Inevitably, when I announced it was time to go, my 3-year-old would run away. We could all let off a little steam there, but leaving the playground had become such a process that I almost stopped going altogether. I could sit on the bench and catch up with some parent friends while my littles jumped, slid, and climbed to their heart's content in a controlled setting. With two children under the age of 4, playgrounds had been a place of respite for me.
I almost stopped bringing them to the playground.
