I was in the play park this afternoon with DD2 (aged 3) and DS - 13 months. DS has been walking for about 6 weeks now and is very steady on his feet. He was running around all over the play park having lots of fun. I was playing with DD2 in the sandpit whilst keeping an eye on what he was doing. He had run over to the other side of the play park (it really isn't a very big play park) near the gate. A man was leaving with one child strapped into a push chair and another older child who clearly didn't want to leave and was taking a long time to go to his father. The man pushed his pushchair out of the park and was waiting for his other child. As he waited he held the gate wide open. DS ran out of the gate and made straight for the road (about 10 metres from the gate). The man watched as DS did this but made no attempt either to stop DS going out of the gate or to prevent him running into the road. I dashed over and grabbed DS when he was just about to step into the road. I then said rather crossly to the man that he shouldn't have let DS out. He replied that I should have been watching him. I said that I was watching him which was why I managed to get to him before he made it into the road. The man then said I should have stayed next to him at all times. I replied that everyone knows that when you are at a play park you should be careful not to let out any other children except your own (especially an unaccompanied baby). I was really upset and angry as I swear he would have done nothing to stop DS running into the road - he was just standing there holding the gate wide open while watching this happen.
Am I right or was he? It is a play park - it has heavy counter weighted gates which toddlers cannot open. Yes you have to watch your children but you don't have to shadow their every move. I am in a state of shock not only that he casually held the gate open and watched DS walk out of the park on his own towards the road but seemed to think that it wasn't in any way his responsibility to try and stop him from going into the road. If I saw a 13 month old baby running into a road I would stop it - regardless of fault or circumstances, but irrespective of that i think that he shouldn't have let DS out in the first place. Sorry for the rant.
Please or to access all these features
Please
or
to access all these features
AIBU?
To be really angry with this man....
24 replies
NellyTheElephant · 14/05/2010 19:32
OP posts:
MadamDeathstare ·
14/05/2010 19:53
This reply has been deleted
Message withdrawn at poster's request.
Don’t want to miss threads like this?
Weekly
Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!
Log in to update your newsletter preferences.
You've subscribed!
Please create an account
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.