Running Through the Sprinkler--an Environmental Tragedy?

Ok, granted, this is really simplistic, but all that water is just going right back into the ground and back into the water table. It's just being recycled in a way. I don't see a problem. That is one of the joys of summertime!

I"m a huge conservationist, environmental/recycler/etc and I don't see anything wrong with allowing people and animals a cool off session with a sprinkler. I don't water my yard, but I don't mind watering the kids and animals for a bit.

if we are in a drought I probably wouldn't let him play in a sprinker if you have had enough rain I say go for it. pools are great too.

"I take shorter showers to offset" (or any of the below) if you need a comeback ;)

As with most things, balance is key. There's no reason to lose everything fun. Keep the magic alive.

((Okay, if you're in an actual DROUGHT, then yes... no sprinklers, car washing, brush your teeth with bottled water, don't wash clothes/sheets/towels except when you absolutely have to, and save one set of water -by using the drain pipe to recycle it-, etc... but IF NOT in a drought... there's no reason to suck the joy out of life.))

Um, is your step MIL normally an environmental "person"?
In other words, is this something she's usually concerned about? Water conservation, recycling, etc...?

Because to me, without any other information, it sounds to me like she's jealous of your MIL having a fun idea for the kids.

Is she the fun police? :)

When watering the lawn, to me it seems like you are killing two bird with one stone. The lawn gets watered AND the kids have fun. I don't see anything wrong with it unless of course they're doing it at high noon on a daily basis.

Kudos to Jeanne W's answer!!! I have never understood how it is possible to waste water! If it goes into the ground, it's just going to either go into the water table and back into our pipes or it's going to evaporate and become rain. It doesn't disappear forever!

If your area is going through a drought, that's a different story. But seriously, its not possible to waste water!

As far as I'm concerned, responsible people water their yards responsibly and with as little water waste as possible. And if children happen to have their bathing suits on when you're watering the yard responsibly - well, that's how it goes. (The thing to do is to supervise them and keep a close eye on the time.) There's a way to balance fun and conservation. At our house, when the weather is hot we water in the very early morning and in the evening. But it's still hot enough in the evening for small sprinkler parties (when the grandchildren visit).

I don't know what the duck laws are in your state! But I do know some places prohibit public duck-feeding because it can be bad for the health of the duckies.

I say run thru the sprinkler. You are only that young once. Enjoy!

We will be destroying the planet in my yard again this year. Sprinklers will be on.

I can understand the no-duck-feeding (our local municipal parks have similar signs - I think it's overall part of a growing awareness that well-intentioned human efforts to feed wildlife can have undesirable consequences in the long run - maybe not as bad as what's happened with bears in national parks having developed a taste for people food and becoming like the ursine equivalent of drug addicts who cause damage to people and property in search of their next fix) but IMO I wouldn't object to the occasional run through the sprinkler

I think things are getting a bit carried away these days, and it is a bit sad. My daughter informed me that they are not allowed to play tag at recess because there is "no chasing"!!! Is that not sad? Also, the after school program does not let them play on the monkey bars at all...for fear someone will get hurt.

Puh-leez. I'm as environmentally aware as most but that i ridiculous. Let him go!

OH for pete's sake....let the child run through the sprinkler. MIL raised her children, no? Now it's your turn. Let the child have fun! : )

Tell your step mother in law that you will make up for it by not bathing your child on the days he runs through the sprinkler... is she for real? I am kind of wondering if it was more because it was your mil.. the first wife... that gave it to him. Showering saves more water then filling the bathtub... running through the sprinkler while watering the lawn wastes less water then filling swimming pools each time. There are a lot of things you can do to be more environmentally friendly without giving special things up.

I do not ever set a sprinkler to just "water the lawn" but if my grandkids are over and its 90degrees outside you can bet we have a sprinkler going. they love it the kids across the street come over and pretty soon I have a yard full of happy kids. I can see not running it and sprinkling the lawn like it was a golf course but come on a sprinkler for a kid is not the same thing.

so maybe if we are conserving we make sure we don't do it all day everyday. But 10 mins running through the sprinkler is better for the environment than running the air conditioner all day long! If you really want to get eco friendly you can set up a neighborhood schedule and alternate playing on everyone's lawns so the water is distributed evenly. (haha i am half kinding. no formal schedule, but do invite the neighbors out when you will be playing). But I will NOT take this away from my kids. And I live in drought CA where we do have water patrols. It is a bout being responsible and not wasteful so if you see lots of run off you have take a break. Have a great summer and stay cool.

