I spent the day in the park today with DS who is just 2. The floor of the park is thick rubber and there's a small marked area where there is nothing underneath. So it's bouncy at the bit but not like a trampoline. All morning there were children of various ages running or bouncing across it. The little ones seemed to have the most fun there. DS loved it.
Later on there were 2 older kids, I guess about 7 and 9 ish and DS playing. At first everything was fine. Then there was whispering and their game seemed to be to bounce as fast and hard as they could at the same time past DS so close that he fell over. DS looked a bit bewildered each time but got up laughing. I moved over right beside them though as there was something a bit mean spirited about how they were playing, so I wanted to quietly let them know I was watching. It did the trick and they backed off a bit, although carried on with their 'game'.
The older kid then kept reaching out to DS's shoulder as he bounced past, giving him a bit of a nudge as he was falling any more. I told him nicely to stop it a couple of times. Then when he thought I wasn't looking he put both hands on DS's shoulders and shoved him over onto his face. Cue serious telling off voice from me. I can't remember what I said something along the lines of 'don't you dare put your hands on him again'. I think it was the tone more than the words. The boy looked shocked and then ran off. I saw him speaking to a bloke and pointing at me but he never came over.
When I told DH he said I was wrong to tell this boy off as I had no idea who he was and how the adults with him would react. He says I should have just removed DS from the situation and kept us both safe. To be honest I never thought of any backlash, I just reacted to the situation. Although when I was being pointed out I did feel a bit scared.
So was IBU to tell him off? WWYD?