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.

[danTDM]

YANBU I live in a country where you spend all summer at the pool and this happens to poor DD 8 all the time, completely hassled by younger children who eventually ruin her fun totally... I do more of less the same as you. You just get used to it. You're worrying too much! Things like this happen on a daily basis.

[5moreminutes]

Metalguru

Parents who have younger kids sometimes forget that older kids are still kids! They are not adults, like you said to her, they were all children

exactly!

The number of times there are threads where people are outraged at the behaviour of a child who "must have been at least 4" (and therefore practically an adult and should have been more mature and understanding about their charming tot's superior right to exist) in the vicinity of their 2 year old... or a child who "must have been at least 6" around their 4 year old etc. etc. is amazing :o

[WhereYouLeftIt]

"within a couple of seconds a woman was standing there glaring at dd and said, "he's only a baby" really accusingly"
Well if she was that fast reacting to him bawling, she COULD have been just as fast intervening when she watched him annoy other children.

I have no time for parents who regard everyone other than their special snowflake as nothing more than walking shadows with no preferences, no rights, no feelings!

[kali110]

Yanbu, woman should have been supervising her 'baby' more closely then! She certainly had no problems when he was annoying the other kids!
Besides, it's a water park with water guns! What does she expect

[edwinbear]

YANBU dd (4) would first of all stop when asked, but if she did continue and subsequently got squirted in the face, I would shrug and explain that's the consequence of winding other people up.

[ghostspirit]

i agree with leftit if my younger kids were squarting water. i would exspect them to be squirted back. and if they were to cry threy would get over it. but hope to think they would not