Playground Drama

Clodfobble · 11-10-2006, 06:56 PM

So I'm in the Chick-Fil-A this afternoon (for you non-Americans, that's a fast food place that prides itself on serving no beef, only chicken), with 3 other mothers and all the requisite offspring, totalling 7 children under the age of 5.

The playscape was especially crowded, at least 15 kids in a relatively small area. Three of these kids were much older than the rest, 9 or 10 year old boys, who shouldn't have even been in there in the first place. Especially because they were playing a very rough game of tag through/around the playscape. The little kids were getting shoved out of the way at best, and when one got knocked on the head and began to cry, one of the mothers I was with tried to ask the boys to stop playing so rough. Whether they didn't or wouldn't hear is up for debate. Regardless, she finally went to the counter to ask a staff member to tell them they had to stop. (Actually, she rock-paper-scissored with another mother for the dreaded task.)

Guy comes over, tells the boys they have to settle down. At this point, their mother--who had been in the play area all along, apparently--steps forward and begins making a scene, about how she's offended that someone went to the staff instead of coming to her first. Apparently A.) we were supposed to know they belonged to her, and B.) watching us tell her children in vain to stop shoving toddlers, let alone watching her child obviously injure one of those toddlers, wasn't enough for her to take action on her own.

He says, "Look, I'm just saying they have to play more carefully. If you're going to stand here and argue about it, the boys will just have to leave the playscape." She says, "You can't throw us out of here! This is a public place and we paid to eat here!" and asks to see the general manager. Over the course of the next few minutes, she gets on the phone with the corporate headquarters to file a formal complaint, and threaten to sue, because of the store's blatantly racist actions.

Oh yeah. By the way, she was Hispanic. Apparently she thought this had relevance to the situation.

Anyway, after they finally left in a huff, the store manager got all our names and phone numbers as witnesses, just in case the corporate office takes the complaint seriously.

morethanpretty · 11-10-2006, 11:18 PM

OMG. Stupid parents piss me off more then single stupid people.

Aliantha · 11-11-2006, 02:24 AM

Well, I for one would have stood up and told the boy(?) off who knocked the toddler over, then asked him to point out his mother. I dunno if it works differently over there, but I've never had any trouble dealing with other kids parents here. If his parent had been present, I'd have expected that parent to discipline his/her child. If not, I'd have asked the store to evict the bigger boy because for one thing, 10 is not old enough to be in a public playground in an eating area unsupervised - obviously.

Aliantha · 11-11-2006, 02:25 AM

Having said that, some parents are complete arseholes!

Beestie · 11-11-2006, 06:14 AM

Only in America.

Stormieweather · 11-11-2006, 10:47 AM

I've run into that sort of thing several times and each time, it pisses me off even more.

In your case, I would probably write a letter outlining the incident and cc it to the local Chik Fil A as well as the district manager and corporate headquarters. I don't think people should get away with that nor do I think people who are simply doing their job should be reprimanded for it.

That said, I usually handle situations like that by asking the child in question their name, then once I get that, I loudly ask them, SANTO, WHERE IS YOUR MAMA? Either the child points them out or the mother speaks up, then I talk directly to them. It may not have made a difference in their behavior or the outcome, who knows?

As a mother whose children have large age differences, 7 years between the first two and 10 between the second, the older ones always want to play and climb in those playgrounds with the younger one. I allow it with two provisions: there are no other small children in the play yard and they must leave if any other small children arrive.

Anyway, I can't stand parents who think their children can do no wrong. Hey, your kid bonks my kid upside the head with a cedar block, you bet your going to hear from me. If one of mine shoves one of yours, they will apologise and sit in time out until they think they can play nicely.

Just my 2 mins of babble

Stormie

Sheldonrs · 11-11-2006, 06:08 PM

Just more proof that abortion should not only be legal, but in some cases, retro-active and mandatory. In this case, the mother should be aborted.

LabRat · 11-13-2006, 02:05 PM

Parenting opens up a whole new world full of rude, incompetant and unbelievably ignorant people that you likely wouldn't have had the opportunity to meet otherwise. Welcome. The only way I've learned to cope with them is to use such experiences as teaching tools. As in, 'don't act that way, becasue this is how dumb you look to the rest of humanity'. Obviously easier now that my kid is 4.

wolf · 11-14-2006, 12:39 AM

I think that all playgrounds should have a staff person monitoring them. That staff member should be equipped with a taser.

