Squirting toddler with water pistol

[Rockmegently]

At a free outdoor pool today with ds1(10) and dd(8) and this little lad (3, maybe 4 years old) starts following them around squirting them with his water pistol. At first they're laughing but they start to get a bit fed up, as he is constantly squirting water in their faces so they can't really play at all. All the kids use water pistols at this pool as it sells them and they all have a lot of fun, it's kind of expected that kids squirt water at each other. But after they have spent around five minutes just basically trying to get away from him they kept looking over at me with that uncomfortable look kids do when they don't know what to do, so I went over and said to them, tell him you don't like it, say "stop it, we don't like it" So they did this a few times, but he just carried on, following them around constantly squirting them. Every time they stood still he came up to within a few feet of them and squirted the water right in their faces, not nastily, just with a big grin like he didn't think he was doing anything wrong. I said to him, "I think you've squirted them enough, they don't want to play anymore, why don't you squirt up in the air for a bit?" but he didn't really acknowledge me.

Anyway, I got fed up after another five minutes of this and went over to them and said, "just squirt him back, he thinks it's a game of him chasing and you running away. He's following you because you're older and he doesn't think you will do anything back to him." And they looked at their water pistols and said, "but he's little!" And I told them it was ok, all the kids were squirting each other, if you squirt him he will probably stop following you." So dd squirted him and he looked a bit shocked and then started bawling (totally shocked me tbh I was not expecting him to cry), within a couple of seconds a woman was standing there glaring at dd and said, "he's only a baby" really accusingly . I absolutely saw red and said, "but they are all children! What else did you expect them to do?" And she just kept banging on about how he was younger, they were older and should know better, I ended up thinking maybe I had done the wrong thing and felt awful for dd as she was so upset, she hates being in trouble and having a random adult glaring at her was horrible for her. We left soon after.

WIBU and what should I have done differently? Generally there is not a problem at the pool as parents tend to step in if kids are going over the top with the water pistols, but that wasn't happening today! I told dd it wasn't her fault as I told her to do it, and I believed I was doing the right thing at the time, so she seems ok now.

[hazeimcgee]

Where did they squirt him? If it wasn'tvin the face, i don't think it's unreasonable and suprised they hadn't already done it. If it was in the face YWBU

CHlhuld's Mom should have been payig enough attwntion to know her kid was being a brat

[peppercold]

Maybe you could have spoken to the mother before telling your DC to squirt him back.

[justilou]

Should have got your kids to squirt the mother in the face and see how she likes it....

[Justwanttoweeinpeace]

If she didn't want him being squirted why was she even there?

[Rockmegently]

Pepper I kept looking round smiling thinking someone would come over and speak to him but I couldn't actually work out who was with him until she came storming over..

[livinginabox]

It's fine to squirt him back. That all part of the game. He 3/4 not a baby.

[Flashbangandgone]

If she didn't want him being squirted why was she even there?

Exactly... He was squirted with water, not bleach! Also, he was 3-4, not 18 months.

[DorotheaHomeAlone]

I probably would have stepped in and told him a bit more firmly that they'd had enough. You put your dd in s tricky spot. Like the suggestion of just squirting the mum, though.

[laidbackneko]

Second hazes question about whether he was squirted in the face.

[drspouse]

I would have walked around with him till I found the mum (saying to him, oh dear, where's your mummy? I think we need her help) and said said to her "you probably didn't notice, and he's too young to know not to, but the other children are getting a bit annoyed about being squirted".

[Missgraeme]

I would have took the pistol off my dc and squirted him myself. Little shit.

[Lilmisskittykat]

Well he's learnt a lesson hasn't he?

[Mishegoss]

She should've been supervising her "baby" a bit better. Then she could have moved him away when he started annoying your kids.

[captaincake]

So she was watching him closely enough to instantly appear to complain but not closely enough to stop him behaving badly? YANBU.

[Rockmegently]

Trying really hard to answer that honestly, no I don't think so, certainly not aimed directly at his face anyway though water may have gone on his face too? It's a water pistol with several holes not one big arc of water, more of a spray

[laidbackneko]

I think it does make a difference whether it was in the face. Just for the shock factor.
Not that I'm blaming your dd, just to be clear.

[laidbackneko]

X posted

[Rockmegently]

To loopy and haze

[Flowerbunty]

I have a 3 year old, and he absolutely hates water in his face. But if he was annoying the other kids and for some unknown reason I wasn't actually supervising him (unlikely near water), then I'd fully expect you to squirt him back.
It's part of the game. If he can't play it, he shouldn't have had a water pistol.

[Ameliablue]

Will the mum was obviously unreasonable but I also don't agree with your response. You could have asked him to point out his mum or asked around for who was with him.

[laidbackneko]

Yanbu rock. The only reason I asked about whether he was squirted in the face was because that would explain the bawling as its likely to be more shocking, especially to a toddler, to be hit in the face than say the legs are arms IYSWIM.

[Buggers]

Yanbu! My Dd has just turned 4 and she would stop as soon as she was asked, he was old enough to understand no, so don't feel guilty about it. He probably won't do it again so to be fair you've taught him a valuable life lesson.

[hownottofuckup]

YANBU at all