The Playground (when you were “little”)
By Amber
@AmbiePam (117932)
United States
April 21, 2026 10:25am CST
So I was reading a post by @xstitcher and she was talking about the kids not being allowed to walk from building to building when it was raining. That brought to my mind going to school. For most of my life, I went to a Christian school my parents started (the public schools were awful in academics and safety). When it came to the playground, the city made the swings be enclosed in one big old sandbox. Which drove the moms of the African American kids crazy. Just swinging doesn’t get the sand in your hair, but sitting in the sand, digging in the sand, occasionally kicking up sand when you walked by…would cause some problems. There was nothing to be done because that was just what had to be done. It was the same way with the monkey bars.
What were the playgrounds like in your day? I’m talking about the 90s, but these days I’m sure it’s different. And does everyone agree the Teeter Totter should have been banned because some wise guy always jumped off, causing you to crash to the ground?
9 people like this
11 responses
@FourWalls (85255)
• United States
4h
I remember the swings, seeing how high we could go and jumping out of the swings, and how H O T the slide was in the summer. I was a kid, I was looking to have fun, not to find things to complain about!
4 people like this
@Marilynda1225 (90169)
• United States
4h
We didn't go to play in playgrounds when I was growing up. We lived in a country ruralish area so we rode bikes, and just basically played outside. For school recess the closed off the street from corner to corner and we played there (jump rope, tag, etc)
Playgrounds when my kids were growing up were basically swings, teter totter and slides. No protective anything on the ground if you fell or landed coming down the slide. Sandboxes were popular too but I don't remember my kids being interested in it,
2 people like this
@Marilynda1225 (90169)
• United States
4h
@AmbiePam reminds me of going to the beach and sand would get in your bathing suit 
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (96571)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
7m
My parents tooks to a wonderful playground in Bay Ridge Brooklyn NY Owl's Head Park and they had regular swings for kids and swing like small seats with rails for tikes, I started being pushed on those and went to the other swings when I could swing myself, I loved swinging and continued to do so even growing up.
1 person likes this
@Traceyjayne (10139)
• United Kingdom
2h
I don't know what the teeter totter is !
in my day ....70's ....we had great playgrounds, swings, slides, roundabouts, climbing frames, seesaws, we had concrete on the ground because it was before the days of health and safety ....it was just about enjoying yourself !
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (206295)
• United States
4h
Probably would be deemed unsafe by today's standards, but we weren't idiots and always managed not to kill ourselves, or to put our tongues on any metal in the cold. It's a Northern thing.
1 person likes this
@xstitcher (38649)
• Petaluma, California
4h
I don't recall saying if it was just sprinkling--I believe I said it was raining. My brain is so screwed up by phone calls I've been making this morning, though, I'll have to go back to my post to see what I said.
I can't say I completely agree about the teeter totter, though. Kids will be kids.
1 person likes this
@AliCanary (4170)
•
4h
Lol, that wise guy was usually my big sister. I think we had a sandpit under the hand-over-hand bars and the monkey bars, but not the swings. My absolute favorite activity was playing tag on the monkey bars. I was very good at it!
1 person likes this
@LooeyVille (75)
• United States
4h
I was playground age in the 1960s. Playground was dangerous then. Metal slides that burned your legs and cut you
1 person likes this
