Other peoples toys (rant)

[Palestrina]

I try to follow the Simplicity Parenting guidelines and not allow too many toys in our environment. Obviously I can't expect everyone to feel the same but an incident at our nearby playground made me so angry yesterday and got me thinking that I won't be able to protect my child from crappy toys forever So here's what happened:

We were out at the playground, there were tons of kids and parents there - it was a beautiful autumn day. Kids were running around, playing hide n'seek, going down the slides, playing with balls, running and kicking the leaves.... you know, the typical outdoor stuff.

Then a man arrived with his 2 grandsons and a child-sized motorized jeep. Two kids fit into that car, and one of them was driving it. At first I rolled my eyes in a "boys and their toys" kind of way but soon all the kids were chasing this little car around. The grandfather was allowing all the kids on the playground to take turns riding in the car while one of his grandsons drove it. And utter chaos ensued. Kids were following it, grabbing it, crying because they were too young to understand it wasn't their turn yet, the 2 grandsons were fighting amongst each other on who was going to drive it and all I could thing was what a wonderful time we were having until this "toy" arrived.

Do we really need toys like this? Kids were crying, nobody was having fun and nobody was really enjoying it. The 2 brothers were fighting and it was a sea of cranky angry toddlers. Thankfully my son was too young to get caught up in the hubub and was off on his own happily playing with sticks but I just know that one day he's going to be crying and clamoring to play with a toy like that and I'm gonna have to be the bad guy and not let him. Rant over.

 

[08marchbean]

hmm, i can see what you mean about do we need toys ike this when they have outdoors and playgrounds etc... Buuuut i think they are entitled to play with their toy in the park! Its not their fault kids were running after it, as a parent i would have told my child it wasnt her toy and to leave them alone and play on the slide etc.. I dont see why the boys shouldnt have brought the jeep just because other kids might want to play on it.

 

[tootyfruity]

I can see what you are saying and how annoying that would be, although i don't really know anything about simplicity parenting.
ooops i bought my LO a ride on car for xmas (not expensive) all i know is he loves cars.

 

[louandivy]

I can see how it is a little annoying but I dont understand why it would make you angry?

 

[Palestrina]

hmm, i can see what you mean about do we need toys ike this when they have outdoors and playgrounds etc... Buuuut i think they are entitled to play with their toy in the park! Its not their fault kids were running after it, as a parent i would have told my child it wasnt her toy and to leave them alone and play on the slide etc.. I dont see why the boys shouldnt have brought the jeep just because other kids might want to play on it.

I'm not saying that those that brought it shouldn't have.... although to tell you the truth it was a bit dangerous because it's a toddler park after all and they were little kids driving a bit recklessly.

Sure they're entitled to play with it but both of those boys were totally miserable.

 

[Ceejay123]

Erm, my sister had a £250 jeep (Two seats) bought for her by my Dad for christmas last year. I guess I don't agree.. Yes maybe it was handled in the wrong way, but I think its the kids' parents faults.. not the man for getting them the car iykwim?
My little sister loves her car, and sometimes takes it if they go on a long walk with the dog, as her legs cant quite handle it. Her friends love it, and she really enjoys playing with it. It makes her a 'big girl'. x

 

[OmarsMum]

Well, here those toys are not allowed around the toddlers play areas in the park. there are pavements in the parks for ride-ons, bikes, etc. they are not even allowed around the seating areas or on grass.

If they were using it in the right area, it wouldn't bother me, & I'd move my son to a more toddler friendly place in the park, but if they were playing with it around slides, swings, etc it would annoy me as it's dangerous, & I'd complain to the security guard.

If it was annoying other kids, it's their parent's responsibility to handle it, not the grandfather of the kids with the car.

 

[hattiehippo]

I see where you're coming from cos it does sound like a lovely afternoon was spoilt for you (and possibly other people) by the arrival of the car and family with it. But Unfortuantly it's one of those Things that you just have to suck up as you can't stop other people bringing in toys you don't agree with unless there's a specific rule in that play park.

I personally don't see the need for something like that at all however much it costs and it's not something I would ever buy for Tom but clearly other people think it is a good idea. I would have told Tom to leave it alone and if that was not possible then left.

 

[RachA]

My little boy has a motorised tractor and a motorised quad bike. One he keeps at my inlaws. Both of my children love them to bits and i think it helps them with control and learning how to go in different directions.


In the situation you described i would say that rather than the toy ruining the fun the children were having, i'd say that it was the grandad for not intervening with the two brothers and also the parents of the other children for not pulling there children away. If it had been me, as the parent, i would of told my son that he wasn't allowed to play with it anymore. 9 times out of 10 he would just accept that and go right back to playing as he was before on the swings etc, the other 1 time he'd of kicked off but it wouldn't of taken long to calm him down. This is what the parents should of done.

 

[eddjanuary10]

I think something like that shouldn't be used in the actual play park, I would think it could possibly be dangerous as there are small children running around that won't always be looking where they are going etc. We see many of those in the park, but only on the grassy areas usually in the wide open spaces which there are plenty of so no need to take them into busy play parks. That's a shame your day was spoiled even although it wasn't anyones intention to spoil things I think the Grandad just wanted the kids to have fun but it backfired!

 

[Palestrina]

I see where you're coming from cos it does sound like a lovely afternoon was spoilt for you (and possibly other people) by the arrival of the car and family with it. But Unfortuantly it's one of those Things that you just have to suck up as you can't stop other people bringing in toys you don't agree with unless there's a specific rule in that play park.

I personally don't see the need for something like that at all however much it costs and it's not something I would ever buy for Tom but clearly other people think it is a good idea. I would have told Tom to leave it alone and if that was not possible then left.

Yes it was a lovely afternoon and many kids were having a good time. I've actually written to the nyc parks department to see if this type of toy is even allowed in a toddler park and if it's not I will not hesitate to alert the adult in the situation if I see them there again.

The other parents seemed totally in awe of such an expensive toy, especially the fathers at the playground who though it was wayyyyy cool. I do not think it is, that's just my opinion and I do not ever want my son to have that kind of toy. The issue for me is the safety of the kids at the park but I do realize that one day my son WILL show an interest in something like that and then peer pressure can be so overwhelming for a kid and I'll have to find a way to address him wanting toys that I do not think are necessary for his development.

 

[lilyanne]

I personally don't see the big deal with the car. There will always be "cool toy" situations where all the kids will gravitate to one thing and not everyone will get a turn or be happy. Was it annoying? Absolutely. However, I think it is the responsibility of the other parents at the park to tell their kids not to chase after it if or hang off it. If a parent feels it is unsafe to ride in, then they need to tell their child no.

 

[Palestrina]

I personally don't see the big deal with the car. There will always be "cool toy" situations where all the kids will gravitate to one thing and not everyone will get a turn or be happy. Was it annoying? Absolutely. However, I think it is the responsibility of the other parents at the park to tell their kids not to chase after it if or hang off it. If a parent feels it is unsafe to ride in, then they need to tell their child no.

Of course, it's not a big deal at all except that a wonderful afternoon day was interrupted by a toy. I guess you had to be there and witness the chaos to really appreciate why it made me so upset. I'll be finding out soon enough if a toy like this is even allowed in a toddler park. My guess is it is not. I know bikes are not allowed so why would any vehicle be?