How old should a child be before they play on outdoor play slides? The short and simple answer to that question is that there is no answer.
If the slide is not too steep and there are no rough edges or places for a child's hand to get caught, a mother might carry her infant down a slide in her lap.
But how old should a child be before they attempt to take the slide on their own? The trouble with slides is not, in fact, the slide itself.
If a slide is well constructed, a one-year-old could probably go down it on her own, with proper adult supervision.
A two or three year old certainly could.
But the problem with slides is that what goes down must first climb up, and it's the climbing up that makes slides dangerous for small children.
Almost no one year old child has the necessary motor skills to climb up a ladder on their own; in fact, very few two year olds can claim that ability with any assurance.
Slides with stairs instead of ladders are easier, but still dangerous.
By the age of two or three, most children have their walking and climbing skills well under control, or think they do, but the chances of them taking a fall are still very high.
As we've seen, it's possible for the infant to enjoy a slide if she goes down it in her mother's arms.
Similarly, we might say that all ages of children can play on and enjoy slides--with different levels of parental involvement.
The one year old child might be placed at the top of the slide and have mommy or daddy hold her hands while she goes down it 'on her own' (some children this age will be absolutely terrified at the thought of going down the slide even when holding one of their parents' hands; it should go without saying that a child has to want to go down the slide to really enjoy it).
A two year old might have mommy or daddy help him up the stairs, and hold only one of his hands going down the slide.
A three year old might be able to climb up the ladder 'all by herself' with mommy or daddy's hands behind her, ready to catch her.
Be aware of your child.
Different ages can do different things, and there's no blanket qualification that says 'At one, my child will be able to go down a slide without being in my lap.
' But that doesn't change the fact that there are certain ages UNDER WHICH children cannot or should not do certain things.
Not every three year old will be able to navigate the ladder on their own, even with mommy or daddy behind them, but no child under three should be allowed to try.
Naturally, what children can and cannot do depends on their individual personalities, their individual motor skills, and their individual stage of development, to say nothing of the complexity of that particular slide and, of course, ladder.
But in general, it's safe to say that no child under the age of five should ever be allowed to play on a slide without a responsible adult at least with easy calling distance.