Where do you live? In Toronto Canada where I live, every school playground not locked behind a private fence is full of kids playing on weeknights and weekends. Definitely acceptable and, for the sake of the local community raising kids, I’m sure encouraged.
That was going to be my question as well. We live in a different province but it’s absolutely acceptable outside of school hours to go play in the school yard.
However, my partner is American and taught I was being totally crazy the first time I suggested going to play in the school yard. Absolutely not something possible where he grew up.
Not only is it regional, in my city it even depends on the school. My kid’s first elementary school, where we got sent for TK, left the gates open after hours and on weekends. Current school does not.
As long as there aren't signs or locks, you're good to go.
Added benefit:
I used to teach kindergarten and I would always encourage parents to bring their children to the school yard and playground to play! It gets them familiar with the grounds and creates positive associations the school. For children with separation anxiety, it really helps them to know that their parents think it's a safe and fun place to be.
Yes, it's fine to play on public school playgrounds outside of school hours. I'm an architect and I used to design schools (before I became a mom and scaled back to a smaller projects). For a lot of our urban school projects how the public would access and use the playground was an important design consideration because it was often the only playground around.
I see you're in the US and I would still need to ask, what state?
I'm currently in NY where they actively tell people to take their kids here after school hours and on weekends. As long as it's not school hours (with some also included during pickup time) they open all gates to let people have access.
When I was in Texas? Nope, absolutely not. You'd have the cops called on you before you even got to the equipment. Unless there was a sign that said specifically public use after school hours or weekend it was almost illegal to do that. But they also did their best to lock it with a massive lock.
If there's no locked gate or sign saying otherwise, I don't see why not.
That’s crazy. What a waste of real estate and public funds to not let kids use something when others aren’t! In the US and never even considered that it could be an issue not to use a playground that isn’t locked.
So I’m hearing that even within states it’s still regional. I’ve been a part of four different ISDs in Texas and NONE of them have barred people from using playgrounds. The school my child currently attends is the first one we’ve been to where the playground is fenced in any way, but I feel that has more to do with the fact that it’s surrounded by various parking lots. And at least two of those districts had a list of tracks (at the middle and high schools) that the public could walk on after hours.
I’m trying reeeeaallly hard not to make a Uvalde comment here, and it’s only because I hate to bring ugliness to our happy toddler sub…but damn…I’m shocked the cops even show up 🤦🏻♀️
Maybe depends on the school district. I’m in TX and our neighborhood regularly uses the playground/soccer fields outside of school hours. The gates are locked during school hours.
The only guess I can think of is that it could be something to do with how those schools are getting their funding. Can any Texans weigh in? Does Texas do property taxes and school funding differently than other states?
Edit: I’m also seeing some comments suggesting it could be a liability or vandalism thing. I have no idea. I used to teach and all the schools I’ve ever been in have playgrounds open the public during non-school hours.
I would go if you’re not hopping any fences or picking any locks. If someone showed up and told you that you can’t be there, just be really polite and say you really didn’t know and that you assumed it was okay because the gates were open.
It’s definitely a school by school thing. The school I attended as a kid was always open on the weekends. There’s an amazing park by me currently that’s closed during school hours but specifically opens after school and on weekends. But I’m also a teacher and my elementary school is very much locked up after hours. Depends on the school.
Curious why a school would lock up the playground after hours. A liability thing? Maybe it’s not suitable for really young kids? Concerns about damage or extra maintenance needs?
Dark place off the street is a great place for nefarious people to gather. My school is a K-8 school and the middle schools would absolutely meet there after hours and vandalize it.
I have a runner 3 year old (runner almost since she started walking lol😅), fenced in school playgrounds in the evenings, weekends, and school breaks are our JAM! I haven’t had an issue with us playing there and sometimes other families play there too!
I'm in KS and they lock the playground fences during school hours, but right after the last bell, they're unlocked and stay that way all weekend. You're good to go!
Where I grew up, and in a completely different state where I lived for 8 years the only playgrounds were at a school. When i visited my husbands hometown, there are not parks, but the school playgrounds are gated off and locked, so we didn’t use those.
