Would you have said something about child in park

[veryawkwardohno]

Child in the park is often hitting and pushing other children, mum doesn't seem to ever say much to him other than occasionally shouting his name if she sees him hitting.

today he found an old carton of milk under a bench and threw it all over my dc, a baby/toddler and another child
they were absolutely covered in curdled old rotten milk it went inside their shoes I had to throw away both of their school shoes as there's no way I'd have got the smell out.
dc were really upset. One of my dc is autistic and he was very very upset.
I could really do without having to get new school shoes so close to the end of the year.
I didn't say anything because she saw it happen and didn't stop him i assumed she'd probably not do anything anyway. But now I'm wondering if I should have said something?? I don't really want to cause an argument or anything, they are at the park most days and sometimes he does play nicely with my dc

You can say something, although it helps if you have other parents to back you up. My friend is a single dad and often gets mums bollocking him because his son has done something awful

I'd have caused an argument. Your role in this situation is to protect you and yours. The child needs to know there are boundaries, and if mum isn't going to tell him them, then you will have too or else something will happen again. Even if it's calm, simple "we don't throw old milk over people, it's not nice" that's better than nothing.

I'd be going to a different park or at a different time of day.

That's awful, she's a shithead. Unfortunately she's probably so deep into being a shithead that I can't imagine saying anything would have helped the situation so if you didn't feel comfortable speaking up I think that's totally fine. I probably would have snapped at her but just from anger rather than from any genuine attempt to help the situation.

As an aside, this situation gave me the chills because my DD had multiple life threatening food allergies. She's not allergic to milk but milk is the leading cause of fatal anaphylaxis in children. It probably isn't top of most people's mind, but to many families that situation could have turned very horrific very quickly.

Thank goodness the children aren’t allergic to milk. This is really dangerous as well as disgusting. The parents should have been paying attention esp if the child had form. I’d definitely say something as that could have been a child with anaphylaxis

edited to say cross post with the above. My DC is one of those

Maybe her child has some kind of disability too?I know it can be hard to manage at times, however it is still unacceptable.I am sorry OP but I would have said something to the mother and I would make sure that my child stays away from him if she doesn't take accountability for his actions,as you can't take that risk of having something else happen to your DC because of him and his mother's lack of respect.