Most parents cringe when they see the Play Area at the Mall. I know I have before. There are snotty nosed toddlers/kids running around while 'most' of their parents aren't paying attention to them. I have gotten over the "cringe" part and just make sure it's not too busy, and bathe my children in sanitizer after we leave.
There is always that one kid that is the Brat of the Play Area. Thank GOODNESS, it is not my child. I think he just gets so excited to play with other kids that are as wild as he is. =) There have been times when older kids have pushed my kids down, spit at them, and screamed at them "leave me alone". Most of the time, parents don't do anything, and keep playing Bejeweled on their iPhones. So, I will make a remark or just leave. Most of the time we just leave the situation.
Today, while at the Germ Pit...I got very upset. All I saw was Grady fall down a slide and he was holding his face. My friend saw what happened, but didn't tell me until after the incident and we were across the play area. I think she knew I would have gotten upset, but I still kept my cool even after she told me. Inside, I wanted to run across the Germ Pit and smash the kids that hurt my baby...he's almost 3, but still my baby. So, this is what happened to Grady. There were twin boys about 2 1/2 years old...one scratched Grady's face and the other pushed him down the slide (luckily the slide was two ft tall). The Mom did make the boys apologize to Grady, but that was it. I am sorry, but if my kid did that to another child...we would have LEFT the play area. Why let them stay and keep playing?? Oh wait..they WEREN'T playing. They were pushing other kids, spitting on kids, and just being spoiled rotten brats. Grady hardly ever gets his feelings hurt, and this totally crushed him. So, I sat down with him and told him, "if another kid is mean to you..you TELL THEM THEY ARE MEAN and tell Mommy".
I understand that we all have our not so consistent days in parenting, and that we get side tracked. But, don't let your kids be a Bully. I believe it reflects on the parenting. That's just my opinion. Has anyone else had an issue with their kids being Bullied or being the Bully? What are action's you took??? Since I am a new parent, I feel I need advice!!!!
When Serena and Zander were younger I would just tell off the parent and leave. Then talk to the kids and make sure they understood that it wasn't their fault... complicated to understand for a 3 year old. I think the best thing that I did was to make sure that they understood it wasn't their fault and that they were always to play nice and ignore (and tell mommy) when other kids weren't being nice. Flash forward almost a decade.... Serena and Zander have a wonderful grasp on how to be polite, non-bully tolerant kids. I wanted to make sure that they understood that they could speak up for themselves and not tolerate rude disrespectful little snots (I blame the parents too). I feel like I could go on a huge ranting session right now, but will save that to agree with one of your later blogs.
ReplyDeleteMoral of my story is talking to your kids and teaching them how to respect themselves as well as everyone else, regardless of how the other kid acts. Also, just walking away from a situation to be the "bigger" person also holds quite a bit when teaching kids about self respect. I have learned to shut my mouth and walk away too.... "Mom, they aren't worth it; let's go..." said my 12 year old! Smart kid!