DucksNuts · 11-14-2006, 03:26 AM

I wanna grow up like you wolf!!!

Aliantha · 11-14-2006, 04:23 AM

I don't wanna grow up!!!

footfootfoot · 11-14-2006, 04:53 PM

Clod, not only cc corporate HQ with the incident, but also props for the staff person who sounds like they handled the whole thing well.

CaliforniaMama · 11-18-2006, 02:43 AM

Uh, I think there is a bit of a cultural aspect to this . . .

I recently discovered that Latinos (I'm making an assumption that this was a Mexican family?) do not like anyone correcting their children. (I wondered why that dad was cussing me out in Spanish) And yes, they can get very indignant about it. (Finally, a good Mexican friend "explained" this to me . . .)

I'm Hispanic and we're a little like that, too, but if someone *has* to correct my children THEY WILL BE SORRY!

Keep asking the rowdies about their parents, but you know what'll happen if too many complaints hit the company -- they'll get rid of the play areas. Liability is a HUGE issue. Forget about the company. They don't want those kind of headaches. They can't realistically put an employee out there or parents will be dumping their kids for the free babysitting for the price of lunch!

11-10-2006, 06:56 PM	#1
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	Playground Drama So I'm in the Chick-Fil-A this afternoon (for you non-Americans, that's a fast food place that prides itself on serving no beef, only chicken), with 3 other mothers and all the requisite offspring, totalling 7 children under the age of 5. The playscape was especially crowded, at least 15 kids in a relatively small area. Three of these kids were much older than the rest, 9 or 10 year old boys, who shouldn't have even been in there in the first place. Especially because they were playing a very rough game of tag through/around the playscape. The little kids were getting shoved out of the way at best, and when one got knocked on the head and began to cry, one of the mothers I was with tried to ask the boys to stop playing so rough. Whether they didn't or wouldn't hear is up for debate. Regardless, she finally went to the counter to ask a staff member to tell them they had to stop. (Actually, she rock-paper-scissored with another mother for the dreaded task.) Guy comes over, tells the boys they have to settle down. At this point, their mother--who had been in the play area all along, apparently--steps forward and begins making a scene, about how she's offended that someone went to the staff instead of coming to her first. Apparently A.) we were supposed to know they belonged to her, and B.) watching us tell her children in vain to stop shoving toddlers, let alone watching her child obviously injure one of those toddlers, wasn't enough for her to take action on her own. He says, "Look, I'm just saying they have to play more carefully. If you're going to stand here and argue about it, the boys will just have to leave the playscape." She says, "You can't throw us out of here! This is a public place and we paid to eat here!" and asks to see the general manager. Over the course of the next few minutes, she gets on the phone with the corporate headquarters to file a formal complaint, and threaten to sue, because of the store's blatantly racist actions. Oh yeah. By the way, she was Hispanic. Apparently she thought this had relevance to the situation. Anyway, after they finally left in a huff, the store manager got all our names and phone numbers as witnesses, just in case the corporate office takes the complaint seriously.

11-10-2006, 11:18 PM	#2
morethanpretty Thats "Miss Zipper Neck" to you. Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: little town (but not the littlest) in texas Posts: 2,957	OMG. Stupid parents piss me off more then single stupid people. __________________ Addicts may suck dick for coke, but love came up with the idea to put a dick in there to begin with. -Jack O'Brien

11-11-2006, 02:24 AM	#3
Aliantha trying hard to be a better person Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 16,493	Well, I for one would have stood up and told the boy(?) off who knocked the toddler over, then asked him to point out his mother. I dunno if it works differently over there, but I've never had any trouble dealing with other kids parents here. If his parent had been present, I'd have expected that parent to discipline his/her child. If not, I'd have asked the store to evict the bigger boy because for one thing, 10 is not old enough to be in a public playground in an eating area unsupervised - obviously. __________________ Kind words are the music of the world. F. W. Faber

