I am still trying to get my head around the playground
incident today. I’m still trying to
determine whether I did right or wrong by keeping my mouth shut.
Confessions:
#1: My son is a
pretty rambunctious four-year-old. He
can be rough and tumble and swear he has an almost unlimited supply of
energy. (As my sister describes it, he
is either completely off or completely on.) I don't make excuses. He's tough. We are constantly working on paying attention, considering others,
slowing down, etc., etc., etc. He is
also a pretty introverted kid. While he
loves his friends (hugs and kisses for everyone!) and enjoys playing with them,
he is equally likely to announce that he “just wants to play by himself.” We are constantly working on boundaries. Yes, you can play by yourself. No, you can’t shove the other kid away. Yes, you can say, “I don’t want to play right
now.” No, you can’t growl or roar at the
other kid.
#2: I’m a pretty laid back parent. I don’t follow my kids around the
playground. I may read or chat with
another similarly-minded parent while the kids are playing. I keep an eye out and have an idea where they
are, but I don’t hover, direct their play, or interfere unless I see them doing
something harmful or dangerous or mean to another child.
#3: I expect other parents to discipline my kids, not to the
exclusion of me doing it, mind you, but when they see something I don’t, they
should feel free to immediately chasten or command or send them to me. If I see another child doing something
harmful or dangerous or mean, you better bet your boots I tell them to stop,
and I expect other parents to do the same to my kids. I’m not the type of parent who will yell at
you for disciplining my child for something I don’t witness. I’ll thank you. Honestly, it took me several years as a parent
to realize that there even WERE other parents who didn’t operate this way.
So, I wasn’t sure how to handle the mom today who came over
and very sharply told me I needed to supervise my child. Apparently, he wanted to have the small play
structure to himself and was expressing that wish by pushing other kids off and
pulling hair. Not ok. He was racing the mom coming to berate me; he
knew he was in trouble. I pulled him out
of play for a time-out, and we discussed the rules for staying at the
playground: equipment has to be shared
because it’s a park for everyone; no
pushing or pulling hair or mean behavior of any kind is acceptable. “But I want to play alone” isn’t an excuse
because there are other places to play alone.
After about five minutes on the bench, I set him free, and he ran off
chastened but happy to go play by himself on the hill. I wish that was the end of the story.
As he got out of earshot, I could hear the other mom –
standing maybe 20 feet from me – telling her child “Stay away from that
boy. He’s a bad kid. He pushes and pulls hair.” Not briefly
but on and on and on and loudly. I
resisted the urge to say, “I can hear you” because I’m pretty sure that was the
point. She was clearly trying to send a
message to me that I was a bad mom and my child was a bad kid. I guess maybe I was supposed to scream at him
or spank him or make him leave the park instead of quietly disciplining him and
returning him to play, and I guess she thinks it’s ok for an adult to call a
four-year-old child names and to teach her child that bad behavior makes
someone a bad person, not someone having a bad moment.
The thing is, I have been in her shoes. My kids have been on the receiving end of bad
behavior from other kids. But here’s the
other thing, per confession #2 above, I tell my kids that they need to work it
out or just go play elsewhere, that maybe that kid is having a bad day and they
should just steer clear. And per confession
#3 above, if I see the behavior, I tell the other kid to stop. I don’t go yell at the other parent. Because maybe they are reading a book or
having a chat or just taking a break from having a rambunctious four-year-old
climbing on them. I don’t mind. And I certainly don't start telling my kids or anyone else that the offending kid is a bad kid.
And now I’m mad. At
myself. Because I feel like I should
have said something instead of saying nothing.
I loathe confrontation. My son
didn’t hear these hurtful comments, so I just sat and said nothing. But I did hear them, and I feel like I didn’t
stand up for my kid or myself. And now I
think, who’s to say that this other mom won’t feel free to share her judgments
on other kids who make a bad behavior choice?
Why should she go around labeling kids as “the bad kid” and teaching her
kids to do so as well?
So, I will do what I do so well as the non-confrontational
introvert that I am: I will write about
it and think about it and maybe get a little teary about it and then I will resolve
to share what I have written about my experience.
Because maybe other parents will recognize themselves in this situation –
maybe they see a little bit of me in themselves or maybe they see a little bit of the other mom in themselves – and maybe they’ll
be a little braver and bolder about speaking up or a little kinder and less
judgmental with a kid who was showing his ass like mine was.
