Parent playing with other peoples children at soft play

[OneToThree]

AIBU to think this is quite odd behaviour?

They are such good fun, loud, energetic that most of the children in there were chasing after them and playing a tickle monster game.

The main issue I have with this I think is that he gets all the children so hyped up that they start to act a bit naughty, ie pushing each other, grabbing toys off each other etc.

If my dc and my friends 2 dc were just playing calmly together these things wouldn't happen very often at all.

All the children playing with the other parent were under 5 and they only had one child with them, the others were other peoples, probably about 9 others.

This other parent is always there on this particular day and me and my friend also go on this day every week too.

It has got to the stage where ds said to me today, look mummy there's my friend, which seems a bit over familiar as they have only said hi to me and my friend a couple of times.

I am more than happy to be told that IABU.

See, this could be me too.

DS is three, and takes time to 'warm up' to situations. So he likes me to go in with him. And we play for a while, and I always get little ones coming up to talk, or join in. I would never ignore them, or tell them to go away.

But once he's settled in a bit I leave him to play as he has normally found a friend by that point and wants to go running off with them.

I do think, OP, that responsibility here lies with you.

You don't like it.

I don't think there is anything inherently unreasonable in you not liking it, but it's not like this man is doing anything at all wrong or that he shouldn't be. Therefore it's up to you to manage this situation.

As I see it you have three or four different options - ban your children from playing with him and police it, go at a different time so that you don't bump into him, choose a different soft play or activity to avoid him altogether, or go in and play with your children yourself.

However, what you can't do, and would be totally unreasonable to do, would be to try to stop this individual from playing with the children, or insist he does things differently, or make a complaint. He really isn't doing anything wrong.

You want to sit and chat and drink coffee with your friend whilst your children play without much supervision but you would prefer them not to interact in a loud fashion with other soft play parties yet nicely and quietly build a friendship.

Sounds Erm, reasonable.

Take the pied piper. Take him!

Wow. YABtotallyU. You have a problem with someone who's happy to keep your kids entertained so that you can have a break?

I'm also like the pied-piper at any event that includes children. I love kids (other people's more than my own and they love me), I engage with them well.
I think it's more acceptable though in your eyes since I don't have a penis?

YABU. He sounds like one of those dads who's just brilliant with kids and they find him brilliant fun to be around. I think it's a bit sad if everyone starts coming over all suspicious or standoffish everytime a stranger so much as looks at their child.

Why don't you stay at home and just let them calmly look at a picture of soft play.

Arf @ Raxa

I can see where you're coming from op, I find these over enthusiastic dads a bit odd too if I'm honest, & I'd be very annoyed if he was getting my dc all worked up & hyper.

Really, op??

Why odd though? This is what I don't understand. Because it's a man? Because he's more enthusiastic than the actual parent? Because he might actually enjoy messing around in a soft play place? I don't get it!
Why do I strongly suspect it's because it's a man...

How enthusiastic can an adult get at soft play? If he really is enjoying it that much then yes, he's extremely odd.

There's a thread over in chat about adults playing on swings etc, take a look. Full of people who like doing things like that!

I dislike the tickling monster game myself.

I remember often being tickled by an aunt's brother until I wet myself as a young child and hated the feeling as it just didn't stop even though I sobbed and begged and begged him to stop. Hated it. Nothing makes you feel worse than an adult doing something you don't like and ignoring you when you say STOP.

It took my Grandad to say to him that he wasn't welcome if he was going to upset us GC for him to say "didn't mean any harm" - bastard.

Hate him forever for that.

So tickling monster game = NO.

Many of the parks we went to in New Zealand have play equipment that is designed for older kids and adults. I wish we did that here. I loved it and my kids did too.

I wrote to my local council and never even got a reply.

Revenge maybe I missed the OP saying the man carried on tickling the kids when they'd asked him to stop - in which case, yes, that's not on. Some kids do like being tickled.

Obviously it's wrong to continue if there's any sign that the ticklee is not ok with it.

My kids love to be tickled

I uxed to be pinned down and tickled and I hated it. But that was more about disregarding my feelings than the game.