Self-described “degenerate mom” Emme Nye took a bold stance on TkTok recently that a lot of parents disagreed with. She admits she’s “that annoying mom” who has no problem with her daughter climbing up the slide.
“I’m so passionate about it, I will get in verbal disagreements at the park with parents about why,” Nye, 29, shared in a TikTok video.
Nye’s stance violates most park rules, plus it can be seen as rude. When a child is climbing up the slide, the kids at the top have to wait until they get off to slide down. Further, the kid climbing up the slide can get hurt if a kid coming down doesn’t see them.
Many commenters thought Nye’s confidence in bucking up the rules of playground decency comes off as entitled.
@garbagegally AITA? idc #momsoftiktok #parkmom
“’I am encouraging them not to follow the rules.’ Literally, all I hear,” Livforthehair wrote in the comments. “Teacher who has seen kids thrown from high on the slide while climbing up from being hit by a kid coming down that knocked them off. Ambulance call,” Kryssalon added.
After Nye’s video went viral, she made a follow-up where she calmly described the benefits of climbing up the slide. Nye lives in Idaho and has a background in early education.
@garbagegally Replying to @itsmespears reason i let my kid climb the slide at the park #momsoftiktok #parkmom #preschool #childdevelopment
In the follow-up, she shared 3 reasons why she thinks that it’s great for kids to climb up the slide, even if other children are using it as well.
“It’s just a lot more engaging for their little bodies and muscles to climb up the slide versus like walking up a flight of stairs with a handlebar — which often most slides are on a play set,” Nye said. “And they’re essentially crawling up the slide, right? And anytime that you’re crawling, you’re having that cross-brain connection, which is so good for their little developing minds.”
She also touted the socio-emotional benefits of climbing up the slide.
Depending on the kid, the slide and the skill set, they’re often not going to make it their first attempt,” Nye continued. “They’re sliding back down. They don’t feel discouraged, and they’re going to try and try again until they finally get to the top. The confidence that they build from trying again and again and finally succeeding again is so good for the little developing minds.”
Finally, she believes that when one kid climbs up the slide, it provides a lot of opportunities for social development.
“It forces communication and problem-solving skills to look out for one another in these kinds of unwritten rules of society,” Nye said. “There’s just a lot more to offer.”
Nye’s posts made a great point about how important it is for us to occasionally reconsider conventional wisdom and see that sometimes, there are more benefits to breaking the rules than following them. “There’s just a lot more to offer developmentally than climbing up a staircase, waiting in line, and going down a slide,” she concluded her video. “It’s just better for them.”