Child hit my baby

[esmaesmomma]

Today I visited a children's theme park with my friend, her 2 children (aged 3 & 9) and my DD aged 9 months.

The weather wasn't brilliant so we decided to take refuge in the "adventure zone" huge I side play area. My friends children ran off happily after having some lunch and my dd stated to get restless so I decided to take her over to the baby area which is for babies and toddlers under 5. I was sat with her in the ball pool and she was smiling and giggling and sat between my legs playing it was adorable she has a ball pool at home and she loves it.

There were a couple of other children in the area most were unsupervised but were all playing lovely together. 2 little girls came in when I say little this child was around 6 possibly 7 years old defiantly too old for that area not that it's some kind of law or anything. Anyway the older girl started messing around and bashed into my dd so I moved my daughter away and carried on playing the girl moved closer and started flicking the balls so they would hit my baby. I politely asked the little girl to stop and said there was plenty of room she needed sit so close to the baby she then looked me straight in the eye and reached out and hit my dd making her cry there was no warning she was going to do this. I was mortified I moved my daughter out of the ball pool and went back to the table where I spent the next 10 mins consoling her. I told my friend what happened then looked out for the little girl I finally managed to put the child to a parent so I went over to the mother and calmly explained what happened I had Dd in my arms the mother then said my daughter wouldn't of hit yours for no reason she must of done something to her first!

I'm not one of those "it's never my kids" kind of parent but my daughter is 9 months old and can't even crawl properly or talk she was just sat with me picking up the balls.

In the end the mother did say something to her daughter but it was pretty half assed like she was only mentioning it because she felt like she had to not because she thought what her daughter had done was wrong. AIBU to think this child should of known better and to feel deeply hurt by the whole thing its left me quite upset not nice to watch your child (esp a baby) being hit by another child. I'm kind of annoyed at the mother but it's not my place to say how she should parent her child.

Would anyone of done anything differently in terms of telling the child's mother/father?

Also the man the mother was with was very apologetic he was not the child's father.

Olympia I get it might be an over the top reaction but please try to remember my dd is only 9 months old and it was the first time I had ever witnessed something like this esp someone deliberately hurting her. I wouldn't make a habit of it if she had been accidentally bumped I would of consoled her and checked her over due to her age and then continued playing. It hurt a lot to see my baby get hit by another child that's all x

Blimey, what's a death slide? Is it what they seem to term a drop slide around our way? The mental image I have is something akin to a 100ft drop onto knives!

I know that feeling OP, it really affects you the first time you realise you can't protect them from everything. However they grow up, and get assertive, and before you know it your 3yo is telling a child twice their size that they aren't being kind and to say sorry. And they do!

Happened once with ds hen he was 18 months, boy about 5ish really whacked him. Told the staff, they warned the parent who sat him out for 10 mins and when he did it again they were asked to leave.

Haha scrambled! Yes a death slide is a drop slide! No knives but who need those when you have 3rd degree friction burn? I've always hated those things!

Yes it was a pretty sad moment all of a sudden everything just clicked and I felt pretty powerless if I'm honest. Shit feeling.

Sorry to hear that OP.

Children learn many of their behaviours at home and it makes you think...what's going on in that family's home?

It sounds like the area also wasn't supervised by staff? Maybe tell complain so they are more stringent on not allowing children past a certain age into the baby and toddler area. Those children shouldn't have been there in the first place.

i think you behaved very well. Your poor DD glad she is okay.
A similar thing happened to me when i was in a soft play abroad with my son, in the baby area. An older boy had climbed in and was running riot and my DS was playing with a giant foam block. The older boy ran up to him, grabbed it off him, put it on top of my son THEN STOOD ON TOP OF IT. My son was screaming and i just saw red and grabbed the foam block with the boy on top of it and threw it!! Whilst shouting 'what in Gods name are you doing??' which i think he understood even tho he was not english. He just ran away.
Looking back on it that was actually an awful thing to do because it was just another child and kids dont behave that way for no reason they usually have awful stuff going on in their lives if they are ending up being that violent towards babies. I just saw the red mist tho.

