in

California

Where are peoples manners ?

I just want to share an uncomfortable situation we experienced today. I was deeply concerned by the behavior of both a child and her parent toward my son in a public playground in Burbank today.

Today, at the water splash area at Fremont Park in Burbank, my 4-year-old son was playing with his friends. Someone had brought tennis balls into the splash area, and the children began throwing them outside the designated area. I did not object, as this seemed safer than allowing the balls to remain in the splash area, where they could potentially strike another child.

An older girl repeatedly yelled at my son to stop. While I understand that she may have been concerned about the balls being thrown outside the splash area, repeatedly yelling at a young child was inappropriate. After continuing to yell at him, she threw a toy at his back. I immediately approached her and calmly told her that she was not permitted to yell at or throw objects at my child.

I then spoke with her mother to explain what had occurred. Unfortunately, rather than addressing her daughter’s behavior or acknowledging that a toy had been thrown at my son, the mother became confrontational and began yelling at me. She stated that I had no right to speak to a minor and that I should have located the child’s mother first. She did have a heavy russian accent, not sure if this is normal behavior where she’s from but I will not allow anyone to mistreat or bully my children, especially a child much older and bigger than him. How do you locate someone’s mother when she’s busy on her phone ? She also mocked the way I was speaking to her.

I understand that parents may prefer to address their children’s behavior themselves. However, when a child is repeatedly yelling at my 4-year-old and physically throwing a toy at him, I believe it is reasonable to intervene immediately and tell the child to stop. I would have preferred to speak with the mother afterward and resolve the situation calmly, but unfortunately, the interaction became unnecessarily hostile.

Parents should remain attentive to and monitor their children’s behavior so that situations like this can be prevented in the future. Mutual respect, appropriate supervision, and courteous communication are essential in public.