Wibu - poolside dispute

[HolidaySun1]

On holiday in a sunny country. Me and son were playing nicely in the pool. For info my 5 year old is autistic and hates water on his face but had been in the pool while it was quiet and done really well. It got busier so we came out and were on chairs near pool having an ice cream and drink.

Older kids (10 to 12ish) were in pool with massive super soakers. Lots of people relaxing by poolside looked annoyed as they were sumbathing. They were spraying each other and everyone else and got my son (not in pool) in the face. He was upset so we moved further back. While I was tending to him they got me and I have to say even being several foot from the pool it stung. I nicely said "keep the water in the pool kids" when they aimed and hit me and son in the face again. I asked them to stop shooting while we moved and they then hit my son again with the super soaker and it went directly in his eye and he became very distressed. I told my son we should go to the apartment because of the kids when a woman by me (assumedly the mum but I don't know this and didn't realise they were together) started shouting at me that they were just kids having fun, what did I expect by the pool, that I was rude about the kids.
I explained that they had repeatedly shot my son.
She screamed at me that I was being ridiculous, they are kids on holiday, stop being stupid. I was embarrassed, but replied, "once would be an accident, several times is deliberate and the kids should be told to stop and they are inconsiderate and rude".
She carried on shouting, I said I would not argue and shout in front of kids and took my son away. She shouted after that if she sees us again by the pool she'll push us both in and called me an uptight bitch.
Son was upset when we got back but is ok now but I feel very angry but also intimidated (and shakey and embarrassed) and worried about the rest of our holiday here. It's just me and my son, I know if I had other adults with me I would feel better but just us here in a foreign country...
Was I uptight? Should I have not said anything at all and just left? I thought the super soaker kids were out of order but perhaps it's normal and I'm over protective?

Great update! Hotel manager sounds excellent. I hope that resolves it and you can enjoy your holiday now but it’s great to know you have the support of the hotel with any further issues.

I despise bullies, I'm glad you've spoken to the manager and they are taking it seriously. Hopefully they will go home soon anyway!

I really do hope you get to enjoy the rest of your holiday.
I like to see kids having fun, but if they had done that to me I would certainly have been having words.

Well done OP. The manager sounds ace and I hope she bans this vile specimen and her feral children from the pool altogether - that would teach them. But I worry it would make things awkward for you....but you still did absolutely the right thing. Hope you dont see her again and have a wonderful rest of the time. Are you from the UK? Just to make you feel even better, it is miserable weather here so hurrah for sunny days and swimming pools!

Ugh she sounds hideous. It explains why her sons are so rude.
I imagine she gets into arguments a lot with that attitude, so chances are she won’t even remember you tomorrow...she’d have moved on to her next victims.

She was a total birch, people like that are a nightmare.

Enjoy the rest of your holiday.

Makes you think the neighbours of the ghastly woman and feral kids are having a rest!

*bitch bit Burch

Sorry to hear what happened to you and your son, I also would be furious if this happened to me or my children and I know I would be very unhappy with my children if they ever did anything like that to anyone

Must be related to the mother who was encoring her kids to pick up the butterfly’s by their wings in the butterfly house at Chester zoo. I pointed out the signs not to touch and got called a fucking interfering bitch. Luckily one of the attendants came round the corner just in time to see her little “darling” of about seven make a fist with the butterfly still in her hand. Luckily the attendant acted quickly and the butterfly escaped with its life (just). The mother and kids were ejected all screaming blue murder

Have you come across her again OP. I hope not or if you have she kept her head down

Omg want, what is wrong with some people? 🤬

YANBU OP.

What sort of a role model is that Mum being for her kids? No wonder they are so anti-social.

With people like that I always try to use it as a reminder that my friends and I are wonderful people and very happy, and take a bit of satisfaction from that, and just rise above it. The pool mob are clearly horrid to others and almost certainly pretty miserable in life as a result.

You sound lovely, so don't let it bother you, and enjoy the holiday.

borrow one of the super soakers and shoot the shouty cow

I am really glad you spoke up. This happened to us a few years ago. I was on the sunbed & the kids were firing water pistols everywhere. Myself and my son wear hearing aids and after being squirted in the ear once before my hearing aid stopped working so I got very tense. Finally I went over to the mum and said please stop them doing this, we are all getting a bit fed up with it. I sat back down and was shaking as I hate confrontation. We kept seeing them at breakfast but a couple of years later we saw them again at the same place and ended up having a chat. It's embarrassment and safety in numbers behaviour and it sounds like you're doing a great job with your boy. Happy hols.

If I had witnessed this incident, I would have reported this despicable woman myself! I have 3 adult children and not long ago, my then teenage son threw a strop with his girlfriend and chucked a bottle of suncream across the grass, the bottle bounced and landed in the pool very close to a child swimming with her parents! I was mortified and could not apologise enough to the family who, whilst upset, very politely accepted our apologies. I marched my son off by the scruff of his neck and he was banned from pool visits after that. Kids should be allowed to have fun but most definitely not at the expense of others. If I had been those boys' mother, they would definitely have had their arses well and truly kicked. I hope you and your son are able to enjoy the rest of your well deserved holiday in peace.

You so did the right thing OP - I have two autistic children and would have over reacted completely and made everything worse, you were calm and therefore above reproach - well done and ride it out, they will behave badly and get themselves kicked out, keep doing what you are doing!