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Leaving baby unattended at playground...

natalie5851natalie5851 member
edited May 2014 in Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months
So I took my son to the playground today. He's 14 months and there were two other little girls there. One was maybe about 4 and the other couldn't have been older than 1 1/2 to 2 years old. I saw there dads on the other side of the park playing basketball when we arrived at the park. So I'm letting my son run around and play and he's playing with the other little girl (the 1 to 2 year old). Super cute and everything's fine. In the back of my head I'm concerned about the girls because these guys don't seem to be paying much attention but at the same time I don't think it's really appropriate for me to be disciplining or talking to these girls. So it's really hot out and I decide to take my son to a more shaded area. A couple minutes later the dad comes yelling and running past us the little one year old wondered out of the gate and almost onto the parking lot road where cars are passing by. Needless to say I felt horrible but at the same time I felt uncomfortable with the whole situation watching over someone else's kid who I didn't know. I mean, who leaves a baby in a park where you don't have an eye on them at all times? I don't know maybe I should've been paying more attention. It just really shook me up. I mean that's not normal right?
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Re: Leaving baby unattended at playground...

  • Emmit12Emmit12 member
    Our neighbors have been sending their son to the backyard since he could walk, probably nine months. Their five year old is in charge. I wouldn't be comfortable.
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  • Meery82Meery82 member
    Definitely not normal. That idiot should've been watching his kid. They can get themselves into a dangerous situation in the blink of an eye. If it had been me, I would've kept an eye on them, knowing their father wasn't paying attention, and then when the baby started to wander away, I would've told him to get his kid or even grabbed the child if they were in imminent danger and dad couldn't get to them fast enough. Technically, isn't your responsibility though.
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  • minervacullenminervacullen member
    I always keep an eye on all of the kids at the park. They can go from fine to trouble in an instant. I feel like if everyone helps everyone, it takes a village and all that, that's a good thing.

    I would have, without question, grabbed the kid myself and gotten the dad's attention. Then most likely would have said something passive aggressive about watching your children outside.

    I often catch myself telling other kids to be careful or I say something like "is your mom or dad ok with you doing that?"


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  • natalie5851natalie5851 member
    Yes. That's true. If I saw the little girl I DEFINITELY would have grabbed her I wouldn't let her run into the street! We had just gone to a different play area when she wandered off so I didn't see her. It's not that I don't feel comfortable talking to other little kids in the playground. I meant more so when they start getting rowdy and you have to say "stop, no pushing" that sort of thing because you never know how other parents are gonna react to that. Yeah it was just a crappy situation in general! Lol
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  • mb314mb314 member
    Emmit12 said:
    Our neighbors have been sending their son to the backyard since he could walk, probably nine months. Their five year old is in charge. I wouldn't be comfortable.
    Sending your kid into the back yard by themselves is MUCH different than leaving them unattended in a public park, assuming that the back yard is fenced and secure.  I don't leave DS in our back yard for more than a minute, but I do leave him there to run into the house to get water, a towel, or other supplies. 

    Anyway, it sounds like the kid wandered out of the playground after the OP left the area, so it's not like she saw the kid wander into traffic.  She just left knowing the kids weren't well attended (or that's how I read it).  It's a hard situation - it's not your responsibility to watch after strange kids in the park.  Hopefully the dad's learned a lesson to watch their kids better. 
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  • KyMommy86KyMommy86 member
    That happens to me when I take my son to the playground. Parents will do their own thing and leave the kids alone. I had an instance where a much older child pushed my son down and since the parents weren't anywhere to be found I pointed out to the child how young my son is and that he isn't great at holding his balance yet and asked if the kid could be more carefully. Very nicely. The kid promptly told his mom who was in her car on her cell phone and the mom went off on me for "yelling" at her child. It's tough to figure out what to do. Other kids are not your responsibility but at the same time you don't want them hurting your child or even themselves, it's not the child's fault the parent can't be bothered but it's still tricky.
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  • natalie5851natalie5851 member
    KyMommy86... Exactly. Same instance the little girl was a little older then my son and pushed him I just said "no, no. Pushing is not nice" but it sucks to be put in a situation where you have to discipline another parents kid. You never know how they'll take it.
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