Drama at the playground
I took Jackson to the mall today so he could play on the indoor playground. He loves going there, and it's a good chance for me to get a little down time while he keeps busy. I love watching all the kids interact, and it's especially interesting when there's a bully on the scene. Today was such a day, and what made it even more interesting was how the parents responded. This kid kept pushing other kids down. Sometimes the mom would yell for them to "punch him back if he punches you!" One kid after another would cry, and the parents would rush down to comfort them. Some would confront the child, another confronted the mother. The father who confronted the mother actually had to explain what the fuss was all about! Her first response was "What? Are you seeing something I'm not?" He went on to say "Yes, you see all the parents going down to their crying children?? That's because of your kid!" After a minute or two, mall security showed up. Apparently, there was yet another mother who called them. She explained what had been going on, and you could tell the security guy was like "Ok, really. What am I supposed to do here?" He was gracious about it, but a little embarrassed at the same time. He talked to the woman who had by then pulled her son out to sit down (finally!!). After she explained "that's why I pulled him out to sit!", the security dude left. Shortly after, she left as well. I'm laughing at it now, but it's very maddening when this happens. Jackson's often been the victim of such bullys (thankfully not today), and my blood boils so quickly! I've actually had to pull a kid off Jack before he got smooshed into nothing! It's sad to see kids allowed to behave this way, but when you take a look at the parents behavior... the apple usually doesn't fall far from the tree.
