The truck needed brake service and at the moment we are a one car and a motorcycle family…so we found a sears auto center attached to a mall. We figured it would take an hour or two that we could kill walking around window shopping. Uhh yeah four hours, sbarros, and an outside playground later we found ourselves sitting at another playground-this time painfully small and indoors. There are kids running every where flying on and off all the large plastic turtles and fish…in and out of bright red and blue cars. It is chaos at best, so I’m not really all that surprised when this happens…three boys on/in one car. Bub and another boy sitting in it and another boy climbing up the front. The boy next to Bub is shoving him in a playful way, Bub is half standing and looses his balance and instead of catching himself on the car his hand plants on the boy who is trying get into the car by climbing over the windshield. He slides off onto the ground and starts to scream and cry. His parents coming running and over and we figure all is well. I saw nothing that required a parent interving- Then I look back over and the mother is kneeled down in front of Bub shaking her finger in his face. I walk over and she is indeed yelling at my son. I quickly pick him and tell her in the most controlled way I can that it is not ok to yell at other people’s children and if she had a problem she should discuss it with me. I will admit at this point I was past being polite- the image of her shaking her finger in Bub’s face and look the terror in his eyes set me off. She said he pushed…I said no it was an accident-she said no he pushed- again no I saw it very clearly- IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!(short of yelling) At this point I walk away and decide it is time to go any way (well before I do something unbecoming of a parent) We pack up and go to leave and pass this family again and she starts pointing and yelling about us…so Ev stopped and said “really it was an accident”(very polite-more so then I would have ever been) and she said “whatever, go away”. Nice huh?!?! I saw everything that happened and it was an accident Bub didn’t jump up shove the boy down and stand over him pointing and laughing. The boy was even bigger and older then Bub. Normally I would have asked Bub to apologize and tell the little boy he didn’t mean too, but the mother taking it upon herself to discipline threw me off and made me very angry. I think it is beyond stepping on toes to discipline a stranger’s child-esp. a two year old child. Can you imagine some strange woman kneeling down yelling at you while shaking their finger in your face? You should find the parents and talk to them, and when I say talk to them-I mean explain what you think happened and let them take it from there-don’t take it upon yourself to parent their children. Everyone raises their children differently-different rules, different expectations of conduct and I think by saying something to the parents you are staying true to your own ways, but not pushing your views on anyone. And that is all I have to say about that…steps off soap box.
In other news…Target’s circo brand makes sippy cups and guess how much they cost-go ahead guess…99cents. How great is that!