Yes, I hover over Little Man while we are out and am quick to remove him from situations in the blink of an eye. Some may label me as a helicopter Mom, over protective and a constant worrier. But I have my reasons.
Recently on a trip to Monkey Joe's, the place was more crowded than usual. There were some summer camps there for the day, which included a large group of rambunctious kids. Understandably so, during the summer kids need some A/C relief where they can run, jump and play in a large area. However- this particular group of kids had me questioning if they were fed a ton of sugar each before going in. Several kids from the group who were around 7 or 8 were going crazy in the toddler area (which is for kids under 3), jumping off the sides and knocking over the smaller kids. I looked around to see if I could find a chaperons for this group after removing Little Man from the area. I couldn't find anyone so I mentioned it to someone who worked there. The employee also could not find any of the chaperons for this group. This was extremely upsetting to me. The people that work at these places are there to ensure kids are safe, they are NOT babysitters. When you bring a child to a place like this, you are supposed to watch them, or at least check in on them OFTEN! The kids were removed from the toddler area but of course came back after a while.
Who ever was dressed up in the Monkey Joe costume had my sympathy. Kids were slapping this poor person on the butt, kicking and attempting to take it's head off. Again, no adults with the group intervened. I know that kids will be kids, but after being told to stop several times by employees they still were not listening.
After Little Man was knocked out of the way a few times while trying to get up a slide we decided to play in the game area for a while. We were having fun until some kids decided to take the basketballs from CJ while he was playing the "slam dunk" game. By this point I had had enough so we headed home.
While this is just one example of why I hover over Little Man to make sure he is okay and not causing trouble, it happens almost everywhere we go. People take their kids to places and just disappear. I know adults need a break, and kids need their freedom. But can't we find a middle ground?
I HAD to comment on this.... it's one of my biggest pet peeves ! My little guy is 2 1/2 and we've had issues like this too. It's not us who are wrong being helicopter moms- it's others who are not taking responsibility for ensuring their kids are playing respectfully.
ReplyDeleteWe all need breaks, but allowing your child to act inappropriately and endanger other kids is not ok. And in your case... those people get PAID to watch the kids, so their break comes later.
(sorry for the bit of rant- i totally related when you wrote that) lol
Tracy
www.eatplaylovephotography.blogspot.com
www.cherryblissphotography.blogspot.com
Thank you Tracy!
ReplyDelete