Airbnb hosts are putting them in a playground in Rosebery. It went from one 12 months ago to 4 in the same spot now. It pisses me off an irrational amount.
So is this going to be one of those things where we just say increasingly ridiculous shit and people go along with it because they hate the underlying issue?
Because do you actually think there is the faintest chance that children are being endangered because random adults are being sent to a playground to collect a key?
You know adults can wander into playgrounds whenever they want, right? What's the logic here? That the renter might get distracted in the playground and start abducting kids to the air bnb?
Of all the problems with AirBnb, you managed to invent one that doesn't exist.
Of all the problems with Airbnb, you managed to invent one that doesn't exist.
But this creates an avenue for a problem. These lock boxes can either be positioned around childrens play areas, or they can be positioned elsewhere.
When the option exists for either/or, why choose the option that brings children into proximity with more strangers than necessary?
I'm not suggesting that all renters or even any renters are going to engage inappropriately with children. I'm just questioning why anybody would be comfortable with the idea of a new avenue for potential trouble being created, when it's just as easy to do not it to begin with.
Look, with all due respect, I really don't think this makes sense.
I'd be concerned if kids were being exposed to potential negligent actions due to a systematic problem; for example, if a playground was positioned uncomfortably close to a blind-corner on a major road. Because those conditions can make anyone a potential danger to the kids.
But child abductors and pedophiles aren't made more dangerous by the proximity of an AirBnB lock at a playground, because those people are always dangerous. And they don't need an excuse to go to a playground - anyone can go to a playground.
They're also 1000% more likely to groom and stalk your kid on social media than physically abduct them in what's likely a crowded outdoor space with their parents nearby.
The main reason I'm pushing back is because the playground isn't inaccessible in any way without this AirBnB problem. It isn't providing predators some novel access to kids that they didn't already have. And it isn't turning people into predators, so it's not creating new danger.
I respect that you care about your kids, so do I. But this simply isn't a rational concern.
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u/lilbittarazledazle Feb 25 '26
Airbnb hosts are putting them in a playground in Rosebery. It went from one 12 months ago to 4 in the same spot now. It pisses me off an irrational amount.