Is this acting Inappropriately?

[qpaulina42]

No,Im the same and we often have a gang of kids following us around at parks etc simply because we seem to be the only parents that actually bother to interact with our children and dont just take them somewhere so we can sit and do nothing while they occupy themselves.

I find it sad when this might come across as 'too nice',it should be the norm.They are only kids once.

Anyway,went off on a mini rant there but in short,no I think you are lovely and they should say thanks!

I don't know about this.... My kiddo is too young for this problem, but I tend to believe that you should give kids more space to do their own thing while you watch from the sidelines. I think the skill of occupying oneself is one that must be fostered.

 

[Gingerspice]

No,Im the same and we often have a gang of kids following us around at parks etc simply because we seem to be the only parents that actually bother to interact with our children and dont just take them somewhere so we can sit and do nothing while they occupy themselves.

I find it sad when this might come across as 'too nice',it should be the norm.They are only kids once.

Anyway,went off on a mini rant there but in short,no I think you are lovely and they should say thanks!

I don't know about this.... My kiddo is too young for this problem, but I tend to believe that you should give kids more space to do their own thing while you watch from the sidelines. I think the skill of occupying oneself is one that must be fostered.

I think there's a difference between parents who encourage lone playing/doing things alone/building their confidence by letting them climb up the slide alone but still on hand if needed and being aware of what their LO is doing, and those that arrive at a park, sit down on a bench, unleash their child, pull out their phone and then have no inclination to watch or observe their child at all and barely look up from their phone at all. For all they know their child has fallen off a climbing frame, pushed a child down the slide etc etc.
I dont necessarily stay attached to LO all the time but I do go round near to her so she is in my sights all the time. mostly because i hate it when parents say 'i didn't see what happened but I think your child harmed mine' when actually it was their causing harm, so i can see what happened and can say 'actually your LO pushed mine over' etc et. also i like to be able to encourage her and tell her how to do bits of the assault courses et, sometimes that might mean I'm on the ground while she goes around and I offer encouragement or advice from the ground.

 

[2ndHeartbeat]

I feel the same way as OP, I have often let other children play with Jason and I at the park and such and sometimes parents do give me looks and whatnot but the way I see it is that the children can play together and being that it is an open public space, broad daylight, and they can obviously see their child, the problem is more with the parents themselves.

Although I do somewhat understand their alarm with me sometimes, as I so have multicolored hair and lots and lots of tattoos, but I have come across parents that have no problem whatsoever. In fact there is a little girl (still don't know her name) around Jasons age that lives across the street from a playground with her grandparents. This past summer, almost every time we went to that playground she and her grandpa would coincidentally pop up. This girl and Jason are buds, they spot jets in the sky together (she seems as fascinated with them as he is) and they slide together (he will wait for her at the bottom.. too cute) and the grandpa usually makes small talk with OH and I regardless of our somewhat odd appearance.

I honestly believe some parents are just too uptight. Safety is one thing, being completely anti-social and in some cases teaching the child to be, is another. The whole talking to strangers rule comes into play, but Jason is being taught to tell mommy and "bah" (OH) when a stranger talks to him. We keep a strict and close eye on him at all times, and OH is a very large and intimidating man so I hardly worry

 

[qpaulina42]

No,Im the same and we often have a gang of kids following us around at parks etc simply because we seem to be the only parents that actually bother to interact with our children and dont just take them somewhere so we can sit and do nothing while they occupy themselves.

I find it sad when this might come across as 'too nice',it should be the norm.They are only kids once.

Anyway,went off on a mini rant there but in short,no I think you are lovely and they should say thanks!

I don't know about this.... My kiddo is too young for this problem, but I tend to believe that you should give kids more space to do their own thing while you watch from the sidelines. I think the skill of occupying oneself is one that must be fostered.

I think there's a difference between parents who encourage lone playing/doing things alone/building their confidence by letting them climb up the slide alone but still on hand if needed and being aware of what their LO is doing, and those that arrive at a park, sit down on a bench, unleash their child, pull out their phone and then have no inclination to watch or observe their child at all and barely look up from their phone at all. For all they know their child has fallen off a climbing frame, pushed a child down the slide etc etc.
I dont necessarily stay attached to LO all the time but I do go round near to her so she is in my sights all the time. mostly because i hate it when parents say 'i didn't see what happened but I think your child harmed mine' when actually it was their causing harm, so i can see what happened and can say 'actually your LO pushed mine over' etc et. also i like to be able to encourage her and tell her how to do bits of the assault courses et, sometimes that might mean I'm on the ground while she goes around and I offer encouragement or advice from the ground.

