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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To be disappointed with how soft play handled this man

767 replies

Playcomment · 10/06/2026 15:59

I reported an inappropriate sexual comment made by another parent at a soft play area yesterday.

I was climbing down from one of the raised areas with my DS and didn’t realise he was climbing up. I said a polite sorry and he replied not to worry and that if he knew his £10 entry included him getting an arse in his face he would have visited months ago. I challenged him and then reported to staff.

The staff approached me 10/15 minutes later to say they’d spoken to him and he had admitted saying that but was ‘obviously joking’ and he relayed his apologies, so they considered the matter sorted.

Personally, I think he should have been asked to leave. He made me feel extremely uncomfortable and could have gone on to say similar to other parents present.

OP posts:
SpottyPyjama · 10/06/2026 17:11

nogainjustpain · 10/06/2026 17:09

It’s not funny. It’s sexualising a woman which is wrong anyway, in a very inappropriate setting (around kids) which to me is even more wrong, and just weird, not at all funny. A normal response would be ‘sorry/no worries/take your time/oops//i’ll move’. Why does it have to be a sex related joke to ‘break the tension’ or whatever pp are saying? Do we think a woman would have cracked this joke to another mum there? Why do we excuse these guys with haha it’s ‘banter’? Not so long ago an arse slap or boob grope was dismissed as ‘banter’ or ‘lads will be lads’ but that didn’t make it ok for the woman on the receiving end. If I had a partner who had come home laughing about the situation and reported what he’d said to another woman, I’d be disgusted. If my daughter had it said to her, I’d be disgusted. For those saying just to laugh about it, facesitting is a whole thing and can be a fetish, the joke implied him getting a free sexual service included with the entry to SOFT PLAY of all places fgs. I’m with you OP, inappropriate, pervy, and I’d have wanted him kicked out as well.

Would it have been better if he’d made a complaint about her inappropriate face sitting that occurred because she didn’t look where she was going?

SpudGunToo · 10/06/2026 17:10

ginasevern · 10/06/2026 16:40

Of course the poor man was only joking, they always are! We should all lighten up (just like we used to in the 1950's) and accept it for the totally innocent, non demeaning and hilarious male banter that it is. Nothing wrong with that is there.

How was it demeaning?

Pinkchickenwine · 10/06/2026 17:10

Hamela · 10/06/2026 17:09

Very surprised at these comments, so many being ok with this.

A woman enjoying time with her child in a very very child-centric place should not ever have to endure Random Mediocre Man implying, completely out of the blue, that he would rather be paying money to buy "consent" to have her literal arsehole on his face.

Fucking pig, why can't he just focus solely on the time meant to be spent playing with his children? Porn sick loser.

They police our bodies and actions, they think they can comment on even the most thoroughly disinterested women's bodies in even the most unsexual venues. It's not funny or flattering, when so many of them objectify and ( eitherinsidiously or outright) hate us and enjoy our discomfort.

Way over the top! It was a joke, she should’ve earn more careful where she stuck her arse!

nogainjustpain · 10/06/2026 17:09

It’s not funny. It’s sexualising a woman which is wrong anyway, in a very inappropriate setting (around kids) which to me is even more wrong, and just weird, not at all funny. A normal response would be ‘sorry/no worries/take your time/oops//i’ll move’. Why does it have to be a sex related joke to ‘break the tension’ or whatever pp are saying? Do we think a woman would have cracked this joke to another mum there? Why do we excuse these guys with haha it’s ‘banter’? Not so long ago an arse slap or boob grope was dismissed as ‘banter’ or ‘lads will be lads’ but that didn’t make it ok for the woman on the receiving end. If I had a partner who had come home laughing about the situation and reported what he’d said to another woman, I’d be disgusted. If my daughter had it said to her, I’d be disgusted. For those saying just to laugh about it, facesitting is a whole thing and can be a fetish, the joke implied him getting a free sexual service included with the entry to SOFT PLAY of all places fgs. I’m with you OP, inappropriate, pervy, and I’d have wanted him kicked out as well.

Pinkchickenwine · 10/06/2026 17:09

Playcomment · 10/06/2026 16:48

It seems you are in the minority…I’ll have to accept that making a facesitting comment in front of kids is perfectly normal next time I go 🙄

How old were the kids?

Hamela · 10/06/2026 17:09

Very surprised at these comments, so many being ok with this.

A woman enjoying time with her child in a very very child-centric place should not ever have to endure Random Mediocre Man implying, completely out of the blue, that he would rather be paying money to buy "consent" to have her literal arsehole on his face.

Fucking pig, why can't he just focus solely on the time meant to be spent playing with his children? Porn sick loser.

They police our bodies and actions, they think they can comment on even the most thoroughly disinterested women's bodies in even the most unsexual venues. It's not funny or flattering, when so many of them objectify and ( eitherinsidiously or outright) hate us and enjoy our discomfort.

jeomeollibyeoldul · 10/06/2026 17:04

seriously? gross. no wonder we will never get anywhere with sexual harassment and men being inappropriate to random women because of the likes of people in this thread. at least you told him off op and he got a telling off from staff, i suppose that's the most you can expect, any more and women would have to be considered human beings worthy of respect in public places and we can't have that.

Keepoffmyartichokes · 10/06/2026 17:04

And this is why kids can't cope with life, someone says something to Mum she doesn't agree with and she goes running to tell on him! It was a joke, you need to lighten up. And before anyone says it, I'm not a "cool mum" I'm just not always looking for offence

50sandFabulous · 10/06/2026 17:04

Unclench!

Jackiepumpkinhead · 10/06/2026 17:03

You stuck your bum in his face, maybe he should have complained about you. He tried to make light of an awkward situation.

