Is it illegal for teachers to push children on swings during recess?

Question

i am a preschool teacher in michigan. i have an aide and we have 15 to 17 3-year olds per class. most 3 year olds cannot pump, so we push them for short periods. another teacher told me it was illegal for us to push the kids on the swings, because we are supposed to be observing the children. does anyone know if this is true?

Answer 1

Sorry, I don't know if it's actually against the law. I can tell you that the teachers at my kids' preschool wouldn't push them. They said that if the kids couldn't  get into the swing and pump their legs, they weren't allowed to help them and shouldn't be on the swings.  I don't know if if was for liability reasons or what.

Answer 2

Now, lets look at this 2 ways.

First, NO it is not illegal to do that. Second, I think the teacher was saying "if something happens because you did it, and a child gets injured, you open up the school to a liability issue"

Back in the day, no one would have even thought this way. Now, in today's litigious society, anything is possible.

Here's what I would say. As long as they are not flying high, its ok. They just wanna swing is all. I did it when I taught and no one complained.

Answer 3

How sad our society is today when we are afraid to push a child on a swing for fear of being sued if he/she falls down (like we all did as kids-and we survived).

Answer 4

If you have a school and parental written consent. But most of the time it is not advisable.

Answer 5

Isn't the world becoming ridiculous? It is not illegal to push a child on a swing, but it may be against your school rules. Everyone worries about lawsuits. I was told not to push any child of any age at the elementary school I taught at. The administration was trying to protect themselves. We had one small first grader lose the tip of her little finger on a merry-go-round. The next day all of the schools had the merry-go-rounds pulled up and removed. It would have taken 5 minutes and $1 to make the merry-go-round safe (plug a drain hole), but they chose the way they did to avoid lawsuits. I wonder when flagpoles will be removed because kids could stick their tongues to them in cold weather? (Had that happen at the same school).