PSA: Fathers Want To Meet Other Parents At The Playground As Well, Writes One Dad

Aug 24, 2021 by apost team

Being a parent comes with its own set of social etiquette and rules to follow. From doing the school run to taking your kids to the playground, there is a whole new world that opens up once someone has children. One aspect of this is related to socializing with other parents, be that at school functions or picking up your child from their friend's house.

This also applies to playground trips, as usually, kids are busy playing amongst themselves on the equipment, while their parents are patiently sitting off to the side. In these cases, it can be common for parents to strike up a conversation among themselves as their children eagerly play on. 

But the playground social scene can be just as tricky for adults to navigate as it can be for their kids. In fact, the topic sparked the interest of one father, who felt that he was being excluded from parental chit-chat at the playground due to his gender. Choosing to address the issue, the man decided to take to Reddit's Parenting subreddit and write a public service announcement on the topic. His thread was titled, "PSA: If you see a dad at the park, don't be afraid to talk to them. We are lonely."

The conversation got parents talking and while some empathized with the father, others told him he should be so lucky to avoid small talk at the playground. The range of responses varied greatly, but no one is the right answer. Let's take a look at what people said.

Posting under the "rant/vent" topic, the father wrote about his situation:

"Stay at home dad here. I regularly find myself as the only male parent when I take my son out somewhere. The moms tend to all strike up conversations with each other, but I often find them avoiding talking to me. This means I'm just generally sitting around quietly if my son is off playing. It's a lonely existence and being a stay at home means I don't get tons of socialization anyway."

The man raises a fair point — why is it that he, as a father, is not engaged in small talk like the other parents, who are usually mothers, are? To rub salt in the wound, he explains that his wife took their son to the playground on another day and the other moms instantly started talking to her. He explains:

"Yesterday my wife (who normally works) had the day off and went with me to the play space. When she was with our son the moms immediately began talking to her."

That doesn't seem fair or particularly nice, but it's impossible to know exactly why this is happening. Nevertheless, the man writes at the end of his post:

"Give us dads a chance, please!"

It seems other fathers felt similarly, with one writing: 

"I'm a single dad and this makes me sad. I want to talk about the silly things my daughter does."

Another agreed, writing: "I agree. I’m a single dad with 50% custody so my parenting is all done alone. Can be a little isolating."

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While there were other fathers who agreed with the original poster of the thread, there were just as many other parents who had a rebuttal. One woman wrote about her husband:

"This PSA would send shivers down his spine; he does not want to make small talk with other parents."

Meanwhile, others talked about feeling sorry for the dad, but pointing out that playground small talk isn't all it's cracked up to be, with someone writing:

"I get that being a dad can be lonely in the parenting circles, and I try my best to be as inclusive as possible, but let's be real … park small talk sucks."

Another backed up this point of view, suggesting the original poster should consider himself lucky:

"I dread the parent small talk. I once ran into a mom group at a park and they were so kind and welcoming to me but I just want to sit and chill and watch my kid play for a bit."

But another commenter had perhaps the most realistic and understanding approach. They wrote:

"I’m big on reading the room. I’ll say hi to anyone and if they say hi and walk away, I leave them alone. If our kids decide they are best friends and never want to be apart again, I’ll introduce myself to the adult and make small talk. If I really get along with the parent I’ll ask if they want to trade numbers."

The range of responses proves that there is no one-size-fits-all option and that it's best to just navigate each individual encounter as it comes.

What do you think about this father's PSA? How do you feel about playground small talk? Pass this on to the other parents you know so they can weigh in too.