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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

...for thinking some parents are just ^so^ precious

26 replies

MrsMattie · 07/02/2008 18:02

Sorry for long rant, but please tell me - AIBU?

Took DS (2.11 yrs) to a local softplay centre this morning. It's a fairly small one, used mainly by the Under 5s on weekdays. There were a fair few minor run-ins between children. My little boy was bopped in the head by another boy. He cried a bit, I gave him a cuddle -no harm done. Then A while later DS pushed another boy over. I had a word with DS - we'll have to leave if you can't play nicely, say sorry etc. Again, no real harm done.

Sooo -Noticed a girl of about 6 sitting in the ball pond at the bottom of a slide. Every time a child came down the slide they bumped into her and she whinged. Her mum told her to move a few times, but the little girl always ended up back at the bottom of the slide. Eventually, the obvious happened. My DS and another boy came down the slide and knocked into her. She wailed and screamed that the boys had 'hurt her' and threw a complete tantrum. Her mother was absolutely livid and marched into the ball pond saying 'I've told you to stay away from aggressive children' throwing filthy looks at my son and this other little boy. The mum of the other boy said 'It's their age, you know - boys this age can be a bit rough' sort of apologetically. I didn't say anything although I removed Ds from the play area for a while and we had a snack etc. The other mother continued to fume and talk about aggressive children loudly to her friend for the next 10 mins.

TBH, I felt like showing her a bit of 'aggressive mother'. Why are people like this? I don't like to see my child - or any child - get hurt, but FFS be grown up about it. I have witnessed this sort of attitude countless times at play centres and playgrounds etc and it really fucks me off.

OP posts:

BoysAreLikeDogs · 07/02/2008 18:10

Is it half-term already round your way ? Am wondering why a child of 6 was not at school. Off the point, I know.

Anyway, we all have different tolerance levels - what is your boisterous boy is someone else's aggressive child IYSWIM

Kimi · 07/02/2008 18:11

Why was a 6 year old not at school?
I don't think you are being unreasonable in the least, if the child's mother had told her to move and she stayed at the bottom of the slide it is her own fault she got hurt.

Miaou · 07/02/2008 18:13

Are you in Scotland? We are on a long w/e atm.

(and yes, I understand your ire )

rosmerta · 07/02/2008 18:13

Yanbu, I think the mother should have moved her dd sooner as she could see what was happening! To then blame your ds is just a bit precious!

McDreamy · 07/02/2008 18:15

YANBU - if you sit at the bottom of the slide you are asking for it! Not nice hat she got hurt but totally avoidable. How silly of that mother.

sparklesandwine · 07/02/2008 18:19

precisely why i don't go to soft play very much, too many precious parents and children about

what really pisses me off is people who go to these places and don't watch/turn a blind eye to their children, their dc bash about knocking/hitting/kicking/hurting other children and the minute theirs gets slightly hurt and makes a fuss they have a go at the other parent

notmyrtle · 07/02/2008 21:13

Why was a 6 year old not at school?

School isn't compulsary you know! Maybe they're home educated?

2shoes · 07/02/2008 21:17

how did you know the child was 6. could she not just be tall for her age. did you ask her?

Desiderata · 07/02/2008 21:19

She said about six.

VictorianSqualor · 07/02/2008 21:30

Sod how old she was, she was w higny little brat, it's her own fault she got hurt, slides are for going down you know

VictorianSqualor · 07/02/2008 21:30

or even whingy, I have no idea what w higny is.

2shoes · 07/02/2008 21:34

i only asked as people were asking why she wasn't in school. so she wan't 6 she could have been 4..

Olihan · 07/02/2008 21:43

I had this the other day. Took the 3 dcs to a new softplay, it was really quiet, maybe 6 other kids in addition to us. Dd (2.5) went up to the top of the slide (one of those long, straight ones with bumps that are quite fast). As she sat down I noticed a little girl trying to climb up the lane she was on. I shouted "Dd, wait" but she was already sliding. I jumped up but there was no way I could get to the bottom of the slide from where I was sat before dd crashed into this other little girl and sent her flying. Girl obviously started crying and her mum rushed over and picked her up, giving dd a filthy look .

I said to her, "I tried to get there but it happened too quickly" and she just glared at me. So I picked up Dd who was looking a bit shocked and said very loudly, "It;s alright sweetheart, it wasn't your fault, that girl shouldn't have been playing at the bottom of the slide because it's dangerous."

The other girl's mum was sat at a table at the bottom of the slide, closer than I was, gassing with her friend and taking no notice of what her dd was doing but obviously thought my dd was the one in the wrong for going the correct way down a slide .

I was absolutely livid.

If you don't want your child to get hurt then bloody SUPERVISE them, ffs.

theUrbanDryad · 07/02/2008 21:47

i am new to this soft play malarky, but we went to Topsy Turvy the other week for a MN meet up and my ds bit another little girl i apologised profusely but the mother (grandmother?) dragged her wailing precious off! i mean, there's not much you can do after you've said sorry is there? he's 1, he's going to bite and pull hair! was still ver about it though!

soopermum1 · 08/02/2008 12:38

re going down slides, my son loves to climb up them, as do other children and i warn him off. if he does get hit by kid going down i'd explain that that's the consequences of going up a slide. slides are for going down.

how very odd of the 2 mums mentioned in this thread that they don't get that concept

cadelaide · 08/02/2008 12:41

What I can't stand is that thing where people grumble loudly with the intention of you hearing but they are too spineless to say it to you directly.
I always go up with a smile and say "is there a problem?".....that usually throws 'em.

discoverlife · 08/02/2008 12:43

Silly mothers.
I think Einstein put it nicely. For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction, it applies to life as well as physics. Or more simply, what goes up must come down.

cupsoftea · 08/02/2008 12:47

yanbu - soft play centres - ahhhhhh!!!!why is it the parents just leave their kids & then blame others.

Original poster

MrsMattie · 08/02/2008 14:45

I don't know for a fact the girl was 6. She could have been 4? She was very tall. That's not the point, though. My main point is that toddlers + softplay = kids running around, falling over, getting a bit of a knock now and then, maybe having a bit of a scrap. I would never dream of getting annoyed at another parent because their 2 yr old hit my 2 yr old, or because their kid came down the slide and hit my child by accident. They're kids, FFS. And unless another child was being really, repeatedly aggressive, I wouldn't call them 'aggressive'.

OP posts:

yurt1 · 08/02/2008 14:55

She's mad. And she should make her dd move if she's worried about her getting hit.

Chequers · 08/02/2008 15:05

Message withdrawn

jumpingbeans · 08/02/2008 15:15

Some people just do not see their children how they really are, these are the ones heading for the biggest fall in years to come.

Heated · 08/02/2008 15:43

I do have a friend who is very much a precious mum. She glares and makes comment about the other person whose offended her. It is totally embarrassing. Unfortunately her children are accident prone but fortunately no solicitors involved as yet since they've managed to knock their teeth out and break limbs on her own super slippery floor at home .

helenhismadwife · 08/02/2008 16:23

YANBU at all she was an idiot, I think I would have either said something to her about the fact she was sat at the bottom of the slide and had been asked to move a few times by her or adopted her tactic of shouting 'make sure you look for silly children sat at the bottom of the slide ds wont you'

we have a very precious mother at toddlers who literally follows her little boy around to make sure hes not hurt, he frequently snatches stuff off other kids, pushes them like all kids at that age do but if other kids do the same to him there are lots of comments from mummy she actually has the nickname of precious.

MarmiteMe · 08/02/2008 16:32

The other Mum was out of order, YANBU.
I have an only but I still supervise her and make sure she's not being out of order.

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