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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask what's wrong with running with a stick?

170 replies

Haveyouallgonequitemad · 20/02/2021 00:46

Overheard in the park...
Sebastian come here, come here right now
Small boy age prob 4 runs over to woman
Right no1 why on earth are you running with a stick no 2 why are you waving at the pigeon that is awful behaviour...
I mean ffs what is wrong with a boy playing with a stick and running around with it what's awful about that totally normal and what kids have been doing for years surely..
OK tell him not to wave it at pigeons but the pigeon is only going to fly away did she think he was gonna turn it into a frog with his stick wand or something.
Aibu? No kids play with sticks woman was ridiculous or yes it's highly dangerous to play with sticks in the park woman was right

OP posts:
DoodleLovin · 20/02/2021 02:53

My 4 year old fell and a stick he wasn’t even carrying went straight into his eye. We ended up spending a few hours in A&E and the pain was so bad he was hitting his head against the procedure table whilst 3 of us were holding him down trying to remove a shard from under his eyelid. Scratched cornea and torn conjunctiva. This only happened last week.

I’m now paranoid about sticks. He loves to pick some up whenever we’re out and about but no stick allowed in the house or garden and no running with stick.

Not sure what the pigeon thing is about. My boy loves to chase birds.

HeyDuggeesCakeBadge · 20/02/2021 02:54

Well this thread was just what I needed at 3am, thanks OP 😁. Oh and YABU by the way, HTH.

GrimDamnFanjo · 20/02/2021 02:56

My eldest fell on a stick and ended up with stitches in her eyebrow.I expressly told dh to not let her walk with the stick...

1forAll74 · 20/02/2021 03:05

When my two children were young, they played with sticks all the time. as we lived next to a wood, most of the kids around played in the woods, collecting sticks, swinging on tree branches. making things out of little sticks and bits of wood, and obviously running around a lot.All in days playtime. with plenty of risks.

Emeraldshamrock · 20/02/2021 03:35

I wouldn't allow my DC scare a bird with a stick agreeing with pp's it is dangerous to run with a stick, that's why adults don't do it.

Emeraldshamrock · 20/02/2021 03:40

You wrote stick 4 times in your OP? Then it turned into a twig, maybe it was magic after all the pigeon had a lucky escape.

Tinkerbell456 · 20/02/2021 03:42

Okay, the stick thing I understand. Why would waving to a pigeon be a problem? Non parent here, so maybe I’m missing something.

SofiaAmes · 20/02/2021 03:43

My ds' most serious middle school injury (he had lots of them...was very accident prone) was when he was a spectator at a PE class relay race where they were using full water bottles as the baton. The girl running accidentally let go of the bottle while running and it was jettisoned straight into my ds' right eye giving him the most enormous bruise and black eye. It took the school quite a bit to explain it as ds was on a medical recovery from an operation and wasn't supposed to be doing any strenuous activity. Leave it to ds to be injured while spectating in a group of 30 active children.

TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 20/02/2021 04:10

I agree with you OP. In fact I think every child should be issued with their OWN stick at birth from a Government-funded 'It's MY Stick' scheme.

They could retain the stick until they are 10 years old when it would have to be handed back.

Every few years the Police could operate an Stick Amnesty for those who failed to return their sticks - no questions asked.

GeorgiaGirl52 · 20/02/2021 04:37

When I was a child and we walked downtown there were pigeons on the sidewalk. My father told me if I could catch one I could take it home. I tried and tried and never caught a pigeon. They just strolled away and flew if I got too close. The pigeon was not in danger.
The kid with the stick -- not so safe.

alexdgr8 · 20/02/2021 05:03

for similar reasons dogs should not run while carrying sticks.

Ponoka7 · 20/02/2021 05:32

@Tinkerbell456, seeing as the OP is so risk adverse, her account might not be quite correct, he might have been pretending to shoot the bird etc. Around 4 children should be having empathy reinforced, especially boys. As well as general kindness to things more vulnerable/smaller. Socialisation is really important in a boys development.

gigity · 20/02/2021 06:14

First rule of parenting, teach your child to grow up not to be cunts

Why are there so many counts on MNs?

gigity · 20/02/2021 06:15

ha ha auto correction

Imaginetoday · 20/02/2021 06:45

This made me smile...mum of 2 boys ( well 6 foot blokes now)
When they were little an over officious NT woman let rip at me because they’d picked up a twig from under a tree and we’re running around with it...no one else about..she stomped across 100 foot of lawn to shout at me🤦‍♀️
My lads would always pick up sticks to extent I have drawn up theory...they just like holding a point thing...and their normal pointy thing has to be kept private in public- it’s a replacement. So much is this an innate male security response they developed into metal sharpened ones called swords and really started poking each other with them when unhappy
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Boys and sticks? Inseparable

spaceghetto · 20/02/2021 07:06

Carrying sticks safely is taught in forest schools. Did you see that episode of 999 with the javelin?

PlanDeRaccordement · 20/02/2021 07:21

YANBU OP. Some people are just more risk adverse than others and frankly, you can’t protect a child from all risks and they have a healthy happy childhood. But different parents draw different lines. I had similar because I allowed mine to climb trees. Yes they could get stuck or fall and break a bone, but that level of risk was low compared to the enjoyment.

Fromthegekko · 20/02/2021 07:35

Small twigs are the gateway drug to branches and then where would we be? And what if they then came across a recently felled oak and started wafting THAT about? Always follow the rules - don’t run with twigs, lollies, scissors.

YANBU. If it was only a twig he could have been nicely asked to not run while he is holding it. And if he wasn’t chasing the pigeon then that could have been ignored as bird just in the wrong place at the wrong time so to speak. Save the super strict parenting for things that need it.

Standrewsschool · 20/02/2021 07:40

Haven’t all kids run around with a twig, pretending it’s a sword at some point?

SchadenfreudePersonified · 20/02/2021 07:49

When I was a girl (and all around here was green fields etc) another child at school did actually fall with a lolly in her mouth and suffered a really horrible and painful injury.

I have also seen a dog charging about with a stick which caught on the ground and pierced it's palate. It screamed the most horrible scream I've ever heard in my life - there was blood all over. It was dreadful.

(I know these are slightly off point, but sticks can be dangerous)

SchadenfreudePersonified · 20/02/2021 07:50

@Fromthegekko

Small twigs are the gateway drug to branches and then where would we be? And what if they then came across a recently felled oak and started wafting THAT about? Always follow the rules - don’t run with twigs, lollies, scissors.

YANBU. If it was only a twig he could have been nicely asked to not run while he is holding it. And if he wasn’t chasing the pigeon then that could have been ignored as bird just in the wrong place at the wrong time so to speak. Save the super strict parenting for things that need it.

Hear, hear Gecko.

Before you know what's happening 4-year olds are ripping up 200 year od oaks and destroying the environment.

DeadHeadedDaisy · 20/02/2021 07:52

I don't let my kids run with sticks in case they fall in an awkward way, which is pretty likely! . She's just being safety conscious

HOkieCOkie · 20/02/2021 07:57

Because it’s her son and she doesn’t want him running with sticks.

Sparklehead · 20/02/2021 07:58

My dad is an eye surgeon, specialising in paediatrics and, when we were growing up, would never allow us to run around holding sticks. He wasn’t a risk-averse dad in any other way, but he said he saw so many awful eye injuries in children as a result of this scenario, that he wouldn’t allow it. I now don’t allow my DC to run around with sticks.