Do you ever step in and physically help another child at the park?
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Anonymous
| Crying, falling, bleeding, etc with no readily visible adult, yes. Swings, etc, no. People are too damn touchy about their kids. |
Anonymous
| Tie shoelaces, ok. Put in a swing, no. What if the kid falls? |
Anonymous
| Agree...tend to safety related concerns but if Larlo wants to swing he needs to find his mom. I would not pick an unknown child up unless they were in a dangerous situation. |
Anonymous
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You may just have one of those faces that kids trust, so they ask you. It’s a running joke in my family that if there is a person who is lost or hurt or in need of help and a whole bunch of strangers are around, the person always picks me out of the crowd to ask for help. It happens often and has been happening my whole life. I think there is something about me that seems non threatening and open to helping.
I always help little kids at the park. If they want something I am not sure about, I will help them find their caregiver. |
Anonymous
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While I'd prefer that everyone had an "it takes a village" mentality, the reality is that a lot of people are really weird and will freak out if they see you touching their kids. I have definitely helped toddlers on playground equipment, e.g, a child wanting to get down but struggling with the ladder. But mostly our individualistic society dictates that we don't touch, discipline, or interfere in any way with another person's child. Just look at how people on here freak out when someone at the park tells their child to stop throwing sand or pushing small children.
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Anonymous
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I’d of course intervene on a safety issue.
I hate it when kids who aren’t mine ask me to swing them, watch them do something, help them on monkey bars, etc., when I can see their own parent/caregiver sitting around scrolling on the phone. I’ll politely pay attention to them for a minute and then explain I need to attend to my own kids. |
Anonymous
| I have done it before when kids were stuck or fell with no adult nearby. It was awkward afterward with the parent, like they weren't doing their job. It would have been awkward not to assist the kids.. But I would try to avoid doing it. People are weird. |
Anonymous
| “Go ask your mom/dad/caregiver” |
Anonymous
Same here. I did this and appreciated it when others did - usually because I was nursing a baby sibling on a nearby bench. |
Anonymous
+1 I hate it too. Those kids are so annoying and starved for attention! |
Anonymous
| I’ll help them down, but not up. I don’t want to help a kid into a situation they aren’t coordinated enough to handle alone. I’ll also tie a shoe or make impressed sounds as needed. |
Anonymous
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I've seen a kid fall off his bike and was crying in the middle of the street so I picked him and his bike up and took him to the sidewalk and calmed him down.
Before that, I would say no because I don't want to deal with it and I kinda still feel that way. But this was a kid in danger so I acted on impulse and would probably do it again. For reference, I'm a dad and this was one of the neighborhood kids who has played with my son. |
Anonymous
+2. Same and I’m a nanny. I find it truly loathsome that negligent parents consider themselves “free range” and anti-helicopter parents when it’s strangers who are forced to watch and encourage their children. |
Anonymous
Yes and no. I tried to help a woman with three young children who was crossing a street and one child refused to hold onto her dress. I offered to hold child's hand in crossing street and she told me she was perfectly fine and needed no help. I no longer offer my help. |
Anonymous
+1 |