Park/public space etiquette

[Anonymous]

OP I can see how this was a frustrating situation. I think “thanks for waiting patiently” could be passive aggressive or genuine, it’s honestly hard to say without being there. But I’ve encountered enough obnoxious parents at playgrounds that I believe you if you say at was passive aggressive.

I think regarding your broader question about playground etiquette, the truth is you have to develop a thick skin at the playground and do what you need to do (within reason) to take care of your kid. People have vastly different expectations of how to handle these interactions. Plus kids just have different personalities and need different levels of intervention from adults.

There are some parents who either have kids who very easily play on their own, or who just believe strongly that they should not have to intervene. The older the kids are, the more likely parents are to feel this way, and you just have to accept this. Parents of 6/7 year olds are not going to follow their kids around or monitor their every interaction. And done parents feel this way even about preschool age kids, though I personally think they 3/4 year olds usually need more supervision than that because kids that age are crap at sharing. But I’m not going to convince other parents of that. You just have to accept it.

The problem is that when your kid is younger, this puts a lot of pressure on you if there is a conflict between your kid and an older kid. The way I handle this is by thinking of myself as a model for my kid to learn from. So I’ll think “How would o want her to handle this situation on her own?” and then I will do that. So in your example, I would say “Let’s ask these nice kiddos if they’d mind if you took a turn before we go. What to you think, kids? We haven’t had a chance on these toys yet and have to head out soon.” Most kids will offer a turn in that situation. If they are rude and refuse, I’d leave, tell my kid it wasn’t fair for those kids not to share, but sometimes things aren’t fair. If she got mad, I’d be understanding and tell her I felt mad too. It’s ok to be mad at rude people, but once you get it out and commiserate, find a way to move on.