How to avoid static electric shocks at the bottom of the playground slide

Vivian! I'm past the slide-catching phase so I'd forgotten about those awful shocks one gets from the slide! Thank you for this very practical hack:

My daughter has a great time on the slide at the park but she needs someone to catch her. Up till now every time I would touch her we would both get that wonderful static electric shock until I realized that if I touched her shoe first we didn't get zapped. I am not sure if it works for all shoes or just rubber-soled ones, but it is worth a try. It certainly made sliding more fun for both of us.

Anyone else have a tip for de-shocking the playground slide?

Related: Mop up the rain puddle at the bottom of the slide with a diaper

Comments

[Kristi]

Bring a dryer sheet to the playground! When I was a kid and slides were still metal, my Granny gave me and my brother wax-paper lunchbags to slide down the slide on to make it more slippery. These days putting a dryer sheet under a kid's bum can help with the static "zap." (I used to keep one in the seat of my car because I was always getting zapped by the frame when I got out and reached to shut the door. It helped!)

[nicole]

Thanks for this hack! we've been getting zapped for years now! With one on his way to the slide age and another baby on the way, I thought there was no end in site! :) This is an awesome solution!

[Zed]

Hahaha! I clicked on this thinking it was a hack to prevent ME from getting shocked when I go down the slide myself! I love those big spiral slides, but I hate getting shocked by the bolt heads on the way down. Oh well, I guess there's nothing to be done about it.

This is still good to know!

[Andi]

Zed, The dryer sheet will work for the bolts on the spiral slide as well. Using waxed paper will cut down on friction which will reduce the build-up of static on the plastic part of the slide.