Thursday, June 10, 2010

Playground Etiquette

I realize that the playground is a kids place to run and play and be crazy. I'm fine with that...whatever.

It's nice the T1 is old enough to run around on his own, especially since I spend the whole time chasing the crazy younger brother.

Today we hit the park with my younger cousins, 5, 8 and 10. The boys were playing and being boys...climbing, jumping...whatever. They were watching out for the younger kids and for the most part behaving.

The crazy monkey? Yea, he was being his typical ornery self and trying to climb in to places mommy would surely have to go get him...and mommy is not made for playground equipment. Atleast, my ass is not made for playground equipment. Just ask the twisty slide I shoved myself down this afternoon.

There is one section that you climb up and the only way down is to slide down the pole or go across monkey bars. I kept distracting T2 from going up there...at one point he went over to the stairs and this bratty little monster 3-4 year old comes over and PUSHES MY BABY DOWN, and then tells him he's not allowed up there. We headed over to the slides, I'm not one to discipline other children even though I wanted to toss his butt in time out for pushing down a 2 year old! He followed us to the slides and kept bossing T2 around...and when he wasn't bossing him around, he was bossing the other kids around, including my 10 year old cousin.
Seriously, I'm surprised he didn't get knocked out. I'm pretty sure I would have looked the other way and said I didn't see it. Hell, I may have even helped.
He kept wanting to help Mr. Independent (AKA T2, AKA The Monkey) down the slide and even though I kept asking him in my nicest mommy voice to please stop pushing him, putting him on his lap etc etc because he can go down the slide by himself, he would.not.stop. In the mean time, T2 was pissed off. Part of me was hoping he pulled his hair like he does when his brother pisses him off. Also, there is a difference between what this kid was doing and what I've seen many other kids do when they want to play with "the baby" and help him. He wasn't being cute, at all.

Are you wondering where is MOTHER IS?! Yea, so was I. At one point, I saw him run over to someone...sitting at a picnic table on the other side of the playground. Not once did she get up to see what he was doing...even when he PUSHED my 5 year old cousin off the swing so he could have it, right in front of her.

I have a pretty high tolerance for kids in general, but I have never wanted so badly to trip discipline a strangers child.

So please, control your children at the playground. Even if they are brats, at least pretend to have some kind of control over them. Please.

2 comments:

Stacie said...

My daughter turns 2 next Thursday, and thankfully we haven't had any negative interactions with other kids...yet. I hope we don't.

You have some good self control. I probably would have ended up leaving since that little kid wouldn't stop even after you asked him not to.

Jodi said...

Oh, I hear ya! FireGirl got knocked down by an older kid (probably 8 or 9) at the children's museum, no parent in site. It was all I could do not to deck the kid myself. She was 17 months old at the time, and he had been bullying the other kids & generally acting like a wild man.
We left, trying to comfort FireGirl & notified the staff on the way out. I hope they kicked him out. If they ever found the parents.