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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:
Sapho47 · 23/02/2021 05:05

@Haveyouallgonequitemad

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
He was trying to hit a bird with a stick.

Best to knobble that behaviour before they get dexterous enough to actually catch the bird

Sapho47 · 23/02/2021 05:11

@Haveyouallgonequitemad

Brown stick small bit like a twig he may not have been called Sebastian but something similar I did hear it. Throwing balls rising bikes skating and running is also dangerous don't get why waving a stick around whilst playing on his own with no other kids around is any worse than that noone eyes were poked out pigeon was fine I overheard and think it is not awful behaviour at all totally normal she also emphasised awful a second time which was ott. I don't know anyone with one eye that had it poked out by a twig so I think it is not only unreasonable but also rather sad.
Do you ever see an adult swinging a stick about at random?

No?

nameisnotimportant · 23/02/2021 05:24

I agree it's all about context. How big was the stick, was he using it to hit the bird, is he a clumsy kid that always falls and would impair himself? My kid running with a stick would be absolutely fine but my friends kid seems to trip over and fall on fresh air, so I would tell him to put the stick down 🤣

Boiledpotatowitch · 23/02/2021 18:31

I always see adults waving sticks about when I go out totally normal behaviour your friends kid that trips on fresh air needs to stay indoors no fresh air in there to cause him any injuries

SchadenfreudePersonified · 24/02/2021 18:26

@Fromthegekko

Not to mention you can get a nasty infestation of squirrels from an ancient oak. The traditional remedies for squirrels (large tom cats, over-excited terriers, chucking a bread bun at them etc) are no longer effective because they have been over-used and the squirrels have built up an immunity.

Schadenfraude. I live in a rough area up north and the squirrels are as hard as hell. Chuck a bread bun at one and it would come straight back at you with a stone in it. They’d laugh in the face of any over-excited terrier or large Tom cat that tried to intimidate them. The least of your problems round here is overly cautious parents, stick wielding toddlers and startled pigeons.

I'm up north, gekko. I wonder if we come from the same area?

Squirrels round here could easily carry off and devour an unwary toddler. Heck - they'd carry off and devour an overly cautious parent!

Not a startled pigeon, though. The pigeons round here have seen it all. Nothing surprises them any more. They are the only pigeons I've ever seen rolling their eyes and murmuring "Not again", before going back to savaging a rottweiler.

Fromthegekko · 24/02/2021 22:20

Schadenfraude. I wouldn’t be surprised if we did live close by. It’s not just the squirrels here that are tough little fuckers. The pigeons and crows that hang out at the back of my flat spend their days strutting about, yelling for hours about god knows what and turn their beaks up at any food left for them. They have a look that says “ Whats this crap?” Mine could savage a Rottweiler in the morning and take out a Komodo dragon in the afternoon.

Peopletry · 24/02/2021 22:26

I’m pretty lax about many things but after seeing ds give himself a big gash millimetres from his eye after running with a stick I’ve become a bit neurotic about it.
I saw him fall on it and in those few seconds before he got up and I saw it had just missed were awful

Viviennemary · 24/02/2021 22:28

I don't agree with children being allowed to run riot aggressively waving sticks at wildlife.

Newnameagain111 · 24/02/2021 22:29

Why do you even care? Confused
Maybe she didn’t want him to twist his artificial leg or trigger her phobia of sticks as they hurried home to log into the National Pigeon Appreciation Society’s annual conference ...

Fromthegekko · 24/02/2021 22:41

Newnameagain. Can artificial legs get twisted?

Runkle · 24/02/2021 22:47

I can never not think of this when I see kids with sticks Shock

To ask what's wrong with running with a stick?
Runkle · 24/02/2021 22:49

Ignore 2nd pic - uploaded by accident!

DuesToTheDirt · 24/02/2021 22:58

Like many others on here, I fell as a child while running with a stick. Went into my arm and I had to have stitches.

ColdBrightClearMorning · 25/02/2021 06:54

@Runkle

I can never not think of this when I see kids with sticks Shock
Jesus, the syntax in that first pic makes my eyes hurt!
SchadenfreudePersonified · 25/02/2021 07:28

@Runkle

Ignore 2nd pic - uploaded by accident!
You had me wondering there . . .
SchadenfreudePersonified · 25/02/2021 07:32

@Runkle

I can never not think of this when I see kids with sticks Shock
Yep.

There's your kid, picking up a sack - smeared with bit of unseen poo, putting his hands up to pick his nose/ wipe his face/ whatever, or tripping with said bacteria-ridden stick and getting scratched (or worse) when he falls.

I hadn't thought of it before - I was just thinking of the physical injury it could cause - but now the risk of horrible infection has risen its ugly head as well.

SchadenfreudePersonified · 25/02/2021 07:43

@Fromthegekko

Schadenfraude. I wouldn’t be surprised if we did live close by. It’s not just the squirrels here that are tough little fuckers. The pigeons and crows that hang out at the back of my flat spend their days strutting about, yelling for hours about god knows what and turn their beaks up at any food left for them. They have a look that says “ Whats this crap?” Mine could savage a Rottweiler in the morning and take out a Komodo dragon in the afternoon.
Sounds about right.

It's sipping all those discarded cans of Special Brew that puts them in such a bad mood.

Swordfish1 · 25/02/2021 08:08

So was it a stick or a twig?

Fromthegekko · 25/02/2021 12:39

Schadenfraude. Yes there’s lots of discarded booze bottles and cans round here. I should have guessed the wildlife are binge drinking. They’re all such mean drunks too.

Aweebawbee · 25/02/2021 13:07

@LaMarschallin

Meowchickameowmeow

Maybe the child was a vampire, we all know how badly that could end.

Good point Smile

I think a stick through the heart would kill a human too. Maybe a twig would be alright though.
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