Do You Let Your Child Sit in the Grass at the Park?

Sit in the grass, roll in the grass, eat the grass. OK, I generally tried to stop the eating of grass.

Well my oldest went through a phase at around nine months where he would rip the grass out by its roots and put it in his mouth, dirt and all. ARGH! Maybe that's her concern?

:)

My kid started eating grass at 4 months. Yeah, I'm cool with it.

No wonder kids are so sick and fat now.

O
M
G.

When we were kids, we used to ROLL down hills at parks.
We used to whistle with blades of grass between our thumbs.
We used to pass around O. can of Coke AND drink out of the garden hose.

Geeeez.

I didn't flinch when my kids ate pea gravel, perhaps not the right person to ask. :p

I can see how one would think it's silly. However, my kids are much older now, but if I had a 9 month old, I'd not want them to sit on the grass at a public park, either. Germs would not bother me in the least. Chances are, the grass has been treated with some MAJOR chemicals and my kid would probably end up with a mouthful of it in 2 seconds. And grass allergies run in our family. And my kids always had strange sensory sensitivities so things like grass and sand between bare toes or tickling the underside of legs, so sitting in grass would make them cry (not the best look for a picture). So right off the bat, I can think of at least a couple of reasons why she might not want her kid on the grass.

And, of course, she's mom, so she gets to decide what to do with her child.

I let them sit in the grass, roll around in it, play in it, that is after all what the park is for.

does she wrap them in bubble wrap when she takes them out...you know there are germs everywhere. she is being very silly and what happens if you forget the blanket or they crawl off of it?

Ha! Reminds me of when my brother was a baby. My parents were people of the beach - my dad surfed and my mom was a bikini babe. They were there every day. Then my brother came along and couldn't stand the sand. If they wanted him on the beach they had to lay out a massive blanket otherwise he would scream everyone off the beach. Makes me laugh now. My brother got over it and ended up being a surfer. Maybe this kid has the same attitude to grass?

Did I let him? Sho'nuff!

But he'd scream & cry if he even TOUCHED grass until he was 3. It took a LOT of work to get him to be able to stand it. Now, of course, he's one big grass stain. :) LOL. I did my job a leetle too well. But it took years. Years of slow and patient and exhausting work.

My kids sit on the grass, they roll down the hill on the grass, and I'm sure when they were babies they ate a few handfuls of it. They haven't died from it yet. ;) If it's your SIL's first child, she's probably just slightly neurotic. You know how new parents are. ;)

She sounds silly, even if she is a first time parent I don't understand this. Does she not plan to take her kid to the park? Or to the beach? Or out in public. I mean, really, it's grass.

She sounds like she is would up a little too tightly. Maybe she'd feel better wrapping her baby bubble wrap.

Whew.. I feel for that baby if she continues this trend.

Considering that I watched my nephew as a baby swell up and have to be rushed to the hospital due to an allergy (to what the grass was treated with) as an infant and that my son CAN NOT stand the feeling of grass, I say run with it - not your kid.

My daughter HATED sitting on grass...she always felt like something was crawling on her - nothing was - but the grass moved when she did...

my boys? ate grass...sat in grass...so I don't have a problem with it.

Some parks treat their grounds with pesticides and she might be afraid her daughter will eat it....maybe she's allergic to grass....maybe she doesn't want grass stains...a 9 month MOVES...they are mastering crawling...MAYBE walking...WOOT WOOT!!! FREE!! FREE!!

Find a green sheet. or a picnicky type of blanket...

Yup, but for a long time DD hated grass so she'd cry if we put her down on it so we usually used a blanket til she got over it.

yes I let my kids sit in the grass. Maybe she is worried about dog poop? I would just look around and make sure the area looks clear and go for it!

Yes, my kids sit in the grass at the park now and when they were babies. I think it is wierd that your SIL didn't elaborate as to why her baby had to sit on a blanket. I'm sure if there was a good reason such as a grass allergy, or the baby having an intense dislike for grass she would have mentioned it.

Just something to consider...

One of my kids at that age didn't like the feel of grass on bare hands and toes. So..when I read this I didn't even think germies or getting dirty. We have pictures of him at that stage with a scrunched up face while holding his hands and legs up...hovering over the grass. Not the prettiest picture to send to family and friends. Sooo, we put a blanket down for pics.

That child now rolls down hills of grass on his back...just had a hang up until about age 2 with pokey grass.

Sooo, I wouldn't fight the blanket fight. Just put a blanket down and take a fun,cute picture.

If this is a germ issue...then I feel for your niece. Maybe your SIL will outgrow the germ factor when baby #2 comes. Can't hover over 2 as easily as one. You learn to let things go...

Good luck and best wishes for a beautiful picture day with the kids!!

Yep, silly. I'm with you.

Well, your SIL could ask for worse things. But don't use a white sheet. Figure out what the children are going to be wearing, and then get a blanket that coordinates. Apart from the light-reflecting qualities of the white sheet, the light weight may make it look too - well - too much like a sheet. You also may *need* a toy out there if your niece decides two or three minutes are way too long to sit!

Of course we let our kids sit directly on the grass!

Her not wanting her baby to sit on the grass is a little silly but if this is her first kid then cut her some slack, she is just being paranoid Mommy...I am sure we ALL went through this concerning one thing or another, right?!

~My cousin's first child didn't like the feeling of grass on her feet! We used to hold her above the grass and she would NOT put her feet down on it! It was SO very funny! I will have that memory for the rest of my life! Ha!

