![\"Ryan](\"https:\/\/mayahoodblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/20160309_152217_resized-960x1280-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/p>\nDear mom of the child I yelled at at the playground today,<\/p>\n
It happened. I became that mom that I promised that I would never be. I did the unthinkable…I yelled at your child. The thought of someone doing the same thing to my kids makes me cringe. I feel like my kids already get enough “parenting” from my husband and I, they don’t need anyone else to parent them, especially when I’m with them. Except, least week, I did the one thing I despise other people doing. I became that person that yelled at someone else’s child.<\/p>\n
But here’s the thing. I yelled at your child because you didn’t! You just stood there and did NOTHING when your 6-year child was hitting and acting out towards my two younger sons ages 3 and 1. I’m all for kids going at it without any adults involvement and sorting things out on their own. We all know that as parents, we can’t always be there for our kids, to solve all of their problems or to fight for them (literally and figuratively). Except, this situation didn’t involve my oldest son and your son – who are similar ages. In that case, I would have just stepped back and let them figure it out on their own. No, this situation involved your son against my two, much younger, much more vulnerable, much smaller boys.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I’m not here to point fingers or determine who “started” it. I’m writing this letter for two reasons. First, I was ashamed of my actions. I despise the fact that I had to yell at a young child when I refuse to do so with my own kids. Yelling should be reserved for emergency situations only, like when your child is running towards the road and you scream “NO! DON’T! COME BACK HERE!” However, this situation warranted it, which brings me to my second point…<\/p>\n
I’m really disappointed with the way you handled the events that occurred at the park. We both witnessed the same thing, yet we both reacted completely differently. While your son was hitting and kicking and purposely created a “situation” with\u00a0my boys, I couldn’t sit back while you were doing NOTHING about it. I mean, you did nothing and you barely said anything to your son about it. In fact, I saw you giggle and laugh when you asked your son to stop (in a meek voice). Now, I get it… I laugh inappropriately all the time. It’s an issue that I constantly struggle with and try to control. You didn’t raise your voice either, which I also understand as it’s something that I try not to do either (see the aforementioned paragraph about reserving my yells for emergency situations) and lastly, you didn’t even mouth the words “sorry” to me, to feel any remorse about your son’s actions \u00a0(which aren’t appropriate, but heck, kids are kids, and even I get that they all have their bad days). \u00a0You didn’t do any of those things, which I’m “okay” with, but here are some things that you could have done!<\/p>\n
![\"Nate](\"https:\/\/mayahoodblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/20160312_145250_resized-1280x960-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
You could have walked away! Your son was obviously acting out in a way to get your attention. Also, by you standing there and not doing or saying anything, you were pretty much telling him that his actions were okay.<\/p>\n
You should have removed your son from the playground. That’s what I did when your son attacked my boys. I physically removed my boys from the situation. I \u00a0did it for their safety and to calm them. Eventually, I told them they could return to the playground and play in a slide that your son wasn’t using. Of course, your son ran right over to them when he saw them playing on the other slide. Again, he attacked them and you stood by and did nothing. That’s why I got fed up and I physically climbed up the playground structure and yelled\u00a0at your son to stop. I couldn’t let him hurt my boys physically and emotionally anymore while you stood by and did nothing. My heart was racing, my head was pounding, my mama-bear instincts came out and I just did what I felt I had to do to protect my boys. I wish I didn’t have to do it, but you didn’t do your part. You didn’t parent when you should have, so I had to parent for you.<\/p>\n
![\"Ryan](\"https:\/\/mayahoodblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/20160309_132927_resized-960x1280-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
I know we’ve spoken in the past about the challenges you’ve faced with your son. I know he’s not the easiest of kids to deal with, and heck, I know how hard parenting can be, even for those of us\u00a0who might have all the patience in the world. But I also know it sucks to have someone else’s mom or dad have to parent you. I wish that it was you and not me who stepped up and stopped the situation. By no means have I perfected “parenting” (far from it) and I am not saying that my kids are angels. Trust me, I’ve said the word “sorry” as a mom more than I have my entire life, and I’m a VERY polite person! Kids are kids, I get it, but they still need limits and rules and boundaries and you provided none of those today at the playground. I’ve pulled my kids to the side, left classes and events, and took away privileges more times than I can remember! It sucks and I feel like I’ve failed as a parent often. But I do it… I stick to it and I’m consistent. I never just sit back and let my kids act out in a way that is inappropriate and definitely not in a way that is hurtful to others (especially if they are smaller in both age and size).<\/p>\n
![\"all](\"https:\/\/mayahoodblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/20160318_153853_resized-1280x960-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
I’m sorry I had to step up to take your spot but I’m also not-sorry. I think I did the right thing for my kids but I also hope to never have to do it again.\u00a0You are the parent, the adult, the adviser and counselor. Please don’t forget that, no matter how tough it gets, and how crazy your day was. I hope that next time we see each other at the playground our kids will play together instead of against one another. At the very least, I hope that you will step up and parent your child so another parent doesn’t feel like they need to.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dear mom of the child I yelled at at the playground today, It happened. I became that mom that I promised that I would never be. I did the unthinkable…I yelled at your child. The thought of someone doing the same thing to my kids makes me cringe. I feel like my kids already get […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Have u ever had to parent someone else's kid? I would be made if an adult yelled at my kids but here's why I did it! http:\/\/wp.me\/p3dEqj-2lL","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[137227404,5309],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9037","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-featured","8":"category-parenting","9":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n