Your S-MIL is overreacting. If your child is playing in it and cooling off in the water, enjoying the sprinkler, then that's not wasting water. Besides, the lawn will need the water.

The reason people aren't allowed to feed ducks in certain areas is because people often feed them inappropriate things and people over-feed them. It's actually harmful for the animals except in controlled circumstances, especially since ducks are like the goats of the avian world.

Let the kids play in the spinkler :) Heck, you should get in on the fun, too! Its not going to hurt anything to have a L. fun time in the water, especialy since you are watering the lawn too... Have fun and dont worry about the party-poopers!! :)

run in the water, splash in puddles, and feed the ducks!!!! oh and on nice spring days run in the rain, that will be your water saving day!

everything in moderation.
i'm about to go out and clean my barn in ankle-deep mud, so water conservation here on the east coast is not a concern at the moment. but during a drought when we're biting our nails over the well? i'd run the sprinkler for a laughing little, but only for a few minutes.
surely there's an acceptable compromise between 'whatever children want' and 'omg the environment!'
khairete
S.

yeah life sucks nowadays huh.

we live in the country and have our own well, so we have no problem watering the gardens (the yard can suffer, ive got 20 acres here LOL) but we do set the sprinkler up and stuff. and even if i lived in town, what am i, nuts? kids can be kids, and the sprinkler doesnt let off THAT much water. i think id pay the extra. LOL

I think if you are running the sprinklers to water your lawn your son might as well run through them.

As long as you don't have water rationing for a drought, then there's nothing wrong with it. You're using the water for both fun and for the lawn. It's not like someone wasting water with a leaky sink and getting no benefit from it. Some cities are putting in splash parks instead of pools because they use less water.

The environmental issue isn't really a lack of water- since the world has oceans full of it- it's a lack of clean water in the right places. Imagine if you had to use bottled water to fill your bathtub. We are lucky that we can pay to have water cleaned, filtered, chemically treated, and pumped to our homes. It has to be clean enough to drink even if we're just using it to water the lawn. There's a limit to how much a city could pump and treat each day.

Oh no I better get off the computer because I am wasting energy!!!! I am kidding...let your son have fun!!!

We are very environmentally friendly in our house and we DEFINITELY run through the sprinkler!
If the subject comes up again, tell your MIL that she is free to conserve all the water she wants at her house, but she should not make your child feel bad for doing something fun for a few minutes on a hot day.

The other ladies were right......she sounds jealous of your MIL's idea! Oh, by the way...... if Minnesota were plagued by drought I could see her point, but I am looking out MY window right now and it's pouring rain.......again! :)

Minneapolis, heck yeah. San Diego, fat no. Our water travels too far.

Yes, to running through sprinklers! Unless we end up with a drought this year in MN, but not too likely.

No, to feeding the ducks. I live by a lake. Feeding ducks bread and popcorn means they don't eat the green stuff in the lake that is their natural food, and they poop extra, and then the lake gets extra green and yucky...

I do a pool. I fill it for them in the morning so that it can warm up a bit. Living in Washington state though, we only get hot enough to really need a big cool down maybe a week out of the summer..sometimes a little more. Anyways. I also will fill it up with safe bubble bath for out side use. this keeps them happy without getting bored.

I know you smil is trying to be savvy and look out for mother earth, she also needs to realize though the little bit your lil one will be out using it will not really do much damage. I doubt your son is up to being out playing in it constantly for hours on end back to back. So let him run through it. Make sure though you are paying some attention to the clock. that way too, if she gets snooty about it again you can tell her you are making sure you do your part and not let the water run too long.

As for the ducks, I live close to a neighborhood pond that just had a bunch of baby geese come to meet its grass. my kids want nothing more to go and feed them. I used to at the same pond. Not anymore. I know they have good reason not to allow it. I just always wonder why the good reason came out of the woodwork so late in life...people have been feeding ducks and geese for along time!!

I dont know your smil, could she maybe be jealous of the fact the MIL bought it? I know we have alot of that issue with my hubbys side of the family because his parents are divorced. My mil gets very jealous of anything my smil does for my boys. I.e. we hadnt seem poppa bennett (fil/smil) in over three months. we went out for dinner wednesday with him. My mil picked my oldest up from school yesterday and he mentioned to her that we saw them for dinner. She flew off the handle. in front of the kids about it.

so i wouldnot let her get to you....bring on the sprinkler.