11-11-2006, 02:25 AM	#4
Aliantha trying hard to be a better person Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 16,493	Having said that, some parents are complete arseholes! __________________ Kind words are the music of the world. F. W. Faber

11-11-2006, 06:14 AM	#5
Beestie -◊\|≡·∙■·∙≡\|◊- Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Parts unknown. Posts: 4,081	Only in America. __________________ ♠ ♥ ♣ ♦

11-11-2006, 10:47 AM	#6
Stormieweather Wearing her bitch boots Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Floriduh Posts: 1,181	I've run into that sort of thing several times and each time, it pisses me off even more. In your case, I would probably write a letter outlining the incident and cc it to the local Chik Fil A as well as the district manager and corporate headquarters. I don't think people should get away with that nor do I think people who are simply doing their job should be reprimanded for it. That said, I usually handle situations like that by asking the child in question their name, then once I get that, I loudly ask them, SANTO, WHERE IS YOUR MAMA? Either the child points them out or the mother speaks up, then I talk directly to them. It may not have made a difference in their behavior or the outcome, who knows? As a mother whose children have large age differences, 7 years between the first two and 10 between the second, the older ones always want to play and climb in those playgrounds with the younger one. I allow it with two provisions: there are no other small children in the play yard and they must leave if any other small children arrive. Anyway, I can't stand parents who think their children can do no wrong. Hey, your kid bonks my kid upside the head with a cedar block, you bet your going to hear from me. If one of mine shoves one of yours, they will apologise and sit in time out until they think they can play nicely. Just my 2 mins of babble Stormie __________________ "First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." - Mahatma Gandhi

11-11-2006, 06:08 PM	#7
Sheldonrs Master Dwellar Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 4,412	Just more proof that abortion should not only be legal, but in some cases, retro-active and mandatory. In this case, the mother should be aborted. __________________ Laugh and the world laughs with you; cry and the world laughs AT you.

11-13-2006, 02:05 PM	#8
LabRat twatfaced two legged bumhole Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 3,143	Parenting opens up a whole new world full of rude, incompetant and unbelievably ignorant people that you likely wouldn't have had the opportunity to meet otherwise. Welcome. The only way I've learned to cope with them is to use such experiences as teaching tools. As in, 'don't act that way, becasue this is how dumb you look to the rest of humanity'. Obviously easier now that my kid is 4. __________________ Strength does not come from how much weight you can lift, or how many miles you can run. It comes from knowing that you set a goal, and rose to the challenge. Strength comes from within.

11-14-2006, 12:39 AM	#9
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	I think that all playgrounds should have a staff person monitoring them. That staff member should be equipped with a taser. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

11-14-2006, 03:26 AM	#10
DucksNuts Bitchy Little Brat Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Queensland, Australia Posts: 5,067	I wanna grow up like you wolf!!!

11-14-2006, 04:23 AM	#11
Aliantha trying hard to be a better person Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 16,493	I don't wanna grow up!!! __________________ Kind words are the music of the world. F. W. Faber

11-14-2006, 04:53 PM	#12
footfootfoot To shreds, you say? Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: in the house and on the street-how many, many feet we meet! Posts: 18,449	Clod, not only cc corporate HQ with the incident, but also props for the staff person who sounds like they handled the whole thing well. __________________ The internet is a hateful stew of vomit you can never take completely seriously. - Her Fobs

11-18-2006, 02:43 AM	#13
CaliforniaMama I wonder . . . Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: The Left Coast, a pretty good place to be. Posts: 1,278	Uh, I think there is a bit of a cultural aspect to this . . . I recently discovered that Latinos (I'm making an assumption that this was a Mexican family?) do not like anyone correcting their children. (I wondered why that dad was cussing me out in Spanish) And yes, they can get very indignant about it. (Finally, a good Mexican friend "explained" this to me . . .) I'm Hispanic and we're a little like that, too, but if someone has to correct my children THEY WILL BE SORRY! Keep asking the rowdies about their parents, but you know what'll happen if too many complaints hit the company -- they'll get rid of the play areas. Liability is a HUGE issue. Forget about the company. They don't want those kind of headaches. They can't realistically put an employee out there or parents will be dumping their kids for the free babysitting for the price of lunch!

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