Bubble etiquette at the playground

[NeedingAGoodNap]

Just got back from the park where one family started blowing bubbles for their dd. As the bubbles drifted across the playground the other children there (including my dd) all got excited, yelling “bubbles!” and started trying to chase and catch them as well.

The mum seemed genuinely annoyed. She kept trying to move further away and was getting frustrated that the wind was blowing the bubbles towards the other children. Her child was still getting to enjoy the bubbles, the other kids were getting the ones floating further down wind (though they were all creeping towards the source of the bubbles!). She ended up putting them away.

AIBU to find this strange? Anytime I’ve taken bubbles to the park I’ve assumed that other small kids would also be interested in them! I’ve always encouraged others interested to join in and other mums have always done the same

But what’s the difference? If a child has a doll or a bike surely the ‘conflict’ created will be the same, which is that your child can’t have it because it’s not theirs. It’s not precious as such for a child to have a toy your child doesn’t have. Of course it does create a conflict but it’s a conflict children have to live with in life - not everything is ours.

Of course bubbles (to me) don’t really count as a toy. It would be like having a bbq and complaining that other people are stealing all the bbq smell.

I agree OP, the bubbles were flying free and therefore for everyone.

My NDN had bubbles out in her garden the other day for her girls, some came over our fence which my DD crawled after laughing. NDN's toddler took exception to this and complained 'mumumum she's stealing my bubbles' 😆, I could just hear NDN trying to placate her without laughing...

Always stand downwind of kids when blowing bubbles.
If you’re very protective of your bubbles.

Yes, I was watching my daughter and was in arms reach at all times. She is only just turned 2 and likes to do a runner or play with way older kids so I need to keep close when it’s busy!

I’m in Australia so it was afternoon for us. That being said, in summer there are usually kids at the park around 7 or 7.30 am where I am so it’s possible to have been to the park and back by 8am. I live inner city where there are lots of apartments - it’s usually one parent (dads mainly) taking toddlers out, getting a coffee, and giving the other parent a sleep in!

Yeah I don’t get the taking toys to the playground thing, it just invites upset for when other kids inevitably want what you’ve got.

A football, frisbee, bubbles etc I get as everyone can join in, however obviously not for this crazy mum 😂

The mum seemed annoyed

So you don't know that she was annoyed. You are guessing.

In that case maybe the mum was just a bit of a grump. Who knows? Either way some people are just a bit arsey.

What an idiot
At my local parks the kids all bring toys and bubbles and play together.

Parents ned to teach their children to respect others property and not touch. My kids used to ride on their scooters and bikes to get to the park, are you seriously I should have stopped this just to avoid upsetting other kids? Its their parents responsibility to control their kids and you know, parent.

Lol at the thought of having a private bubble party in a park
poor woman 🤣

Exactly! And I’m not a massive “other peoples kids” person but a bunch of happy toddlers and preschoolers chasing bubbles is pretty adorable. I’ve taken a large bubble wand to the park several times and actually found it very uplifting (as corny as that sounds).

@Plumbear2 I quite clearly said toys, nothing about scooters or bikes…

OMG this thread is funny as I posted about my dd taking toys to the park a little while back she likes to take her dolls to the park and I’m absolutely sick of kids trying to snatch them off her! I was told my local park was weird and that it never happens at anyone else’s park and that no one ever tries to snatch toys yet on here they do and you shouldn’t bring them then?! 😂 what about floats and stuff then? We have a local splash pool and we bring floats there and the same thing happens kids try to snatch them off my kids I can’t believe parents genuinely think “well you shouldn’t have brought them then” no how about you teach your kids to not take things that don’t belong to them or buy your kid their own floats!

I love taking bubbles to the park. Those long bubble wands in tubes. Start them off then put an older child in charge of running around the park trailing bubbles behind them whilst I enjoy my coffee.

If I was overwhelmed by parenting small children, perhaps in a small space/no garden, manage to get ourselves all out to the park, entertain them with some bubbles and then find I've got a lot more kids to engage with, I would seem to be grumpy too! Sometimes its just all a bit much.

I think some toys lend themselves to being communal. Pools often have floats for everyone to use so it might not be clear they have owners especially when left on the side. When we used to go to a local pool we always took a bag of toys and dive sticks. My elder two would swim whilst younger twins would play with octonauts etc. on the steps. We shared with loads of kids over the years. Holiday park place so often lots of kids around. Same when we went to sandpit happy to share toys. If someone didn’t want to share it needed to be put away when they were done with it.

It’s not a pool in a leisure centre it’s an outdoor pool attached to a park it does not have floats it’s literally outside . So if you took your phone out and someone wanted to use it would that be ok? Why do children have to accept that they share things? What if it gets broken whose paying for it 🙄

And coming up to a child and literally snatching something out of their hands is not sharing, what a sad way to raise a child to believe it’s ok for someone to snatch things out of their hands because they “must share” if we shared everything we took to the park we would never see them again, how about you teach your child not to take other people’s stuff? I bring floats so my kids can play on them, if they gave them to others they wouldn’t see them again until we left.

This is exactly what I thought!

Some people just have that sort of look about them. In fact she probably moved to position herself out of the way of the breeze.

<< Awaits drip-feed from OP claiming she called them all rotten little bastards >> 😄

Honestly, it was likely just a miscalculation. Tired parent/carer takes child to park, hoping for some calm and quiet whilst child plays happily over there-aways. Child run up and asks for bubbles, adult blows bubbles on auto-pilot, hoping they'll blow merrily that-aways. Instead she finds herself surrounded by bubbles, and child, and everyone else's children too. Adult puts bubbles away, trying not to think stabbity thoughts about all the other parents now enjoying the precious few moments of peace she desperately craves. Adult goes home, washes out bubble bottle, fills with vodka/whisky/gin/iced quadruple espresso instead. All better.

It wasn't me, but it easily could have been!

A scooter is a toy. One of my kids used to take her doll and pram, other parents need to ensure their kids don't use that aswell ( unless permission is granted) there's no way I'm going to deny my child taking a toy, other parents have to explain that to their children and deal with any upset.