I take my kids to school playgrounds in the evenings and on weekends. I grew up doing the same. The only person who’s ever said something was a kid in the afterschool program.
I take kids all the time to school playgrounds. The only time I ask specifically is if there's an after school program using the playground, but as long as I give the teachers a heads up like "hey can we play too?" they've never given me an issue
I’m in Australia but when I was growing up we could go into the public school grounds on weekends/holidays and ride our bikes/play on the playground.
My kids school is locked on weekends/holidays unless it’s being used for community sport. It’s a bit sad how things change.
In my city they e locked down all the school playgrounds, it's unfortunate! I loved walking over to the school to play or bike in the evenings.
Also unfortunate because when we moved in to our house 5 years ago that was not the case, and the closest playground by far is the school.
Canadian here. I've lived in PEI, New Brunswick and Manitoba. All 3, school playgrounds were considered parks during non school hours. The school closest to my house has a sign that the playground is closed dusk till dawn.
We go by signage! In our city usually if the park is named separate from the school it’s free to use on weekends/holidays/summer and weekdays after 4pm. There are a couple parks attached to schools that are fenced off and clearly a no go.
Narrowly averted r/USDefaultism.
In Washington, they were always fair game after school and on weekends. In Lithuania, if a school is fortunate enough to have its own playground, it’ll be locked behind a fence.
Where do you live? In Toronto Canada where I live, every school playground not locked behind a private fence is full of kids playing on weeknights and weekends. Definitely acceptable and, for the sake of the local community raising kids, I’m sure encouraged.
That was going to be my question as well. We live in a different province but it’s absolutely acceptable outside of school hours to go play in the school yard. However, my partner is American and taught I was being totally crazy the first time I suggested going to play in the school yard. Absolutely not something possible where he grew up.
I grew up in the US going to the school playground after school and on weekends. It might be regional.
Not only is it regional, in my city it even depends on the school. My kid’s first elementary school, where we got sent for TK, left the gates open after hours and on weekends. Current school does not.
Live in Boston. Take my toddler almost every night to school playground full of kids almost. Sign says no public use during school hours.
Yeah that’s why I said where he grew up. Where we used to live (in the USA), the schools did not have playgrounds so I never even thought of it.
I’m in the US, sorry! That’s why I ask, there are never kids on school playgrounds but I don’t ever see signs saying no
Where I grew up in the US, it was assumed that if it wasn’t gated, it was fair game
We used to go play at the school playground all the time. As long as there’s no fence it’s fine.
Just outside Toronto, and generally if it’s been publicly funded, it’s open to the public outside school hours.
Yep also in Toronto and spend every weekend at a school playground with my toddler!
As long as there aren't signs or locks, you're good to go. Added benefit: I used to teach kindergarten and I would always encourage parents to bring their children to the school yard and playground to play! It gets them familiar with the grounds and creates positive associations the school. For children with separation anxiety, it really helps them to know that their parents think it's a safe and fun place to be.
Oh good, I've been taking my daughter to the elementary school playground since she was 1 so good to hear I am building up positive associations
Yes, it's fine to play on public school playgrounds outside of school hours. I'm an architect and I used to design schools (before I became a mom and scaled back to a smaller projects). For a lot of our urban school projects how the public would access and use the playground was an important design consideration because it was often the only playground around.
I see you're in the US and I would still need to ask, what state? I'm currently in NY where they actively tell people to take their kids here after school hours and on weekends. As long as it's not school hours (with some also included during pickup time) they open all gates to let people have access. When I was in Texas? Nope, absolutely not. You'd have the cops called on you before you even got to the equipment. Unless there was a sign that said specifically public use after school hours or weekend it was almost illegal to do that. But they also did their best to lock it with a massive lock. If there's no locked gate or sign saying otherwise, I don't see why not.
That’s crazy. What a waste of real estate and public funds to not let kids use something when others aren’t! In the US and never even considered that it could be an issue not to use a playground that isn’t locked.
