Something happened yesterday that has disturbed me greatly. I don't believe I handled it as well as I should have. I wonder if there is a better way to be ready for this sort of thing.
I was at the McDonald's play place on Barry road near the Zona Rosa. All was going well until I started hearing a lot of random crying. I had my daycare children and my own daughter with me. So I was standing in the middle looking from one part to the other counting my kids and seeing none of them were crying. I was also trying to make sure none of mine was pushing or hitting anyone.
So about that time a little girl came down screaming hysterically. She was shaking violently and I could just tell this was not a little girl mad that someone hit her. She could barely speak. I followed her and her mother to her table and was listening to her. She finally said she fell on her butt and broke her back. In her little mind, her back was seriously broken. She was shaking so hard her mother decided to take her to the emergency room. It was at that moment that I almost stepped forward and insisted she call an ambulance. I wish I had. I had this sinking feeling that someone caused this little girls injuries. I have been going to these places for the last 15+ years and I've seen some bullies in the past push kids around. She was injured too badly for it to be her own doing.
Well mom swept her up and out of there pretty fast. Then I walked back over to that spot in the middle of the room. Just at that moment I looked up into the huge round area where kids congregate. There was 2 boys in there with my 8 year old daughter. My daughter is easily as large as any 10 year old. This boy, smaller than her, but not a lot, threw her all the way across this space and slammed her hard against the wall. I immediately went into that Sergeant S. mode that I've had 22 years practicing. I dropped my pitch, raised my voice just enough to get all eyes in the place on me (not screaming), I barked out, "I don't think so!!!". I asked my daughter if she was okay and then I asked her if she knew who those dangerous boys belonged to. My daughter said she was not sure. Then I saw a man and woman look at each other as if she felt extremely guilty. They knew their children are rough and they had ZERO business bringing them to a public place with at least 20 kids!
This is where it got dicey. I wanted to talk to those parents and share with them that their children likely just caused a very serious accident. The other woman left so fast that I don't even know how many other witnesses there might have been. But instead of talking to them I had to take immediate count of my kids. I called their names and insisted that they all move immediately to the other side of the structure and away from those very dangerous boys. I said it just like that too. Then I started looking for the little girls my daughter had been playing with because I knew they were all in danger. But by the time I rounded my kids up, I turned around to see those parents telling their boys that they knew better and they already had them by the hands and was getting out of there as fast as they could.
I wanted to call the police. ALL of this happened in around 3-4 minutes time. Starting with the girl screaming and ending with that mom running out with her just seconds before I saw the boys pushing my daughter so hard. My daughter is okay. But I don't know how badly the other little girl was hurt. Those parents should have to pay her medical bills at the LEAST.
I swear I need to fix my camera safely around my neck so that I can snap pictures and have a record of kids in case I need to call the police later!
This is not the first time I have witnessed children bullying others in these places. By and large, it's a wonderful place to take kids and I've never seen someone hurt as badly as that girl was yesterday. But I've seen these types of families. There is no excuse to it. I see it very much like angry and violent dogs. Dogs that are vicious and will attack only become that way because of the way they are raised and so do kids!
What concerns me so much is that I don't think that the mom of that girl even realized her daughter was violently attacked. I didn't know for certain and only suspected. I took my gang home immediately after and in the van my daughter confirmed my suspicions. She said she saw the little boys pushing kids just before they pushed her. I asked her why she didn't come and get me. She said she couldn't get past them because they were blocking the exits to the area she was in. She was afraid of these little brats! She was pretty certain they had pushed this little girl and made her fall on her bottom. If you know the place at all, the tunnels do not sit high off the floor when they come out. The only place up inside a person could fall is in the few open areas where they can stand up if they are short enough. It would be pretty hard to hurt oneself like that by complete accident.
Am I just being over protective? It just feels like parents are not taking control of their kids anymore. All these new ridiculous ways of rearing kids without any actual discipline is simply not working in my mind. I ALWAYS have control of my daycare children. Even when I don't know a child well and may have just started with them, I still maintain tight control of what my charges are doing.
I would have definately talked to these parents and got their names and have already called the police before they even left. There are parents out there who just don't watch their children. Those two boys should have their parents watching them instead of just letting them run all over the place and they knew that their children were capable of doing harm to other children. The manager of the place should have been notified as well of the situation and tell these parents that their business is no longer welcomed there. That's sad to take your children to McDonalds only to have someone elses child bully them and the parents knowing what their children are capable of doing. I hope the little girl is okay. I would have had my own child checked out to make sure she wasn't hurt and made sure that I knew that names of the parents of those two boys and an address send them the bill of the ER.
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J.B.
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I don't have any advice, but I don't think your concerns are unfounded. It's hard to know where to draw the line, but when bullying turns into injuring, it's time to step in. All you can really do is continue your efforts at teaching your own kids well and letting them know that what others do is not ok, and to not be afraid to ask for help in those kinds of situations. Good luck!
