It's interesting to see the reactions to this issue.

From my perspective, these laws started going on the books in the 90s when there was a Public Panic about the epidemic of child kidnapping which proved to be wildly overstated.

But back in the 90s I had to learn that even when I was with Emmett at the playground I was sometimes viewed as Suspiciously Male and Unparental.

I had to learn not to pick up kids to reach the water fountain or help them up onto a swing.

And it sucked to be viewed so suspiciously but that was the cultural climate.

Things have actually chilled out at the playground since then and I don't get that vibe when I'm with Matilda now. And the last couple times I've been to the playground I've had more normal, less-fear-based interactions with other kids there, including talking to them at play structures or getting them up or down off some equipment.

Though it's still sometimes tricky to negotiate and I don't initiate contact with other kids - only if they start chatting to me. And I make sure that I include the other parent or guardian in the discussion and make it subtly clear that I'm with Matilda and like that. Still, the atmosphere at the park has changed even if the laws haven't.

There was a discussion of sports rivalries, and nobody mentioned UNC-Duke?

I was packing. Specifically and most rabidly, men's b-ball. Best sports title ever about the rivalry - "To Hate Like This is to Be Happy Forever."

Oh David - there's an ad on TV these days about a new phone/web service and the theme is "more cats on the internet!"

My first thought was that it would be your personal idea of hell.

I think that someone who's acting creepy and hanging around a playground eyeing the kids should be dealt with on a case by case basis and that these flat, unilateral ways of dealing with an issue just cause more problems.

Yeah, strangers can be creepy but study after study shows that kids are far more likely to be molested or harmed by someone either in their own family or close to the family. So I sort of feel like WTF about ticketing people eating donuts on a park bench.

I guess I should be careful about going to the park to play on the swings, because I'm hardly ever there with a kid. I just like the swings.

Or just check and see what your local laws and/or regs are.

Over Memorial Day weekend, a friend and I took our kids to a local playground. The playground itself was delineated by woodchips and wooden beams (I guess they were) but it was in the middle of a huge park. At the time, I was sort of wishing there was a fence because the playground was big enough that I couldn't always see my kids.

And then I noticed this guy with a metal detector going through the grass part of the park. He was a little odd looking but I only noticed him because he looked like a park employee at first and then I realized he was searching for stuff.

And then he kept on sweeping, going into the woodchip area, stopping under the playground equipment, digging stuff up in the kids' play area.

I don't think I ever thought he was going to pick up a kid and run. But when he entered the play area, I definitely watched him for a few moments. Intellectually, I think civil liberties are very valuable but the parent in me was thinking "seriously, dude, you have the entire park to do your thing in. This is a kid area."

Or just check and see what your local laws and/or regs are.

I think I've seen "no adults without kids" signs before, but I can't recall where. And I'm sure I adhered to it. The signs I'm always looking out for are the No Dogs signs. I don't break that one.

Oh David - there's an ad on TV these days about a new phone/web service and the theme is "more cats on the internet!"

My first thought was that it would be your personal idea of hell.

Yeah, I've seen that commercial. I thought of me too and my personal hell! Though, I don't think I muttered anything wittier than a purely sarcastic, "Just the thing."

When I was about 7 or 8 my friends and I went to the park by ourselves for a picnic. A man came up with a little toddler girl--his own, I assume--and then proceeded to expose himself to us. So even parents in the park can be really fucking creepy sometimes.

[edited to add spoiler font just in case]