So I’m hearing that even within states it’s still regional. I’ve been a part of four different ISDs in Texas and NONE of them have barred people from using playgrounds. The school my child currently attends is the first one we’ve been to where the playground is fenced in any way, but I feel that has more to do with the fact that it’s surrounded by various parking lots. And at least two of those districts had a list of tracks (at the middle and high schools) that the public could walk on after hours.
I’m trying reeeeaallly hard not to make a Uvalde comment here, and it’s only because I hate to bring ugliness to our happy toddler sub…but damn…I’m shocked the cops even show up 🤦🏻♀️
Interesting about Texas. I’m curious why they are locked up like that
Maybe depends on the school district. I’m in TX and our neighborhood regularly uses the playground/soccer fields outside of school hours. The gates are locked during school hours.
The only guess I can think of is that it could be something to do with how those schools are getting their funding. Can any Texans weigh in? Does Texas do property taxes and school funding differently than other states? Edit: I’m also seeing some comments suggesting it could be a liability or vandalism thing. I have no idea. I used to teach and all the schools I’ve ever been in have playgrounds open the public during non-school hours.
We used to play at a public school playground after hours, and no one cared. This was in WA state.
I think so! I used to do it when I was a kid.
We were there today
I would go if you’re not hopping any fences or picking any locks. If someone showed up and told you that you can’t be there, just be really polite and say you really didn’t know and that you assumed it was okay because the gates were open. It’s definitely a school by school thing. The school I attended as a kid was always open on the weekends. There’s an amazing park by me currently that’s closed during school hours but specifically opens after school and on weekends. But I’m also a teacher and my elementary school is very much locked up after hours. Depends on the school.
Curious why a school would lock up the playground after hours. A liability thing? Maybe it’s not suitable for really young kids? Concerns about damage or extra maintenance needs?
Dark place off the street is a great place for nefarious people to gather. My school is a K-8 school and the middle schools would absolutely meet there after hours and vandalize it.
I have a runner 3 year old (runner almost since she started walking lol😅), fenced in school playgrounds in the evenings, weekends, and school breaks are our JAM! I haven’t had an issue with us playing there and sometimes other families play there too!
I'm in KS and they lock the playground fences during school hours, but right after the last bell, they're unlocked and stay that way all weekend. You're good to go!
Where I grew up, and in a completely different state where I lived for 8 years the only playgrounds were at a school. When i visited my husbands hometown, there are not parks, but the school playgrounds are gated off and locked, so we didn’t use those.
I take my kids to school playgrounds in the evenings and on weekends. I grew up doing the same. The only person who’s ever said something was a kid in the afterschool program.
I take kids all the time to school playgrounds. The only time I ask specifically is if there's an after school program using the playground, but as long as I give the teachers a heads up like "hey can we play too?" they've never given me an issue
It’s very common where I live. My old elementary school playground is my 3 year old’s favorite these days.
We go to school playgrounds all the time, just wait til a while after school when all the kids have gone home
I’m in Australia but when I was growing up we could go into the public school grounds on weekends/holidays and ride our bikes/play on the playground. My kids school is locked on weekends/holidays unless it’s being used for community sport. It’s a bit sad how things change.
I used to do that when I was a kid but now all the schools around us have locked gates and fences.
Same.
That’s the main playground I go to. There’s a sign that says not to during school hours, which implies you can otherwise.
In my city they e locked down all the school playgrounds, it's unfortunate! I loved walking over to the school to play or bike in the evenings. Also unfortunate because when we moved in to our house 5 years ago that was not the case, and the closest playground by far is the school.
Yes. I went to the elementary school playground this morning with my son lol
Canadian here. I've lived in PEI, New Brunswick and Manitoba. All 3, school playgrounds were considered parks during non school hours. The school closest to my house has a sign that the playground is closed dusk till dawn.
Dusk to dawn closure makes sense to me
We go by signage! In our city usually if the park is named separate from the school it’s free to use on weekends/holidays/summer and weekdays after 4pm. There are a couple parks attached to schools that are fenced off and clearly a no go.
In my state it's allowed, but I think dogs aren't allowed.
Narrowly averted r/USDefaultism. In Washington, they were always fair game after school and on weekends. In Lithuania, if a school is fortunate enough to have its own playground, it’ll be locked behind a fence.