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S.A.
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I do not think you are being over protective at all! If that place is not allow parent to come in with their child, your children would probably get hurt, just like the poor little girl you saw. You know, what I will do when I witness the boys slam my girl and bully my girl. I will definitely find their parents and ask them did they see what happen. If they don't, I will tell them and watch how they react? If they didnot do anything. I will tell their kids, they need to stop, bullies is not accepted. It hurts other people. I will make them look really bad for what they did. I feel sorry for those kids, because their parents do not know how to teach them, or they might come from a broken home.
One day my daughter was in a long line waiting to get her baloon. Suddenly a young girl came and ask my daughter whether she can have a cut??? My daughter shake her head. She goes and ask one more person and was refused too. i never witness anything like this. What happen stun me. The girl has to go to the back of the line. When she come near me and talk to her to make her feel a bit better. It broke my heart when she told me, "I don't have a dad , he did not come home anymore. He run away with his girlfriend." I think you see my point.
Another day, my daughter was bullied by a boy in her preschool. It happen at recess. There is two teachers with about 30-35 kids. The boy punched my daughter in her face. She came home with a bruise. She told me she was being punched and felt to the playground. I found-out no one saw what happened. The teacher told me she will let the principal know too. She never did. Teacher is half of my age. She finally tell after I want to tell it myself. . The whole situation is not taking seriously. One teacher said the kid accidently bump to each other. Other teacher said that boy is tired that day. The principle said it happened. I have to withdraw my kid out of that school rightaway. How can they run a school with many many kids, but have no clue how to handle the incident like this. Very dangerous!!! If no one stop them . They grown up, they can bring a gun to school and shoot anyone they want. I was taught " when a kid steal an egg, they growup and steal a cow." Parents need help so do the kids.
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D.H.
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I'm sorry this had to happen to you and hopefully didn't ruin your kiddos trip to the play yard at McD's. I would have told the manager about the situation and let him/her handle it. I do agree with you about the discipline methods now a days. Kids are unruly and rule the roost now a days because parents don't discipline anymore. My kids I took care of minded for me wonderfully, but not for their parents, cuz I disciplined them and mom and dad didn't. It's a shame! I hope that those parents see what happened and will keep their bullies away from Mc D's play yard. I hope that your next trip is better. Happy Mother's Day. Good luck and God Bless.
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S.R.
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I don't know how I would have handled that situation. I probably would have went to the manager of mcdonalds and told him about what had happened and asked him to call the police. He should know who the kids are so that they are not allowed in there again. If those kids are bullies now at a young age, then it is only going to get worse when they get older. Hopefully they will not injure anymore kids. I would have confronted the parents and made sure everyone in the play place knew what happened.
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L.D.
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Suzi:
I have to applaud you!!! I have often thought the same thing about parents not taking control of there children anymore. I have a daycare myself and I know what you mean about having a camera strapped to your neck just in case. I feel horrible for that little girl. I do believe that bullying starts at home where they can learn it. Like you said, dogs are trained that way..unfortunately, children are programmable too!! NO, You were not Overreacting! Myself as a parent am looking out not only for my girls but, for everyone elses children too, when I go to one of those play gyms. I never have liked them because I could never get to my child fast enough.
L.
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P.T.
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You know, my youngest that is now 5 has been harrassed at playlands since he was about 2 1/2. I am not afraid to express my disappointment to the parents of these childen, as well as the kids themselves. My little boy just received a black eye and a mark above his nose about weeks ago. That was at the Ameristar playland. At that place, parents are not allowed to go in, and there is a supervisor in there. Obviously, the supervisor was not paying attention. I think what you did was just fine, but next time I would recommend that you go staight up to them and express your concerns and disappointment. Those children just need to know that they are being watched, and not everyone will let them get away with their bad behavior. I teach my children to not bully, but I also teach them to defend themselves if they can't get away! You are not wrong, but calling the cops would probably not be suitable. Calling the kids out would likely be a better choice. Good luck.
Trish
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T.I.
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I agree with your other post on here. Calling the police would be quite excessive (I'm sure at the time you wanted to because your emotions were pretty intense), but "calling them out" like you did was totally appropriate indeed. I would have done the same thing. It sounds like the other parents knew exactly what happened and got out of there quick to avoid another scene. I too am not afraid to voice my opinion when other parents are sitting back and not tuned in. I remember at the old Zona Rosa play area (the fruit playground) there were a few 10-11 year olds (friends together) playing rough on there in the middle of about a dozen little kids. After watching them for about a minute or two and realizing their parents were probably not even around, I just walked up to them and said, "I really think you're a little too OLD to be on here, don't you think?" in my best mother voice. LOL! They looked at me, turned around and left lickety split. ;-)
