I though I was so genius making this. Not my own idea, of course, but actually getting organised with the cardboard and the masking tape, and working out how to do it, and it went well for the first 20 mins, I must say.
Then my oldest son started thinking of increasingly athletic ways to get down the slide. Not so good for a very quick slide with an awkward landing, and definitely not good in a household where little brother copies so accurately.
So, we had a 'break' where I encouraged racing toy cars down the slope instead, but the little one's sense of ownership extends even to toys other children have (and OWN!), so there were tears over this one.
And finally, once sliding was reinstated, the older brother then pushed in on his little brother's turn on the slide, even after being told not to, and couldn't see where he had gone wrong, and everyone ended up in their rooms while I ate dinner on the back deck and prayed for hubby to get home and sort it out because I was past it.
I'm giving the slide the benefit of the doubt, because we managed not to get around to having afternoon tea, and I wonder if the kids were a touch irritable because they hadn't eaten for about 3 hours.
My tips/lessons learned -
Not for younger kids, it is very slippery, they go down very fast
Requires parental supervision - don't think that you'll put it up and then get dinner ready
Remember to put pillow/cushion at bottom
Have very clear guidelines about how to use slide (ie, not face first, not on knees, not head first, not side by side with brother, on bottom with feet facing forwards, etc)
Feed children afternoon tea somewhere in the proceedings
So, we had a 'break' where I encouraged racing toy cars down the slope instead, but the little one's sense of ownership extends even to toys other children have (and OWN!), so there were tears over this one.
And finally, once sliding was reinstated, the older brother then pushed in on his little brother's turn on the slide, even after being told not to, and couldn't see where he had gone wrong, and everyone ended up in their rooms while I ate dinner on the back deck and prayed for hubby to get home and sort it out because I was past it.
I'm giving the slide the benefit of the doubt, because we managed not to get around to having afternoon tea, and I wonder if the kids were a touch irritable because they hadn't eaten for about 3 hours.
My tips/lessons learned -
Not for younger kids, it is very slippery, they go down very fast
Requires parental supervision - don't think that you'll put it up and then get dinner ready
Remember to put pillow/cushion at bottom
Have very clear guidelines about how to use slide (ie, not face first, not on knees, not head first, not side by side with brother, on bottom with feet facing forwards, etc)
Feed children afternoon tea somewhere in the proceedings
It's the crazy fun that they'll remember. You're doing an amazing parenting job Crystal. And aren't we all past it at feral o'clock!?
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