A father from Queensland, Dean, expressed his frustration after being informed that he could not toss a football with his son on school grounds. After dropping his son off at school, the boy requested a brief game of catch. Unfortunately, their fun was cut short when a teacher approached and deemed it unsafe due to a lack of supervision. Dean argued that he was indeed supervising his son, but the teacher insisted that it wasn’t fair to other children who did not have their parents present.
The father and son were located about 20 metres away from other students when the incident occurred. After Dean briefly stepped away to assist his son with his backpack, he noticed the deputy principal reprimanding the boy for playing with the football. This action upset Dean, who found it puzzling that the principal chose to address his son rather than communicating directly with him.
Dean highlighted that this incident was indicative of increasingly strict rules regarding children playing sports unsupervised after school. He mentioned that there’s a growing reluctance from school authorities to allow students to engage in any form of play, including on the playground or grass areas. According to Dean, the situation has escalated to the point that children are not even permitted a short game of catch with their parents, which he feels is excessive and baffling.
The father concluded that the new restrictions around play are troubling, questioning the rationale behind such stringent rules on what should be a simple activity between a parent and child.