Another toddler hitting mine with objects - repeatedly at playgroup

[Mumtotwo181818]

My 2 yr old son attends a weekly playgroup, where he has a friend that often hits him with objects. I have forever shaken this off as OK as he is just a toddler and a bit boisterous. However today, my son was hit on the forehead by a solid wooden ball thrown directly at his head by the child. My son was just joining in with the others playing nursery rhymes so not directly communicating with the other child in any way. Whilst I accept normal toddler push and shove over toys etc this does not feel OK. My son was happily playing when he was hit. This was not an accidental hit either, the other child purposely threw it at his head as during the session earlier he had hit a baby on the head with a wooden maraca. After hitting another child with a toy. Normally I would not blame another parent as accidents happen however it seems this child when in a certain mood, purposely throws objects and hits other children and babies on the heads. Not just mine ! Today my son was left with a bruise and a bump on the forehead. This is happening every week and it’s starting to cause serious injuries. I didn’t even receive an apology from the mother, just a question of is his head OK? Shaken by the incident I responded yes but bruised. Whilst I appreciate it’s a difficult situation for the other parent to deal with and I am not wanting the other child excluded, I also do not want my child physically hurt. What do I do ?

What are people’s thoughts around this. Should I stop talking my child to playgroup to avoid the child who hits ? Should I speak to the mum concerned who is a kind of friend ? How do I approach this without coming across as rude? Should I speak to the playgroup and ask what behaviour policy is as my child should be able to play in safe environment. Where do I draw the limit on the injuries ? Today i feel like I have hit my acceptable limit ? AIBU?

Who’s running the group?
they should be recording accidents and be available to speak to about any concerns

It’s at a local children’s centre, I was concerned when I wasn’t asked to fill out an accident form. I will raise this with them and see what they say. Thanks

Tell the parent that you would appreciate it if she’d supervise her child better so that they don’t repeatedly injure yours.
You’d be doing her a favour, honestly. She needs to deal with this before they get bigger!
I mean mine was a nightmare (ASD) which was why I never took my eyes off him and was ready to swoop in and remove him/items or whatever. What on Earth is this mother doing whilst her DC is chucking things?

I would start by speaking to the person running the playgroup and gauge whether they would be backing up any behaviour or safely policy. It's not unheard off for the child doing the hurting to be a child of a friend oof organisers or such like. In which case take your business elsewhere.
I'd also redirected my child away from the chucker at every opportunity and keep a beady eye on them.

Oh lawks, a children's centre. I'd email in that case.

What's the set up at the playgroup? Do mums stay near to their kids? I'd stay near my DC and play with them, but I'd make sure I put myself physically between the throwing kid and my child to protect them.
Any throwing towards me or my DC and I'd tell the other kid off loud enough for the other mum to hear in my best stern teacher voice. I'd hope either the kid starts to think throwing stuff at my DC is not in their best interests or that the other mum is embarrassed enough to do something about it, like hover next to her kid untill the throwing phase passes

Watch your child and run intervention. That's all you can do really. Or go somewhere else.

Toddlers do hit and throw so I think it's unlikely the children's centre are going to do anything about it.

You can try speaking to the other parent, but it doesn't sound like it will get you very far.

So watch your child and intervene when necessary.

YANBU. Kids will be kids, but if your child is getting hurt don’t take him there. If it’s a friend maybe choose your meet up place wisely-soft play with no wooden maracas lying around!

It’s a small group setting so we sit on the floor with our child so I do intervene when I can see it coming but it doesn’t feel like it’s my responsibility to watch the other child all the time 🤦‍♀️

You just hold a hand out and protect your dc if you need to. You aren’t going to get a 2 year d to hold back.

I'd stay near your child or position yourself inbetween them and the other child and stop any hitting.

Enough is enough now - you have to advocate for & protect your child. I'd speak to the organisers of the group & ask what they're going to do to meet their duty of care & ensure the safety of the children attending the group & also ask why they're not following accident reporting protocols.

And I would definitely speak to the parents of the 'hitter/thrower' - tell them you're sick of your child being hurt by theirs while they just sit there & don't do enough to prevent it. If you lose a so-called friend, then so be it.

It depends on how much you want to continue attending the group - on the one hand, why should you have to leave because other parents aren't supervising their child properly, but then why would you continue to put your child in this potentially unsafe situation?

I'd tell the other child off, if his parent isn't going to do it then someone should.

You should only be watching your child. The other parent should be watching THEIR child. I'd honestly be having serious words with them. I bet they're one of those "Gentle" parents 🙄🤮

Experience on our side is that you should keep your child away and make sure your child is not at the same school as the kid who enjoys hurting others. You can try telling organisers, maybe it'll help.

Tell the staff it's their responsibility to manage it if parents aren't and just hover when that child is near for now.