AIBU to be disappointed in some of the parenting I saw yesterday!

[Geekmama]

Me,DH & DS went to the zoo yesterday. Not all of the parents, but a large majority where allowing their offspring, to bang on the animal enclosures also in some cases to climb on them and in the petting zoo allowing The children to into parts of the closure they wasn't supposed to be in and in one case trying to kick a wallaby. I also saw children trying to chase ducks and pick them up. This is not okay behaviour and in most of these examples The parents were just on there phone's Ignoring behaviour. Makes me sad that people think this is okay. AIBU to feel disappointed on the lack of parenting?

I apologise for any spelling/grammar mistakes

We went to A local wildlife place last year and there were some children chasing guineafowl the poor things were screaming their heads and the mothers were just chatting and ignoring it I basically went up to the mothers and told them to control their children and that it wasn't acceptable to chase animals in that way. They were absolute scum about it started shouting, name calling etc if I hadn't been six months pregnant they'd have got even more off me

YANBU OP. I think teaching a child respect for animals is an excellent base line for ensuring you're bringing a kind and considerate adult into the world.

It sounds OTT but i hated seeing kids at school trying to stamp on butterflies/beetles ect when outside on our way from one class to another. I'd be really cross and tell them not to do it; to have some respect for life ect. In a child friendly way of course. Many would seem to take it on board like a revelation. Sadly though some would be and look at me as if i was totally mad! Sad really.

We lI've near a wildfowl and wetlands trust. I have seen children throwing stones at the geese with parents doing nothing....why take them there if you care so little about the birds? Mind you, the adults complaining about getting mobbed by ducks and geese in the picnic area are hilarious. Um, it's a wildfowl trust, you ought to expect wildfowl.

disappointed

I think you mean judgy?

Was it whipsnade? We were there yesterday a boy through crisps into the penguin enclosure. His parent told him off and as far as we are aware he didn't do it again! We later saw them harassing a wallaby

YANBU. Every time I go to a zoo I think they bring out the worst in human beings. I try to avoid them where I can, but my DD is an animal fanatic so we do go sometimes still. Have seen school kids chasing peacocks and pulling out their tail feathers. When I challenged them they told me the name of their school, so I wrote to their head and told them how there was no supervision from teachers and how they didn't seem to be learning to respect animals on their excursion to the zoo. Have also seen a little boy trying to stand on the head of a giant tortoise. For that I blame the zoo, since I don't think you should have enclosures that visitors can enter (i.e. they're designed that way) if there are no keepers supervising. But his mother was just nearby too, but ignoring him on her phone. I've seen signets having stones thrown at them and endangered bats being disturbed while parents looked on. It's just heartbreaking.