any object that can stick in the throat or eye or abdomen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Same, no running with sticks, or pens or pencils, or lollipops…. No running with pretty much any object that can stick in the throat or eye or abdomen.

We do the same. We also don't allow any sharp objects with 100 ft of any kid. My husband and I both carry around sand paper (verified to be carcinogen free, of course), for us to quickly dull any pointy objects we find while traveling.

You can never be too careful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are the other parents out there watching their kids? No one I know would be okay with that. It’s an accident waiting to happen…but other parents may not be paying attention.

I told a kid not to throw sticks at the park one day and the mom turned to me and said if they can’t do it at the park then where can they do it. And I’m like, ummm nowhere…!

Were they throwing it *at someone? Otherwise MYOB.

You throw stuff in the woods, not a park. That’s the issue.

What if the woods are in a park?

Then it’s a park not the woods. I assume you had a stick impaled in your head at a young age?

Ok to be clear, your position is that there are no woods in parks?

DP. It’s kind of the opposite, isn’t it? All of the woods are in parks. .

[Anonymous]

Im watching my kid out now with a friend hitting a rock with a big stick. They love it.

[Anonymous]

My 3 year old has been running around all month with a pool noodle he swears is a fire fighter hose.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in the Rescue 911 era and I think that stuck with me. I found myself calling my 6yo to stop running with a stick while playing outside with neighborhood kids and realized many other neighborhood kids were also running with them.

Assuming other parents have no issues, is it just me?

I think my worry is you fall and get impaled in the eye or neck or chest.

Generally this upsets me. I call the kids over and replace the sticks with guns - I mean this is America. Why give then a stick when they can have the real deal.