Can we limit them for use by parents as well? Playgrounds seem to be the place parents go to look at Facebook while their kids yell "look at me mummy" forlornly.
It makes me feel like snatching the phone from their hand and doing something rather unpleasant with it.
'...while their kids yell "look at me mummy" forlornly.'
One thing I have noticed a lot in Spain (where I live half the time) is kid's are much better behaved, generally, compared to the UK.
I think it's because children are adored and get attention everywhere they go. Unlike in the UK where they, often, seem to be more of a inconvenience to their parents otherwise perfect little lives.
In no way will there be something BETTER.
Same goes for playgrounds that are in difficult areas or conditions of course.
I was suprised to see the following wasn't at the top:
>baldfat: The problem is that 90% of the time the parents are now on their phones.
RE Independence: I dare say a child can play for some minutes with other children without the need to interact with their parent. In fact, I'd go far as to say, interrupting a child's play is more detrimental than leaving them be and looking at your phone. In either case, I'm sure the parent has more insight than a third party passing by and is making an informed decision.