To have a stern word with kids over football in the playground?

[VeniceQueen2004]

There's a little kids playground near my home - it's walled in, full of slides, bouncers, climbing frame and other little kid stuff. Mostly preschoolers or younger kids from the nearby primary school.

The other day three older children (I'd guess 10/12) were playing football in there by kicking the ball incredibly hard against the brick wall so it ricocheted everywhere. A few times there were near misses where the ball flew up into the air and nearly hit various adults in the head. There was a degree of mutual eye-rolling but no-one said anything.

I was pushing my daughter in the toddler swing and they began playing very close to us. The ball whizzed past her head a couple of times and I asked them very politely to be careful. Then it got me in the back of the leg very hard. I shouted "ouch!" And then turned round and told them firmly not to do it again. I carried on pushing my daughter and once again got smacked in the back of the leg; this time I was a bit less calm and told them to stop it now. Almost immediately it hit my leg again, this time I felt sure it was deliberate so reminded them there is a big public park with football pitches 5 minutes down the road, and that this playground is for little kids. At this point the mum with them finally took an interest and told them to be careful, saying very pointedly that this playground "is for everybody". Little tyke was giving her a lot of backchat incidentally, I was quite shocked at how rude he was being to her. It felt a bit awkward so me and DD left (no doubt to everyone's relief!)

So I know I was "the bad guy" for not just doing tinkly laugh, kids will be kids - but WIBU?? Why play football ball in a tiny enclosed kids' playground with toddlers running all over? And why let your kids whack someone else with a ball three times before bestirring yourself to do something about it?

YANBU

YWNBU but having been that parent who has told other people’s children off (for much worse behaviour than you experienced) and been turned on by others for it, I now try not to say anything when I see bad behaviour, and just avoid it instead. So well done you for saying something!

I’d have been tempted to take it off him. Little shit (tyke is too nice IMO!)

That's terrible, if I'd been their parent I'd never have allowed them to take the ball in there much less ignored it hitting you several times. yadnbu.

If there's a football pitch nearby then YANBU

I really feel like at every turn there's a child with attitude and a parent behind them to stick up for their little shit darling

Swiss Army knife, apply to football, hand it back it a big shit-eating smile. OK, thats a joke, not advocating criminal damage, etc etc. I am a stroppy embarrassing cow and have walked over to horrible little boys in very similar circumstances, and told them to go and play on the playing fields, not in the babies' playground. Usually it works, and often if one person stands up to the little scrotes, someone else will join in and back you up.

YANBU, they're ignorant, feral little **s.

I don’t agree with the replies at all , to me it sounds like you were hoping for a fight and strangely pleased you got one. Why would 10 year old kids playing football drop their match and start kicking balls at your 2 year olds head and kicking balls on the back of your legs out of nowhere? I can guarantee you did a lot more than ask politely, at the very least. Not that it makes it right but it sounds like you were more involved than you are letting on.

What a ridiculous response - as if all 10-12 year olds are angels who would never do anything thoughtless, unreasonable or stupid unprovoked
I'm not one for doing kids down unnecessarily but come on!

@DickBastardly

I don’t agree with the replies at all , to me it sounds like you were hoping for a fight and strangely pleased you got one. Why would 10 year old kids playing football drop their match and start kicking balls at your 2 year olds head and kicking balls on the back of your legs out of nowhere? I can guarantee you did a lot more than ask politely, at the very least. Not that it makes it right but it sounds like you were more involved than you are letting on.

We have a playground very similar to the OP's. It states very clearly that ball games are not allowed. And we don't, sadly, have football pitches nearby. Kicking a football around small children in that kind of space is dangerous.

Yanbu. The playground is for everyone, but there are certain things that are unsafe to do in a walled/fenced in playground. Energetic football games are unsafe there.

Whether it was an accident or deliberate they should have been being careful. Most playgrounds have a no ball games rules because the area just suitable for safe ballgames

OP YADNBU!
It's not the place to be kicking a ball around and I'd have said something the first time I was hit.

I told off some unaccompanied Teenagers for doing this the other day. It was really dangerous. The football pitch was right outside.

@dickbastardly

They weren't stopping their game to do it - the game consisted of kicking the ball as hard as possible against the wall and seeing where it went. Inevitably it sometimes went into places other people were, it being a crowded playground. Which is why it wasn't appropriate in the first place!

Glad the general consensus is IWNBU!

YANBU
At first I though you were describing unaccompanied children who weren't thinking about how they were affecting the smaller children in the playground. But there was a parent with them, they should have been watching what their own children were doing.