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Went to an outside playground yesterday with my 4 yr old son, and I saw a baby around 9-12 months old playing all by himself. At first I thought his mom was right there with him, but then those moms started leaving the playground, and the baby was still all by himself. I started asking myself where the baby's mom was. Finally, I noticed the mom come by and grab the baby when he wandered off too far, and she put him right back on the playground set. That part of the playground was meant for kids less than 5 years old BTW. I watched the baby crawl, walk back and forth all over the playground set, and
then he even wandered off to the bigger kids' area where there were steep hills that even I had to be careful of. Where was the mom? She was about 50 feet away talking to her friend practically the entire time. I couldn't believe it! Is it just me or was I overreacting? Husband said I was. I was shocked. I know it's none of my business, but I couldn't believe what I just saw. The baby could've easily fell off the playground or worse.
I saw the mom come by and get the baby at least 3x when he wandered off too far, but each time, she would just put him back where he was, and went back and talked to her friend. She was not facing her baby's direction either. Luckily, the whole time that I watched the baby play, he did not fall off, and my son was actually playing with him too. My son actually followed the baby when he wandered off. I could understand if this was a toddler by himself, but this was a crawling and barely walking baby! WTH?
Went to an outside playground yesterday with my 4 yr old son, and I saw a baby around 9-12 months old playing all by himself. At first I thought his mom was right there with him, but then those moms started leaving the playground, and the baby was still all by himself. I started asking myself where the baby's mom was. Finally, I noticed the mom come by and grab the baby when he wandered off too far, and she put him right back on the playground set. That part of the playground was meant for kids less than 5 years old BTW. I watched the baby crawl, walk back and forth all over the playground set, and
then he even wandered off to the bigger kids' area where there were steep hills that even I had to be careful of. Where was the mom? She was about 50 feet away talking to her friend practically the entire time. I couldn't believe it! Is it just me or was I overreacting? Husband said I was. I was shocked. I know it's none of my business, but I couldn't believe what I just saw. The baby could've easily fell off the playground or worse.
I saw the mom come by and get the baby at least 3x when he wandered off too far, but each time, she would just put him back where he was, and went back and talked to her friend. She was not facing her baby's direction either. Luckily, the whole time that I watched the baby play, he did not fall off, and my son was actually playing with him too. My son actually followed the baby when he wandered off. I could understand if this was a toddler by himself, but this was a crawling and barely walking baby! WTH?
So, the baby was not in any danger, when he wandered too far the parent redirected him (so she was paying attention - just not hovering to your level)....the child was not screaming or hurting other kids? He didn't seem abused in anyway? He was just playing by himself?
If that is the case, you are completely over re-acting.
Went to an outside playground yesterday with my 4 yr old son, and I saw a baby around 9-12 months old playing all by himself. At first I thought his mom was right there with him, but then those moms started leaving the playground, and the baby was still all by himself. I started asking myself where the baby's mom was. Finally, I noticed the mom come by and grab the baby when he wandered off too far, and she put him right back on the playground set. That part of the playground was meant for kids less than 5 years old BTW. I watched the baby crawl, walk back and forth all over the playground set, and
then he even wandered off to the bigger kids' area where there were steep hills that even I had to be careful of. Where was the mom? She was about 50 feet away talking to her friend practically the entire time. I couldn't believe it! Is it just me or was I overreacting? Husband said I was. I was shocked. I know it's none of my business, but I couldn't believe what I just saw. The baby could've easily fell off the playground or worse.
I saw the mom come by and get the baby at least 3x when he wandered off too far, but each time, she would just put him back where he was, and went back and talked to her friend. She was not facing her baby's direction either. Luckily, the whole time that I watched the baby play, he did not fall off, and my son was actually playing with him too. My son actually followed the baby when he wandered off. I could understand if this was a toddler by himself, but this was a crawling and barely walking baby! WTH?
The British don't really baby-proof anything and, in fact, deplore American mothers for not letting their children make any mistakes to learn from.
50 years ago, it was quite common for ten year old boys to come home from school, grab a .22 caliber rifle and run about in the woods behind the house until sunset. No one wore seatbelts, no carseats either.
We've changed quite a bit in the way that we parent and we are much more careful now. In some instances, our safety consciousness is a drastic improvement. In others, I think we've gone too far.
To determine for yourself whether you were overreacting, I would ask "What is this child REALLY in danger of?" If it's something like "a big kid could step on his hand" or "he might fall down and cry and no one would be able to comfort him for fifteen seconds", then it's an overreaction.
Also, 50 feet is a little more than 16 yards, right? The slowest guy on a football team will cover that distance in about three seconds. A mom with a reason to move will get there faster than that.
Went to an outside playground yesterday with my 4 yr old son, and I saw a baby around 9-12 months old playing all by himself. At first I thought his mom was right there with him, but then those moms started leaving the playground, and the baby was still all by himself. I started asking myself where the baby's mom was. Finally, I noticed the mom come by and grab the baby when he wandered off too far, and she put him right back on the playground set. That part of the playground was meant for kids less than 5 years old BTW. I watched the baby crawl, walk back and forth all over the playground set, and
then he even wandered off to the bigger kids' area where there were steep hills that even I had to be careful of. Where was the mom? She was about 50 feet away talking to her friend practically the entire time. I couldn't believe it! Is it just me or was I overreacting? Husband said I was. I was shocked. I know it's none of my business, but I couldn't believe what I just saw. The baby could've easily fell off the playground or worse.
I saw the mom come by and get the baby at least 3x when he wandered off too far, but each time, she would just put him back where he was, and went back and talked to her friend. She was not facing her baby's direction either. Luckily, the whole time that I watched the baby play, he did not fall off, and my son was actually playing with him too. My son actually followed the baby when he wandered off. I could understand if this was a toddler by himself, but this was a crawling and barely walking baby! WTH?
I'm with you. I always feel very uneasy when I feel that a mom has "checked out" and even if I can't describe it to others so that they fully understand what I saw and why it bothered me, I know it when I see it.
I don't really agree with it being nobody's business either. What ever happened to "It takes a village to raise a child," you guys? This is a baby we're talking about, not a teenager, and bad things can happen quickly to a little one, especially if the baby is in an area that is designated for older kids.
I would have done much the same as you: kept an eye to see where the mom was (after all, you had to wait to see her come back, so you didn't even know at first if the baby's mom was around, so what should you have done, just left a baby there all by himself and said, "It's none of my business?"), and hung around to make sure that the baby wasn't going to accidentally come to harm.
It's not good for kids to have a parent hover all day and night, it isn't healthy. The mother is watching the kid enough that they are reasonably safe, and she is getting a well deserved break from mother child interaction!!!! An extra plus is that baby's brain gets to develop as he explores on his own.
Irootoo, I too would have made sure mom was there, but once I saw her I would let it go.
You're overreacting. Clearly she was paying attention as she redirected her baby. I let my baby play alone at a distance from me as soon as she could walk/run away from me.
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