Had a crappy situation with some teenagers today and feel sad!

[hello33sunshine]

I took my 2 children (4 and 7) to a FAMILY skate park. Lots of children, various ages playing. We've been lots of times before and it is normally very respectful.

Today there was a few older children, probably mid teens, boys. My youngest was in their way, and I went round to get him out of the way and I couldn't believe the language and abuse they were shouting at him. One said they were going to "smash him up" for being in the way.
My eldest kept quiet but looked upset and they started picking on him, saying he looked like a f*king idiot because he had a baggy jumper on.

I took them both away swiftly, youngest has a speach/understand delay so thankfully was clueless, and is said to the teens that I didn't appreciate them speaking to my children like that. It's a family park and everyone has the right to play etc. I know some would think I shouldn't have said anything but I think it's important for my boys to see me stick up for them.

Anyway I got fired a load of abuse back, and I got called a "pedo" for speaking to children, by one of the children!!!

I just can't shake feeling sad about it. My poor little boys getting picked on! :( why are teenagers SO cruel!!!!

Little shits id have taken their photographs or videod their vile ranting and reported them to the police. They are above the age of criminal responsibility.

Around here a description of the little darlings (Clothing, time, any brands or equipment they were using) and what they were saying would be posted on the community Facebook pages, this has usually made its way back to parents and been dealt with - especially at the start of the holidays.

The opposite is also true and to be honest I've seen far more thank yous for considerate teens than ones asking them to reign it in.

Some kids are just wrong uns and teenagers are the worst. I would have said worse to them OP so you've been fairly restrained, YANBU to be upset and/or take the action that you did.

Argh makes you wish the local Bobby could give them a clip around the ear, like back in the day.

You can't reason with idiots.

A couple of teens bullied my DC in a playpark at Eurocamp. DC came back crying. I went and found them, still messing around in the young children's area, and told them they had a choice. They could come and apologise to my DC or I would come back to their holiday homes with them and explain to their parents what they had done. They chose to come and apologise to my DC which made me wonder if their parents were quite scary. But the main thing was that they learned there are repercussions for their behaviour and not everyone is scared of them. I have zero tolerance for bullying.

If its like our local skate park it's outdoors and there is no "management" to report to, it's free for anyone to use.

Thank you all! This is my first real experience of this kind of situation so the solidarity is very helpful!

I know my son was wrong to have ventured to the area where the older kids were, it is a family skate park but he'd obviously got himself somewhere which was disrupting others! But I went to get him as soon as I'd noticed and as much as it must've been annoying there's absolutely NO reason for that language/abuse! And they also could not have cared less that I'd confronted them 🙈
It was just an awful situation. I'd be absolutely heartbroken if either of my children turned out like that :(