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plays well with others
By heather | September 15, 2008
Yesterday afternoon, Alex and I took a trip to the bookstore. We go there because there is a whole section devoted to kid’s books and toys, and it was too dang hot to play outside.
After a whirlwind tour through the kid’s books, in which Alex picked up books and handed them to me then raced ahead as I tried to put it back in the correct place before he could yank out another, we skidded to a stop at the train set.
Two little girls, maybe 4 or 5 years old, were already there playing. I sat in the rocking chair next to the train table, and Alex took up residence on the opposite corner from the other kids there, proving that he already understands the concept of personal space.
He hung out in his corner with a little car, making adorable hoo hoo sounds and pushing the car back and forth on the track. Within a minute, one of the little girls started moving her train over toward him and by the look on her face, I just knew she was going to push him.
And she did, a full body check that sent him a foot away from the table.
Like a sprung mousetrap, I was out of the rocking chair and in her face hissing, “EXCUSE ME!! You don’t push other people! DON’T TOUCH HIM AGAIN.”
She stared at me, surprise evident on her face, then muttered, “Sorry” and moved on.
I sat back in the chair, heart thumping and face flaming. Had her parent come up to confront me, I was fully prepared to throwdown right there in the B&N.
No one did.
Until roughly 10 minutes later, when a woman wandered over fully immersed in a phone call, sat in the chair next to me and continued her conversation. She was still talking 5 minutes later when Alex got bored and we left.
I waited for the pusher to tell her mommy I yelled at her but she didn’t even seem to register it when her mom came back, ignoring her the same way the mom seemed to be ignoring the girls.
Who leaves a 4 year old alone for that long in a public place? Or even a 10 year old? A few months back when I asked about playground etiquette I wondered, “Where are the parents?”
I feel sorry for the girl who pushed my kid. Who would have thought?
Topics: parenting, toddler stuff |
September 15th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Yeah I’ve noticed a direct correlation between the mean bullies on the playground and the utter lack of involvement on the governing parent. It IS pretty sad.
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September 16th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
My theory is that mothers now days are secretly happy that their kids are bullys. It’s playground passive aggressiveness–using kids as the delivery tool. Heather, listen to me, if you buy a mini van this will happen to you too. I hope you haven’t bought one yet.
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