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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To not share all the toys at the park?

13 replies

Grabpolo · 24/09/2023 07:55

Yesterday I took dc to the park. We took a few toys with us as there is a large grass area which is ideal to play them. There is also a large play park area with slides, zip lines, sandpits all sorts.

Anyway, dc wanted to play cricket so we set it up and started playing. A smaller child came over and picked up the ball. We thought it was cute and said thank you as they handed it back to ds. Then a few minutes later they came and stood in front of me when I was about to hit the ball. I asked them politely if they could move but the didn't. Their family was sat on a bench smiling looking like it was the cutest thing in the world.
I moved to the side and they followed. In the end they had the ball again so we decided to play another game.

We got the Frisbee out. Of course the other child wanted to play too. We began throwing it including to the other child. When they got the frisbee they took it to show their family. The family clapped and ushered to throw it back to us. The child wandered off with it, chewing on it as they did.

We decided to pack up our things and go to the other side of the park. By then the child had left the ball alone and ds managed to grab the frisbee after the child eventually threw it.

There is a crazy golf area so dd wanted to have a go. She managed to get to hole 2 before some children of similar age ran over and literally tried to grab the golf club off her. I said no this is dds club and if they wanted to play they should ask their adult to get them one. They stared at me and proceeded to disrupt dds game. They found it funny to cover the holes so the ball couldn't go in. They stood really close to dd so she couldn't hit the ball properly. They ran all over the golf course kicking the ball and not one person told them not to.
They ignored me completely.

In the end my dc said they will just play on the play park. Funny enough the children had no interest in the golf once we left it.

Was I being unreasonable not to let the other children 'play'?

OP posts:

Notthisagainpart2 · 24/09/2023 07:58

No I think the other children were being annoying and their parents should have stopped them but then you also could have asked them to get their child to stop disrupting the game?

00100001 · 24/09/2023 08:00

You were being a bit selfish.

MrTiddlesTheCat · 24/09/2023 08:02

YANBU It's not your responsibility to entertain other people's kids because they can't be arsed to supervise them.

Tempone · 24/09/2023 08:03

You were being a bit selfish

No she wasn't don't be ridiculous.

Iheartmysmart · 24/09/2023 08:05

Christ @00100001 is obviously one of those parents who sits on their arse gazing adoringly as their brat irritates the fuck out of everyone else.

Pix56 · 24/09/2023 08:08

00100001 · 24/09/2023 08:00

You were being a bit selfish.

🙄

junbean · 24/09/2023 08:15

YABU and YANBU. Kids should be supervised obviously. But a lot of parents can't be bothered, even with really young kids. Practically every time I go to the park I end up parenting a young child for an extended time until their parent finally shows up. IMO it's more a safety issue for the child less than an annoyance. The kids at the golf area were way out of line! They are probably used to running wild without supervision or consequences, thus emboldened.
However, you shouldn't bring toys to the park unless you want to share.

Embarrassednamechangeadoddle · 24/09/2023 08:18

YANBU and shouldn’t have to ‘share’ your own things. However this is just the reality of using shared spaces with other families/ children.

PuttingDownRoots · 24/09/2023 08:19

Cricket/frisbee... yes parents should keep an eye on their kids, but you can't expect to rrseve an area just for your game.

Crazy golf... only players should be on there, and waiting their turn.

Original poster

Grabpolo · 24/09/2023 08:24

We would have happily shared the games with others if they played it fairly. The first child was too young to understand the cricket game and could have got injured by the bat it they ran over whilst it was being swung. Also with the frisbee, we did play it with them but they just took it away and chewed on it!

The children at the golf just went straight in and tried to take the golf club. I don't think dd should have had to share that and I would never let her take someone's club and expect to play.

OP posts:

Poudretteite · 24/09/2023 08:29

Crazy golf YANBU
Cricket/frisbee YAB a bit U - parents should have stepped in but possibly not the right place to set up a game if there are lots of other children around - inevitably there will be disruption

Blossomandbee · 24/09/2023 08:35

Yanbu. We used to get the same thing at a park with a sand area my DC liked taking buckets and spades to. Every single time we would get other children coming over taking the buckets and spades whilst the parents did nothing. I encouraged sharing but it ended up my DC couldn't play as it was taken over and I was having to watch what was being walked off with and politely trying to get stuff back. We gave up taking it in the end.

Lesleybel · 20/10/2025 05:59

Hello not sure if Im wrong but there was an incident that happened when I took my children out and its still bothering so I want to just see what everyone thinks.

Saturday just gone I took my 5 year son and 3 year old daughter to willows farm one of our favourite places to go. Its huge multiple things to do multiple parks we headed straight over to the big peter rabbit park so many things to do in there lots of interactive bits. We get to mr mcgregor garden its got fake vegetables patches and fake vegetables which are gaint and flat my daughter clocks these and goes over to play with them not realising another child was playing with them and the other child starts screaming shouting no no Im playing with them she cant play with me! this child looks to be about 6 or 7 and I just apologise and suggest to my daughter we go play with something else and I'll call her over when the little boy is done. By the way these are willows toys 100% NOT the little boy toys. She goes off happily to play we wait like 15- 20 mins and the kid gets bored and goes off to do something else I wait 2-3 minutes to wait to see if the boy is completely finished he doesnt come back so I call over my daughter tell her she can play with the vegetables she super excited goes running over we are playing nicely for 2-3 minutes and the little boy comes running back and starts snatching the vegetables out of my hands and my daughters hands and starts screaming which alerted his adult she just watched as this boy snatched and screamed pushing my daughter away and then his adult piped up and said we where here first. Now I didnt argue as they had clearly left! as i didnt want to get into one at willows but I was soo angry! My daughter was really upset and I just explained she did nothing wrong some children just don't know how to share. I do think shame on the adult as she should have told her child we need to share you left what you where playing with etc I understand some children have disabilities ect my son is heavily austic non verbal. I would not allow my chidren to behave in that way regardless. Id be really embarrassed and ashamed for letting that child act in that manner. Am I in the wrong? As I said before I said nothing of this to the adult as I didnt want to argue this is what I was thinking.

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