I don't mean so much lone playing, I mean playing with other kids in a kind of group, coming up with one's own games, dealing with their own conflicts (who pushed who, etc). Obviously our kiddos are a little young for that, but I do try to let my daughter handle some situations on her own. It's difficult because ideally you would have a bunch of like minded parents, all sitting together chatting for example as well, while the kids do their thing. Not like my kid against your kid, me against you.

 

[Foogirl]

Although I do somewhat understand their alarm with me sometimes, as I so have multicolored hair and lots and lots of tattoos, but I have come across parents that have no problem whatsoever. )

Nice of you to be so understanding, but it makes me laugh that a parent who would leave their children to play in a park alone would be so judgemental if their child chose you and your child to play with. If you were at the park with your LO and mine was anywhere near, I'd be pushing for her to come and say hello to your LO. It's a great lesson to learn that people come in all shapes, sizes, and hair colours! I hate judgement, but I especially hate it when it is quite so shallow. I'm fairly certain having multicoloured hair and tattoos doesn't make someone a bad person. I have brown hair (usually unkempt) and no tattoos and actually pay very little attention to my appearance. Why should you be judged as a scarier person than me, you obviously take pride in your appearance, just that your style is different to the average person. People can be so blimmin ignorant sometimes.

 

[2ndHeartbeat]

Although I do somewhat understand their alarm with me sometimes, as I so have multicolored hair and lots and lots of tattoos, but I have come across parents that have no problem whatsoever. )

Nice of you to be so understanding, but it makes me laugh that a parent who would leave their children to play in a park alone would be so judgemental if their child chose you and your child to play with. If you were at the park with your LO and mine was anywhere near, I'd be pushing for her to come and say hello to your LO. It's a great lesson to learn that people come in all shapes, sizes, and hair colours! I hate judgement, but I especially hate it when it is quite so shallow. I'm fairly certain having multicoloured hair and tattoos doesn't make someone a bad person. I have brown hair (usually unkempt) and no tattoos and actually pay very little attention to my appearance. Why should you be judged as a scarier person than me, you obviously take pride in your appearance, just that your style is different to the average person. People can be so blimmin ignorant sometimes.

Absolutely! Recently some friends and I took our kids to a McDonalds playplace and there had to have been 30 kids there. I had my camera and was attempting to snap pictures of him when he'd whiz by or I'd spot him on the second tier... I did make an effort to avoid getting other kids in the shot, and there was no flash, but one parent did give me a look. I find it perfectly normal to want pictures of my boy that excited (he'd only been there once)

 

[cissyhope]

No it's how I would like someone to be with my bubs... I'm the same but then I love kids and babies,at soft play,I'm always going on the slides with baby in arms and my toddler, plus my friends kids and who ever tags along

Please don't change,I really can't understand why these mums acted the way they did bizarre ... Xxxxx

 

[kerrie24]

No,Im the same and we often have a gang of kids following us around at parks etc simply because we seem to be the only parents that actually bother to interact with our children and dont just take them somewhere so we can sit and do nothing while they occupy themselves.

I find it sad when this might come across as 'too nice',it should be the norm.They are only kids once.

Anyway,went off on a mini rant there but in short,no I think you are lovely and they should say thanks!

I don't know about this.... My kiddo is too young for this problem, but I tend to believe that you should give kids more space to do their own thing while you watch from the sidelines. I think the skill of occupying oneself is one that must be fostered.

I didnt mean that I was ontop of my kids all the time and they had no space to explore on their own,they do.I was referring to the parents who simply take them to that setting so they can be babysat by others while they read a newspaper or chat on their phones,no clue about what their child is getting up to.

 

[housewifey]

I never understand why parents don't supervise their children at soft play. Anyway what you're doing sounds fine to me, I would do exactly the same. Maybe if the other parents come over next time just smile and say "hope you don't mind but my son wanted a shot and doesn't mind sharing " and see what they say.