Kids at the park

[Blueb3ll]

I specifically went to the park late today so it would be quiet and dd (1.5) could explore. When we turned up we were literally the only people there, but after 15 mins or so a group of kids turned up.

When the kids (4 of them, supervised by a teenager), my dd was playing on the slide. They wanted to use the slide so I moved dd and said “come on let’s use something else”, and I moved her to another part which was one of the ways up to this climbing frame. There were 4 ways to get up to this slide. Two of the kids, the same ones I moved her for, I’d say around 7&5 then decided they wanted to come up and down the part she was playing on. Didn’t say excuse me, didn’t say anything, the seven year old looking boy pushed my child out of the way by her head!!! I said “No, don’t push her”. I wasn’t angry, I was just firm.

The boy then didn’t come back but the 5 year old girl kept coming back and trying to push passed dd not saying excuse me or anything. I looked over at the teenager and she was just sat on her phone. I didn’t move dd but I didn’t stop the girl squeezing passed, I don’t think I had the right to tell the girl no go a different way so I just ignored her and carried on playing with dd.

Am I being unreasonable? I’m new to the children’s park scene but how do I handle situations like this?

I can’t believe that boy pushed my 1 year old by her head! I’m annoyed. Is this normal? I’ve never seen any kids in my family/ friends behave like this.

Does a school environment equate to an open plan public playground?

Yeah it sounds like you weren’t yesterday either hunny

Obv your dd being pushed is not okay and you were right to say something

I find that children seem to be attracted to each other. Often my daughter will want to go on the same thing another child is on in an empty park and vice versa

Really and that’s why I was right next to her wasn’t it?
most 7 year olds wouldn’t act like that towards a 1 year old so why would I anticipate that
so how does it sound like I wasn’t watching her? Or did you just try to come back with something sassy to say

If you were right next to her how did a 7yr old manage to hit her?

Give it up, you took your child on age inappropriate equipment, weren’t paying attention, an older child got frustrated she was in the way and bopped her. Obviously the 7yo was wrong to do that but some of the blame lies at your door hunny buns.

I expected some hyper children and boisterous behaviour and don’t get me wrong I’m not faulting the child for wanting to play. My original post has just been lost in a back and forth between me and certain individuals on here

You’re not very bright are you?
Just because I’m stood next to her and interacting with her doesn’t mean that that another child can’t push her to get passed her.
I was stood to one side of her, not acting as a 360 shield

You’re coming across as more and more obtuse with every post.

my personal feeling is there’s a lot of guilty over defensive parents on here who know they don’t do as much as they could to stop their kids behaving badly outside the house. So now they’re piling on OP and relishing sticking the boot in.
I don't think so. I think there's a lot of parents with common sense who are capable of looking at a play area, working out the target age range and then adapting their parenting and expectations accordingly.

Mine aren't allowed in the toddler area anymore unless they're sitting in the sand area with a younger friend/cousin and the expectation is that they don't charge around or play in a boisterous way because it's not appropriate.

When they were toddlers and I let them explore the bigger play area aimed at older children, I accepted that my children weren't the target audience and expected other children to charge around, a bit of pushing because they're children and they're playing. My expectation was that it's my job to helicopter over my younger children, not the job of other children and parents to be on the lookout for my toddlers.

The same applies now. I supervise appropriately for the play area, but don't helicopter them. If they want to try equipment for older children they can and it's my job to monitor them, not other parents and children to tip toe around.

Maybe to you, as you’re one of the 3 people that keep coming back to reply

Jesus your attitude is awful!

Surely you stand behind her then no one can push past? Try that next time rather than standing to the side allowing older kids to push and hit her. It’s not difficult is it?

My parenting and expectations were adapted. There is nothing unreasonable about me expecting a 7 year old to know better then to push a one year old by the head.
monitoring is not a teen sat in the corner on her phone. Monitoring your children in a playground is what I’m saying should have been happening with these children.
I don’t think tiptoeing and not pushing intentionally are the same

At what point did I allow that happen? You’re trying very hard to come up with ways to attack my parenting.
again, why would I assume he would push her when there was enough room for them to pass eachother nicely.
this isn’t difficult for you to understand is it?

What you seem to be struggling to understand is that you took your child to play in an area that is not appropriate for her age. Therefore you put her at risk. Therefore you needed to safeguard her from the other older children. You failed to do so and she was hit, now you need to learn from your mistake and safeguard her better or take her more age appropriate places.

The part I was on was very much age appropriate. Hence why everyone takes little ones there. I don’t need to agree with what you decide is age appropriate for a park you’ve never been to. So no I didn’t put her at risk just because you have decided you wouldn’t take a one year old to that park, based off one picture.
ive lived in this town my whole life and used this park myself as a child, I haven’t just seen one picture from the internet

Wow I can’t believe this post is still going.
Small kid got pushed at the park, mum told bigger kid off and they didn’t do it again. The same thing is happening in parks up and down the country every day without this level of drama and upset.
Yes it’s horrible when it happens to your small dc especially when it’s your first, it brings out your protective side but then as long you’d child isn’t actually injured you get over it and move on. At some point your own dc will be the one hitting/biting/pushing a smaller child.

im responding to people that reply, I’m not harking on about it. If people weren’t commenting, it wouldn’t have crossed my mind today

"And if your children think it’s okay to push one year olds by the head then perhaps you should be following him around"

What on Earth are you going on about? I haven't said pushing one year olds by their head is ok. I'm not sure a single poster on this thread has. Weren't you wanging on about someone working on their reading comprehension earlier? Right back at you.

I DID disagree with you and say it's perfectly acceptable not to follow / watch your kids at all times in a play park. I guarantee you when your 1 year old is 6, 7, 8 + you'll feel the same.

Absolutely this. Potentially for the walk there and back. If that picture you posted was the actual play park then it's physically impossible to watch more than 1 kid at any one time unless you chain them together. Which is presumably how you plan to parent

I've just read this entire thread. I've spent the morning with 3 8 year olds and their capacity for bickering, need to snap back at everything and obsession with having the last word pales into insignificance compared with the OP. It's quite something.

How funny for you to say that when you have repeatedly come back to this thread to give your two pence.
So im not supposed to reply when people put a message on here but it’s perfectly okay for you to? I haven’t snapped at everyone, it’s the same handful of people throughout this entire thread mostly.
if you don’t think I should be giving my opinion back out to people giving their own, you should button your own self righteous opinions

Hahahaha do you understand what you’ve written?
I said “if your children think it’s okay” and you’ve snapped back that you’ve never said it’s okay and that no other pp has said it’s okay. And you have the audacity to mention comprehension in your post?

You are fundamentally missing the point, which is that I didn't mention me OR my children thinking pushing anyone is ok either, at any stage. So it's odd that's what you've chosen to focus on.

I'm sorry this thread hasn't gone the way you'd hoped, and I hope your toddler hasn't been put off the park.

i didn’t have any expectations of this thread other than that I’m a young ftm and I was shocked to see a boy do that. Wasn’t use to the park etiquette and to be honest felt uncomfortable telling someone else’s child off and wanted to know if I did the right thing. the original meaning of this post has been lost in the bullshit