This has honestly never come up for me. I have four kids, live in a suburban area with a lot of trees, go hiking and camping, etc. My kids will sword fight with sticks or get one to use as a walking stick. They roast marshmallows with them. They might throw one over a bridge to watch it float away.

I’ve never really seen them running around with sticks or just throwing them randomly at the park or in the yard. I can’t really picture what’s going on here.

I don’t allow any play with sticks. Boys love them, are often obsessed with sticks, but they must remain ornamental.

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.

They are not.

Absolutely not. DH was basically blinded by a stock welding kid. I also tell other kids to out the sticks down when their parents aren’t paying attention.

No running with sticks or pencils, no walking up or down stairs and no running with lollipops in your mouth.

I don’t worry about my children getting impaled with sticks and don’t have any particular rules about it. We all have our weird stuff though.
I wouldn’t let my kids carrry glasses or ceramic coffee mugs as preschoolers. I was afraid they might fall, go to catch themselves, shatter the glass, and cut up the tendons in their hand.

I have three pretty rambunctious boys and plenty of sticks, and I can’t really imagine what is going on here.
Yes, my boys will play sword fight with the sticks and that includes some running. As long as the sticks aren’t on fire, I don’t care.
But the only time I have ever seen them throw rocks or sticks is to throw them into a creek river, or lake. They also love to skip stones.
What is the situation where they are just throwing sticks around other people at the park? What kind of game is this?

Anonymous wrote:Never occurred to me to make this a rule. My son plays hockey and does a lot of running with a stick.

I also am team mom who said where else can they throw sticks. My kids are older now but we used to find parks specifically to throw rocks and sticks around. (Obviously not near other people). My kids could spend hours skipping rocks. Its ok to run and throw stuff some times.

Hockey stick is totally different and they are taught how to run with it, and how to keep it low. Give me a break.

And yeah skipping stones into water is fine but throwing sticks around others isn’t. I allow stick throwing in our yard if there are only two kids and they know to throw away from themselves. Any more than that, nope. At a park is an accident waiting to happen. Kids often don’t realize others are around or how far they can throw.

Never occurred to me to make this a rule. My son plays hockey and does a lot of running with a stick.

I also am team mom who said where else can they throw sticks. My kids are older now but we used to find parks specifically to throw rocks and sticks around. (Obviously not near other people). My kids could spend hours skipping rocks. Its ok to run and throw stuff some times.

No running with sticks. You’re in the clear to admonish them next time, OP.

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…!

I’m 48 and no running with sticks was the rule, same with my own kids (who are now old-they can make their own dumb decisions)

No running with sticks, no throwing sticks or rocks, no screaming.

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 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.