A Total Guiri Move

One thing you will notice if you go to playgrounds in Spain (versus the US) is that playground etiquette is quite different. ¿Is this the best playground in Sevilla?  In the US, parents tend to hover a lot around their children on playgrounds. As soon as they walk onto the playground, they station themselves next to the children and intercede as soon as any conflict presents itself. Being a helicopter parent is considered "good parenting." Making matters more complicated, I live in a region of the US in which the residents pride themselves on "keeping it real" and "telling it like it is [to your face!] so you never know when a conflict between children will become a fight between adults. I've seen adults wrest toys out of children's hands, yell at other people's kids, station themselves by playground equipment to enforce their vision of playground fairness--things can get very tense on American playgrounds. Often American parents will not let kids w...