Yes, it's good for them. That is a complicated matter, though, if the park sprays and uses pesticide, so do check.

If kids don't get enough exposure to natural dirt and the grass and the outside in general (no blankets allowed!), their immune systems are compromised and later in life there are some nasty diseases that could easily have been prevented.

Well, has their kid been vaxed for tetanus? ;) *That* lives in the soil.

I put Kiddo on a blanket when the grass was wet or the ground was muddy at that age.

For the love of PETE...gimme a break!

They DO spray grass/weeds at the parks, but it's NOT everyday (ohh the beotching they'd have to deal with if they DIDN"T Ohhh the beotching if they DO!) A lot of stuff is more environmentally friendly and you are not going to be enveloped in a cloud of noxious gas if you touch the grass.

People need to get a grip.

When I was a kid we did all sorts of things, on or in things outside. It was fine. But then again, once I got a cut and got a Staph infection which almost landed me in the hospital. But still, we still played outside in or on things all over nature's nakedness with no protection.

Me: there is a park in our neighborhood. There are TONS of stray cats that live there at the park. In the park. All over the park. Therefore, there is cat poop and pee, all over. And on the sand too, since it is near a beach.
Do I let my kids go barefoot there or sit on the grass and rake their hands on the grass/dirt/sand? no.
But... the thing is, my kids don't want to do that anyway... they SEE all those darn stray cats at that park and all over the place. Which this one woman routinely feeds, as though they are her "pets."
And the stray cats, there are many of them. I'm not talking just 2 or 3. But more like 30 plus, stray cats.

So no, my kids think its disgusting, the park being a stray cat litter box.
Plus, there are dogs there too, with their owners, pooping, on their walks and the owners do not pick up, the poop.

If a parent wants their kid to sit on a blanket, so be it.
That's not your kid.
Or maybe her 9 month old child, does not like grass. With a baby or toddler, they can get finicky about textures/grass/sand/dirt. And not want to touch it or they get all screamy.

Its not a big deal to me, if a parent wants their baby to be on a blanket. Not a battle to pick.

You could find a nice blanket for everyone to sit on. Or maybe move it to a pretty bench or bridge. Or find a tree stump for the babies to sit on. Just find a creative solution. :)

Yeah, unless her child has allergies to grass, although most people will still itch from it occasionally, then there should be no reason not to. But, you still have to respect her choice I guess. I mean, if it's not a big deal to you, then just have the kids sit on the blanket...use a plain one so it doesn't take away from the kids, for a nice pic.

Well I don't have a problem with it, but my kids were always allergic to the grass. So we always have to bring blankets or they get rashes from head to toe. If this is sister's first baby, you can probably understand her position. Just roll with it....good luck!

I'd make sure that their legs are covered, just in case there is a grass allergy for the 6 months old and 9 months old.

Though I wouldn't have a problem with it, if you want to get the pics taken, you'll either have to convince your SIL to let you do it your way, or you'll have to do it her way. Instead of a white sheet, I'd pick something really pretty, though.

By the way, I would be shocked if you really got good pics in 2 or 3 minutes.

Hope you get lovely pictures!

Dawn

I'm having a hard time understanding her reason. Did she say WHY she didn't want the baby on the grass? The only thing I can think of that I would be at all concerned about is a very recent lawn treatment. I do know the stuff they use to keep that grass pretty is very toxic but I would think it's pretty temporary.

Something tells me it isn't that, how would she know when they had treated it? Please use your so what happened to tell us her issue with grass, I'm dying to know!

It's silly, but you should get a pretty blanket, not a white sheet.

Maybe her DD doesn't like the feeling of grass; maybe she's concerned with goose or seagull poop; maybe she doesn't want her daughter exposed to the heavy pesticides that parks tend to apply to their lawns; I dunno, but I have refused to put my baby down in the grass for all of those reasons.

i let my daughter be in the grass once she was mobile (crawling). she is allergic but its not like you can keep them away from it. if she wants a blanket down let her. it may be silly but its one of those things you just have to over look..

Maybe she doesn't want ants crawling on her, her clothes getting grass stains, perhaps an allergy to grass or some other nature thing. I think if she wants her on a blanket then put her in her mom's lap for the picture. If dad is the family member then he should hold her to signify he lineage.

That's how our friends always do their huge family pictures. Sometimes each son or daughter will wear their own color tee shirt and their spouse and kids will wear the same. One family always wears red no matter what, it's mom's favorite color. They stand in their family with the son or daughter holding the younger kids and the wife holding the others or their hands on their kids shoulders.

So it would only be natural for the dad to hold his own daughter in a family group picture. Let the mom lay a blanket down for the girl but insist that dad hold her.

my 13 yr old I never let sit in the grass... anywhere.

Not by my choice though.. grass was my best babysitter when I had all 3 kids outside playing. He HATED the feeling of grass so until he was 3 he would never leave the blanket to play in grass ;)

But with my other 4, yup they were all in the grass from the time they were able to sit up in it. That is an experience all kids should have at a young age and most of them love at a young age.

Of course! Your SIL needs to chill!

You said family picts and i immediately pictured an aroable little bald pink cheeked baby in a beautiful white sundress.

if we were to do picts i would have to go out and buy a dress, and if dd ruined it with in 5 mins of the first wear i would be one unhappy momma.

to me its all about the clothing.