I was AGAIN at my local mall a few days ago, it's been raining non stop and Landon needed to run around, so we spent some time on the indoor playground. It was an eye opening experience to say the least. Don't you think playgrounds reveal the state of how things really are with our children? There were bored nannies (good ones too), super involved moms (some not at all), and some wild children!!! (cabin fever!)
One little girl came up to ask me if I had more gum, when I said no, she said she wanted the piece in my mouth! Okay....gross!
Another little girl was ratty and hanging all over me until her mom came up (ratty too) and chatted. Then she proceeds to tell her little girl (no where near me, but I could hear), "wait here on the playground Mommie will be right back."
Seems her other child had an accident, and rather than taking her three year old to the bathroom with her, she left her on the playground at the mall! The bathroom was nowhere near the playground, she didn't ask anyone to look out for her child (at the very least!), and was gone for fifteen minutes. It blew my mind!
I decided to watch out for her poor child. Nothing was gonna happen on my watch! I was just blown away by her behavior, I wouldn't leave Landon alone anywhere unattended. EVER.
What's your most mind blowing playground story?
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12 comments:
We use to go to Chuckie Cheese out of total desperation in say March. We had cabin fever so bad. Kids would come up to us and ask us for money ,pizza, ask us to take them to the potty...? We would ask where their parents were and they would say shopping at Kids R Us. That store was 4 or 5 stores down in the shopping strip? Hello, Child services. These kids were like 3 and 4 years old. Mind Blowing. We all stopped going and Chuckie Cheese shut down ,good ridance.LOL
oh yes. You can tell alot by the dynamics at a playground. I'm such a people watcher!
No playground stories here, but I'm shocked that a mother willingly left her child unattended to for 15 minutes! I'm glad you watched her!
this is sad, but with TWO toddlers I rarely go to the playground (indoor or outdoor). I can't do it alone, ha.
That is unbelievable! What are people thinking??? When J was little, I saw a woman leave her probably 5 or 6 year old alone to play at the mall playground while she got her hair done at the Regis nearby. Blew my mind. I couldn't leave knowing she was there by herself so I stayed much longer than I had planned. Back then I didn't say anything. Not very mouthy. but now? If I saw that I would tell security. Ridiculous.
I'm just amazed by your stories. Wanting gum out of your mouth and leaving 3 year olds unattended. I can't top that.
Omg - I'm glad you were there to keep your eye on her, even if the mom didn't appreciate it at all. I cannot believe people do this type of thing.
I don't have any of those mindblowing stories. But when my first son was about a year old, I had him at the park and we were playing in the sandbox. I took his sandals off of him and the lady sitting next to me said, "Oh goodness, he has fat feet!" OK, granted, my kid had wide feet - but why would you ever comment on another child? The only comment one mother should make to another is "How adorable!" even if they aren't. I was so taken aback, I didn't even know how to respond.
I've also had children ask me to push them in swings when the mom or nanny is sitting 50 yards away on a cell phone. Lovely.
It never fails to shock me when people just assume their kids will be alright. I refuse to leave Boogie Boy by himself in a public place. When we took him to the monster truck show, the dad a few rows in front of us went to go get food (and beer) and left his 5 year old just sitting there by himself. Didn't even think anything about it...he just told him not to move out of his seat. He was gone for almost half an hour! He didn't even ask anyone to watch him! I'm like you - I kept an eye on that little one. No one was stealing him on my watch, either!
I am always looking after other peoples' kids (moms and nannies) at the park. Then the moms realize I am watching their child and try to offer me a new job (usually I can see why the old nanny left!). This has happened 3 times!
I find it so upsetting that someone would leave a child unattended out in public like that. That said - both of my kids know that if we ever got separated they should look for a "mommy" and ask for help. I am usually super vigilant - but I want them to know what to do just in case. If you haven't read it - Protecting the Gift by Gavin De Becker is a wonderful book about children/safety/etc/
We had a family living three houses away from our house with two adopted children. I could blow you away with stories about this family. It was all very, very sad. Basically three of us (the stay-at-home moms) on my street watched these kids. Thank goodness they moved.
I posted about this very thing last week "Something Stinks at McDonalds..." A young toddler was left unattended with a leaky poo filled diaper to roam the indoor playground. The mom was outside...yes outside...texting...this little poo pants guy was alone!!! The gory details are all spelled out on my bloggy. It was a nightmare!
You were that child's guardian angel that day!
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