Slater Memorial Park

I have taken the kids to the playground in Slater Memorial Park three or four times, with today being the latest.

It is not a large playground, which is actually good because it makes it easier to keep track of the kids. There are two entrances but both are on the same side of the park. There is a nice fence around the playground. It has a rock climbing wall, swings, a large and small climbing structure, some picnic tables and two rope climbing structures, for a lack of knowing a specific name for these.

I've never seen these rope climbing structures anywhere else, but I think their pretty cool. Basically there is a steel tube frame with tightly strung ropes criss-crossing between or around the frame. Where the ropes cross, there are metal connectors. My boys really like to climb them, especially my oldest.

A couple of negative points - there are no bathrooms within a short distance and there are no lights for when it gets dark. There are bathrooms within walking distance but if your kid waits until they've really got to go, your best bet is the trees on one side of the park.

Overall, I rate this playground an 8 out of 10. Give it a try some time.

As the post below indicates, we went to the playground in Roger Williams Park in Providence. The playground is located near the carousel. We've been here several times before. Ignoring the incident below, which was not specific to this location, I'm going to do a review.

The playground has only one entrance and is fenced all around, which is good. There are several sets of climbing structures, each geared to a different age group. There are swings as well, though the tire swing was recently removed. The ground around the climbing structures either has that rubberized flooring or has wood chips.

The kids enjoy it a lot. Due to that, it tends to be crowded most of the time. This makes it harder to keep track of your kids, which is more of a concern when they are younger. It also leads to more contention, pushing and competition.

Based on overall experience, I would rate it four out of five.

Terror in the Park

Tonight, my wife had the women of our church over for a Bible study. So I took my three kids and met two of the other dads at Roger Williams Park. The park has a fairly large playground with lots of climbing equipment. Per my wife's suggestion, I put bright yellow shirts on my two boys so that they would be easy to spot. I kept my 11 month old daughter with me, but the boys, 2^1/2 and 4, just roamed the whole area with their friends. The two other fathers and I stood together most of the time, talking, all the while trying to keep one eye on the kids.

Well, about an hour and a half into our time at the playground, I realized that I had not seen my 2^1/2 year old in a few minutes. I looked around but could not spot his bright yellow shirt or his blond head. I got a little concerned but tried not to over-react. I strapped my daughter into the stroller and wheeled her down toward the playground entrance, where the play equipment I had last seen him on was. He was not there. The concern mounted, pushing up towards the panic line.

I wheeled the stroller back to where the other two dads were and hastily asked if they had seen my son. They had not. So I left the stroller in the care of one of the dads while the other dad and I went to look. I ran back towards the entrance and out of it, looking around, fearful thoughts of abduction pushing me to the brink of panic. These are the things that nightmares are made of for parents. I sent a quick prayer to God that my son would be safe. Not seeing him, I ran back into the playground, my mind racing. The only area I had not looked was the back corner, on the opposite side of one of the big climbing structures.

It was at that moment I saw the other dad waving to me, indicating to me that he had located my son, in the back corner. Relief swept over me and I said a prayer of thanks to God.

In the end, everything was all right. In fact, there was never anything wrong other than not being in sight of my son. But for a couple of minutes, I was terrified that something had happened to one of the people I cared for most in the world.

Thank you God for protecting my family so much better than I ever could.

Ok. A short humorous story. My two year old son was standing in the hallway, without his shirt, playing with one of his nipples. His mother asked him if he knew what that was. He said yes, it was his wrinkle. My wife and I both laughed. My oldest son then told us that when he got older, he would get more. While questioning him about how he came to this conclusion, it became apparent that he thought nipples were moles. The idea of getting more stems from a prior conversation when he asked about one of my moles and I explained, in high-level terms, what they were and commented that I had gotten more of them as I grew older.

It's funny what kids remember and what they put together. I'm so grateful to God for giving me my kids.

Okay, so fathering is going virtual. Well, not really. Real fatherhood is hands on and involved, far more than a letter, phone call, or once a month weekend lunch at Mickey D's (though that is always fun). But the web does give some good help to fun activities. Thomas the Tank Engine has all kinds of fun activities - from printable coloring pages, to online painting, to descriptions of all the engines. Fun is also found at the home of VeggieTales where there are online choose the outcome stories. Thanks internet, for joining the effort to raise a great generation!

Let me just say that Cracker Barrel is one of the most family friendly restaurants that I've been to. I love their booster seats, high chairs, and baby boards (for an infant carrier). The food is good, though I have noticed that the portions are getting smaller. I guess they are trying to keep from raising the prices. I still get more than enough to fill me up.

Keep up the good work Cracker Barrel.

Looking for some free or low cost activities? Here's some that I have come across in the past month.

Providence Children's Museum: http://www.childrenmuseum.org/htdocs/index.html
The first Sunday of each month is free, thanks to CVS. And for the month of June '06, each Friday evening 5:00-8:00 P.M. is free, thanks to MetLife.

Audubon Society of Rhode Island in Bristol: http://www.asri.org/
The first Saturday of June and July '06 are free, thanks to Citizens Bank.

Roger Williams Park Zoo: http://www.rogerwilliamsparkzoo.org/
If you live in Providence (excludes East and North Providence), the first Saturday of every month is free with proof of residency, thanks to the College Boundfund.
June 18, 2006 is "Day for Dads" - all dads, grandads, stepdads, and honorary dads get in at half price when you bring a child with you.
New Year's Day is free to everyone.

Rhode Island Dads

We're RI dads who enjoy our families, but sometimes think things could be a little better. On this blog we hope to highlight the good opportunities and the bad environments presented to families in our Ocean State.

Recently I had 2 full days with my son while my wife and daughter were out of town. My lovely wife asked that we keep the home as clean as she left it, which meant that we would spend as little time there as possible. So, after dropping them off at the airport, we headed to the Dunkin Donuts on Killingly Street in Johnston. Here's the Rating:

Staff: Excellent (10!) They showed tremendous interest in my son and enjoyed having him in the store.
Facilities: (5) Okay. Parking was so-so, the spaces weren't so big for getting kids out of a car seat. There was *NO* high chair inside (but what do you expect at a dunkin donuts). It was very clean and the tables were spaced nicely.
Food: 8 - very good. Dunkin makes good donuts - and my son ate 2!!! Of course the coffee was great for me.

Overall: 7.67 - sorry, the lack of a high chair held you back but still good over all.