Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The kid had no boundaries. He wanted to talk about a seat HE thought was shaped like a dick with a strange woman in a park with her kids!
Or he wanted my reaction.
Either way I dont think this was 'normal' at all. I'm surprised how many people brushed it off. Sure I'll go on with my life and will forget about this...but I wonder if he'll grow up to be a dirty old man if his parents dont step it up with what is and isnt ok.
Or maybe he will grow up to be a normal young man who who has a normal sexual life because he wasn't "shamed" by his parents/very mature comment about a swing being "inappropriate" because it looked like a penis. And he didn't even say the word "penis" did he?
I bet he isn't going to be some "mommy's boy" living with his parents, in the basement, playing video games when he's 30!
The kid had no boundaries. He wanted to talk about a seat HE thought was shaped like a dick with a strange woman in a park with her kids!
He wasn't being vulgar like that though, you said he only said the seat looked "inappropriate" before moving on. It was just a random thought that popped into his head. It doesn't sound like he was wanting to have a conversation with you.
I think it does show some maturity (for his age) that he knew to say the playground equipment looked "inappropriate" instead of coming right out and saying, "Look, its a penis!" Even after you asked him to clarify what he was talking about, he still didn't come out and say what he was thinking.
Yes, trust your gut instincts.....it definitely was not a normal interaction. Neither were his parents walking off to leave him near a stranger. I might be careful in future at that park. This is a perfect scenario for folks who snatch children. He distracted you.
It would (does) set my red flags off as someone who has had professional training related to child protection. I honestly think this kid has been exposed to something inappropriate......but it would be hard for you to do anything about it....because he and his family were strangers. I would in future not talk to a kid who was in this type scenario.....I would make sure my lil ones were away from bike paths and such in public parks.
Someone that knows him....a teacher, a grandparent......would be able to take note of comments like this and try to figure out how a 9 year old would come to say something so inappropriate like that to a perfect stranger........hopefully someone in his life has an eye on him.
Yes, it definitely was not a normal interaction. Neither was his parents walking off to leave him near a stranger. I might be careful in future at that park. This is a perfect scenario for folks who snatch children. He distracted you.
It would (does) set my red flags off as someone who has had professional training related to child protection. I honestly think this kid has been exposed to something inappropriate......but it would be hard for you to do anything about it....because he and his family were strangers. I would in future not talk to a kid who was in this type scenario.....I would make sure my lil ones were away from bike paths and such in public parks.
Someone that knows him....a teacher, a grandparent......would be able to take note of comments like this and try to figure out how a 9 year old would come to say something so inappropriate like that to a perfect stranger........hopefully someone in his life has an eye on him.
The bolded. SO typical of the paranoia that the so-called 'professionally trained' preach to an already nervous society. It's nonsense as well as potentially dangerous! I attended university with a few similar folks who saw potential 'child abuse' wherever they looked.
I think his behavior is normal. I was exposed to more off-color talk when I was younger. I didn't share certain words with my kids and they still managed to learn them anyway. My oldest came home from a ride on the bus in first grade. He told me how someone had dropped a walnut on the bus and a kid funny comment was made about losing it. There was no shame from him.
I was asked to supply some magazines to cut up for an extracurricular activity that was being done at a kid's home with parental supervision. I dropped off a variety of magazines including Prevention Magazine and didn't think anything of it. The younger brother was in 4th grade and told me the magazines were 'inappropriate'. His dad was a doctor.
I think the kid was just at that age where anything will pop out of his mouth. You were the adult female so he told you. Kids are strange sometimes.
The bolded. SO typical of the paranoia that the so-called 'professionally trained' preach to an already nervous society. It's nonsense as well as potentially dangerous! I attended university with a few similar folks who saw potential 'child abuse' wherever they looked.
Not to go off topic....And there are plenty of bad actors that rely on attitudes like yours. Hyperbole and glaring generalizations are not helpful in any scenario.
But logical, rational assessment and unfortunately...actual case studies, are part of effective training.
OP....My opinion in response to your question still stands. I hope that you never let someone's glaring generalities keep you from following your maternal gut instincts.
Last edited by JanND; 05-30-2018 at 07:13 AM..
Reason: edit text
Really. ok. well i'm surprised that i'm alone here. Maybe I'm more of a prude than I thought. I have an Irish Catholic upbringing and knew you NEVER spoke of such things particularly to a stranger. I find it rude and have to say i hope my kids dont end up like this or have friends that think it's ok to act like this :/
Your kids are young. You're going to hear a lot more 'rude' as they get older, and move on through the grades. And it won't even necessarily be coming from them.
Honestly, I think if I'd been there that day, and that boy had said that to me, I would've had to laugh. Especially if indeed, the swing did somehow look like a penis. lol
NEWSFLASH: 9-year-old boys know what penises are and what they look like. As weird as the subject matter may have been from a 9-year-old kid you'd never met, he was able to convey his point without using any remotely profane or even graphic language. Smart kid.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lologal321
i guess i'm comparing him to my DH's 9 year old nephew who i'm not sure even knows what a penis is. lol. He is a very sheltered kid.
You can't shelter kids from what's attached to their own groins. The only possible way your 9-year-old nephew doesn't know what a penis is is if he's actually your niece whom your sibling and his/her spouse have been passing off as a boy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JanND
Yes, trust your gut instincts.....it definitely was not a normal interaction. Neither were his parents walking off to leave him near a stranger. I might be careful in future at that park. This is a perfect scenario for folks who snatch children. He distracted you.
Even by today's standards of paranoid helicopter parenting, this is some seriously cracked stuff. I can't even follow much less understand the randomly bizarre line of thought that parents of kids who walk up and talk to grown-ups are more likely to be child-snatchers. 9-year-old boys observing that something penis-shaped looks like a penis is painfully normal behavior, and parents walking off to let their 9-year-olds play at will is also normal behavior. Hell, it was only a generation ago when parents didn't even GO to the park with their 9-year-olds, they just sent them there and said "be back by dinner."
The kid had no boundaries. He wanted to talk about a seat HE thought was shaped like a dick with a strange woman in a park with her kids!
Or he wanted my reaction.
Either way I dont think this was 'normal' at all. I'm surprised how many people brushed it off. Sure I'll go on with my life and will forget about this...but I wonder if he'll grow up to be a dirty old man if his parents dont step it up with what is and isnt ok.
You're talking about dick on the internet with random strangers, is THAT appropriate for a proper person like yourself? Are you on the road to being some kind of a pervert?
OK, though, how about this. I know LOTS of "dirty" (we tend to say, "sex positive") people. Pervs of all shapes and sizes dontcha know. Plenty. You want to know what probably the single most common shared upbringing is, among the biggest freaks (as adults) that I know?
Private school, especially religious-based.
It's to the point now where when some purple haired pansexual degenerate with a nose ring says to me, "I went to Catholic School" I'm just like, "Of course you did."
So that's a thing. If you didn't know.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