OrdinaryGirl · 10/06/2026 17:03

HelenHywater · 10/06/2026 16:30

OP it's not funny or appropriate. I'm with you.

All the cool girls on this thread are unbelievable.

I am most assuredly not a cool girl, or even a Cool Girl™️ in the way you’re using the phrase, and I think his comment was funny.

I’m super-alert to inappropriate behaviour and this wouldn’t have bothered me in the slightest from a fellow parent. If anything it would have made me feel LESS embarrassed about the situation, by adding humour. Obviously it would have been entirely inappropriate coming from a member of staff.

Those who wouldn’t have been offended by the comment aren’t necessarily all awful feminism-destroyers and rape-culture-abetters. Just as those who would have been offended by it are not all humourless man-hating harpies. It’s ok for us to disagree well. 😊

UniquePinkSwan · 10/06/2026 17:01

HelenHywater · 10/06/2026 16:30

OP it's not funny or appropriate. I'm with you.

All the cool girls on this thread are unbelievable.

The OP shoved her arse in his face and he is inappropriate? He made a joke. OP is overreacting

SooPanda · 10/06/2026 16:59

Sorry I hate lewd jokes and obvious sexism but I really don’t see this as that.

He made a silly joke about your “arse” to make light of an awkward situation. You did literally have your arse in his face so it’s not like it came out of nowhere or he was making something up to be lewd. If he’d said anything about your sexual parts (fanny in my face rather than arse for instance) or insinuated a sexual move (sitting on my face) it would have been different.

If you were offended then he should be made to apologise to you, fair, but he shouldn’t be made to leave.

mrsbowes · 10/06/2026 16:59

Honestly I think it's just the kind of thing someone might say to make light of the situation without intending to sexually harass anyone.
You could have told him yourself if you found it offensive and the staff did warn him so sounds like it was handled fine.

Restlessdreams1994 · 10/06/2026 16:58

You probably made HIM uncomfortable climbing down on top of him without looking where you were going. He made a stupid joke in an awkward situation and you went running to the staff in the hope that he and his kids would be made to leave because of it? Yes, YABU.

2msoundsright · 10/06/2026 16:58

Playcomment · 10/06/2026 16:48

It seems you are in the minority…I’ll have to accept that making a facesitting comment in front of kids is perfectly normal next time I go 🙄

A lot of us aren't saying that it was perfectly normal. He misjudged a joke and apologised. The unreasonable thing is you expecting him to be kicked out in case he goes on to say similar to other parents present, as if he's some sort of deviant deliberately making risque jokes for kicks.

ginasevern · 10/06/2026 16:57

Erin1975 · 10/06/2026 16:44

This is a generational thing isn't it. What would have been an acceptable joke 20 years ago is now unacceptable and offensive.

I'm 69 and have spent decades listening to this sort of shit from men. I find it offensive but maybe the younger women on this thread aren't as jaded as me. So yeah, it's probably a generational thing.

Motuihe · 10/06/2026 16:56

It is not acceptable or funny in the slightest, MN come on!

If you were swimming and a man said something about your posterior or chest - would you laugh?!

He should have been banned.

Tiptow · 10/06/2026 16:54

Erin1975 · 10/06/2026 16:44

This is a generational thing isn't it. What would have been an acceptable joke 20 years ago is now unacceptable and offensive.

I must admit that I’m very curious as to what the humour is for the generations that are so po faced. What do they actually laugh at, is it just memes of cats?

hugasaurus · 10/06/2026 16:54

I think at the most I would say it was an awkward situation with an even more awkward joke. Would fly over the heads of kids young enough to need assistance in soft play at least.

Personally, I would have found it amusing. But can understand why someone might not. But I also think it was at worst a misjudged comment and not really worth the hassle.

SpottyPyjama · 10/06/2026 16:53

It could have been avoided if OP had looked where she was going. Don’t most of us teach children to look beneath them if they’re about to climb down anything, or go down a slide or fireman’s pole at soft play?

ThePieceHall · 10/06/2026 16:53

Count me among the puerile and immature folk on here.

Tillow4ever · 10/06/2026 16:51

Playcomment · 10/06/2026 16:48

It seems you are in the minority…I’ll have to accept that making a facesitting comment in front of kids is perfectly normal next time I go 🙄

If the kids understood it, if they even heard it, maybe you’d have a slight point. But I doubt they even heard. If they understood it there’s a FAR bigger problem.

Boobyslims · 10/06/2026 16:50

SnappyQuoter · 10/06/2026 16:03

You’ll get a pile on saying this was a joke and to get over it, but I’d agree he should have been told to leave. We need to come down hard on all these comments by men every single time.
When my kids were toddlers, I was in a cafe and knelt down to tie it oldest son’s shoelace when a man at the next table open his legs a bit and said, “while you’re down there love” with a guffaw. I had a very loud reply, and they were asked to leave but only because I made a fuss and that cafe replied on mums with toddlers to earn it’s money.
It’s just men treating women as objects. It should be dealt with every time.

That’s different (but very gross). Your example is up there with the “it ain’t going to suck itself” t-shirt, just horrible and unnecessary.

in the OPs example, I feel like the guy was making a situation less awkward by making it silly and a joke.

m00rfarm · 10/06/2026 16:50

SnappyQuoter · 10/06/2026 16:03

You’ll get a pile on saying this was a joke and to get over it, but I’d agree he should have been told to leave. We need to come down hard on all these comments by men every single time.
When my kids were toddlers, I was in a cafe and knelt down to tie it oldest son’s shoelace when a man at the next table open his legs a bit and said, “while you’re down there love” with a guffaw. I had a very loud reply, and they were asked to leave but only because I made a fuss and that cafe replied on mums with toddlers to earn it’s money.
It’s just men treating women as objects. It should be dealt with every time.

That is NOTHING like the comment in the OP.