Rules of the playground

If you're friends with me on Facebook, you'd know that today I posted that a scary looking mum in head to toe adidas and dripping in diamonds tried to pick a fight with me at the park. And what was it over? Nothing really, if you ask me. 

Ten minutes prior there had been maybe eight or nine kids all trying to get on the three seat merry-go-round swing thingy. Given the chaos, one kid ended up falling and yet the swing kept going. Each time one of those swings passed over her tiny little body, the legs of the child swinging would kick her. 

As one of only two parents actually watching these kids, I naturally stopped it and let her free. The other parent (a dad), grabbed the other side. Tears followed but I'm pretty sure the little girl was ok, just really shaken up. Bossy it might be, I then told the kids that they'd have to be careful and stand back while it was swinging. One of these little girls didn't want to. She proceeded to run in, out and around it (yep, asking for trouble). Not my place to do much and all I could do was ask her to be careful, which I did. Nicely, I promise. 

She must have run off to tell on me (would love to know what on earth she said), because up comes her mother looking furious. I think she'd have turned it into a physically fight if I'd let her... honestly, she wasn't someone I'd want to cross paths with and I hope I never do again. I briefly told this woman the story but really, what's the point. If she had any interest in her daughter's behaviour, she would be watching her. No, I kept that last thought to myself because I like being alive.

Personally, I'm a bit over the sit-on-the-park-bench-and-text mums. The park might be free but it doesn't come with childcare. Call it whatever you want, but if there are kids in dangerous situations and any adult it present, I think you've got a duty of care. I hate being in the position to discipline children who are not my own but it almost feels an unwritten rule that if there are no parents to be seen in a public place, it's free for all. Some mums need to go back to the maternity hospital and ask for a new handbook. 

I'm no supermum (to further explain this let me tell you that my four-year-old daughter is still awake at 9:10pm. I can hear her now, in bed but wide awake. Great. I wish I was enjoying a quiet night with a glass of wine, but no).. anyway, my point.. it does not take supermum to keep them safe. Just common sense! Wish that mum today had a little more.