The Mother is entirely to blame here. It was a horrible thing to happen but try not to dwell on it too much. It is upsetting when our children get hurt but this time the parent was totally inadequate and one can only feel sorry for children brought up to not be told right from wrong.

Oh lazy that just sounds awful. I don't blame
You I know what it's like when the red mist descends sometimes you have to remind yourself they are just kids but it is hard esp when it's your baby/child who is being hurt.

They don't call soft play the seventh circle of Hell for nothing OP. It's truly hideous. As they get older you are watching out for other kids hitting your LO and then your kids getting carried away because someone tries to take the toy they were playing with etc. It's not a nice place. Not to mention the kids with dripping noses who cuddle your child and give them colds, or impetigo!

I know it hurts to see your child hurt, we've all been there and been outraged but honestly it's best if it's not made a huge fuss over and they just learn to accept the rough with the smooth. Of course hitting your baby doesn't come into that category and it's something you were right to take a stand on, but the general madness that's soft play is just down to kids being kids and that's something we all have to learn to take in our stride.

Olympia you are 100% right! Not looking forward to the colds and impetigo I have to admit lol x

I once had to drag a child I was minding out of one of those soft plays after she shoved a toddler down the big foam steps. No reason, just to be mean. Then she stuck her tongue out at his mother who shouted at her and ran off. I chased her across a rope bridge, through a tunnel and hauled her out upside down by the ankles, screaming that she hadn't done anything and calling me a poo. When I told her mother about her behaviour and having to be carted out, I got: "ooh, that's odd. She wouldn't do that. He (other child) must have done something first" He was barely 2. She was 6, nearly 7. Nothing he could possibly have done would have hurt her or warranted shoving him down the steps. Some parents just don't see their children's flaws.

Starry I shouldn't of laughed. Cheeky little madam poking her tongue out!

OP swimming is far nicer!

This was awful for you OP but I try to remember that when small children do things like this it's usually for one of two reasons.

A: They're not from a good home; they see and suffer violence
B: They have some form of special needs.

It's very rare for a 6 year old to just be mean.

My boy got pushed down a slide by a much older one. He landed face first, bloody nose, blood everywhere, the lot! I told the boys mum and she went bat-crap crazy at him and was mortified! Very apologetic and she took him home straight away! Hope your DD is ok now xxxxxx

Thanks for all the comments everyone very helpful and kind! Dd is absolutely fine she's sound asleep and has been since half 7 same as every night didn't affect her at all. Me on the other hand.. glass of wine is needed!

maybe your 9 month old gave her the death stare...?

This is the opposite, kind of, but I got pushed down a flight of stairs by a friends little brother once, I was in year 5, I think, and he was a few years below. I didn't do shit to him but I think his inner Damien surfaced and he wanted to see what would happen.

Sorry, but a normal child of 6,7 wouldn't do this. Horrible child, rubbish parent- I cannot see how they would think it was acceptable to hit a baby. I'd be mortified if a child of mine did this, not a half arsed apology to a parent.
It makes you wonder what's going on at home if they think this is acceptable.

Why was you 'mortified?'

Why wouldn't you be mortified?

I would have (and often have) had stern words with the older child in the baby area full stop. If there are babies using it, then bigger children should not be making it unsafe for them.

If a child hit my baby I would have told them off and marched them straight to their parents.

I'm sorry this happened to you and your dd. As a pp said, try to put it behind you. She won't remember it. Not nice though

I'm referring to a hypothetical situation, as in I'd be pretty shocked/ horrified/ embarrassed if this happened as a baby can't defend itself and it's an act of violence. Mortified kind of covers it...

Superpug I'm with you all the way on this.

Sorry OP, cross post with your original post, glad your baby is ok.

*Why wouldn't you be mortified?

I just wouldn't be embarrassed. I would be angry.