Would you say something to this parent?

[Anonymous]

While you're at it, do you also want to ban nerf gun sales?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't like it either, OP. I only have boys. As a parent, I would tell my boys to knock it off.

That said, I wouldn't approach the mom. I would probably shake my head at the kid when I passed by and tell him don't.

You don’t get to discipline someone else’s child. You dont.

Well, this isn't a total MYOB situation because the little boy pretend shot directly at OP. If a kid does something TO ME that I don't like, I feel like I can shake my head or gently ask them to stop directing the action towards me personally. (This stick gun personally would be NBD for me; I'm just speaking in general.) But past that, OP, you would look and sound like a clown here.

He can fake shoot you all he wants and you have no say in it. I’m fake shooting you now, come at me biotch.

Other people can also respond to HIM when he's out in the world. He should experience some repercussions for that rude and aggressive behavior toward strangers. But I realize no one bothers actually raising children anymore. They just give birth to them and then scramble for childcare until they grow up. No one bothers to teach them how to interact with others.

Play shooting has been normal play way before you were born. Has nothing to do with how parents raise their kids now-a-days.

[Anonymous]

You will look like a crazy person. Why do it? To “educate” the mother or shame her? Do you think that boy will go home an reevaluate his violent tendencies and grow up to condemn toxic masculinity? Or will he be frightened of the crazy lady who stops her bike to finger-wag his gun play and cluck about pretend games that cross imaginary ethical boundaries?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't like it either, OP. I only have boys. As a parent, I would tell my boys to knock it off.

That said, I wouldn't approach the mom. I would probably shake my head at the kid when I passed by and tell him don't.

You don’t get to discipline someone else’s child. You dont.

Well, this isn't a total MYOB situation because the little boy pretend shot directly at OP. If a kid does something TO ME that I don't like, I feel like I can shake my head or gently ask them to stop directing the action towards me personally. (This stick gun personally would be NBD for me; I'm just speaking in general.) But past that, OP, you would look and sound like a clown here.

He can fake shoot you all he wants and you have no say in it. I’m fake shooting you now, come at me biotch.

Other people can also respond to HIM when he's out in the world. He should experience some repercussions for that rude and aggressive behavior toward strangers. But I realize no one bothers actually raising children anymore. They just give birth to them and then scramble for childcare until they grow up. No one bothers to teach them how to interact with others.

Yep. I can give him dirty looks all I want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't like it either, OP. I only have boys. As a parent, I would tell my boys to knock it off.

That said, I wouldn't approach the mom. I would probably shake my head at the kid when I passed by and tell him don't.

You don’t get to discipline someone else’s child. You dont.

That's not discipline. A kid is pointing something at me, an adult. I don't like it. I say don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't like it either, OP. I only have boys. As a parent, I would tell my boys to knock it off.

That said, I wouldn't approach the mom. I would probably shake my head at the kid when I passed by and tell him don't.

You don’t get to discipline someone else’s child. You dont.

That's not discipline. A kid is pointing something at me, an adult. I don't like it. I say don't.

He can point at you all he wants. And I point at you with your stupid semantics.

[Anonymous]

If it bothers OP so much she should change her commute so that she doesn’t have to deal with it. If it’s that serious. Honestly OP, what do you think the outcome would be? Focus on things you have control over (like changing your commute).

[Anonymous]

MYOFB

Now, if he threw it at you that’s a different story, but seriously lady stay in your bike lane.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't like it either, OP. I only have boys. As a parent, I would tell my boys to knock it off.

That said, I wouldn't approach the mom. I would probably shake my head at the kid when I passed by and tell him don't.

You don’t get to discipline someone else’s child. You dont.

That's not discipline. A kid is pointing something at me, an adult. I don't like it. I say don't.

He can point at you all he wants. And I point at you with your stupid semantics.

I can point back. There, I just did. And I'm going to point at that obnoxious kid next time I see him. He is offensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't like it either, OP. I only have boys. As a parent, I would tell my boys to knock it off.

That said, I wouldn't approach the mom. I would probably shake my head at the kid when I passed by and tell him don't.

You don’t get to discipline someone else’s child. You dont.

That's not discipline. A kid is pointing something at me, an adult. I don't like it. I say don't.

And he and his mother would likely ignore you, as they should. You don't get to demand people stop doing something just because you don't like it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't like it either, OP. I only have boys. As a parent, I would tell my boys to knock it off.

That said, I wouldn't approach the mom. I would probably shake my head at the kid when I passed by and tell him don't.

You don’t get to discipline someone else’s child. You dont.

That's not discipline. A kid is pointing something at me, an adult. I don't like it. I say don't.

He can point at you all he wants. And I point at you with your stupid semantics.

I can point back. There, I just did. And I'm going to point at that obnoxious kid next time I see him. He is offensive.

So then it’s okay for him to point at you in the first place so he would not be obnoxious as you falsely stated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, I faced something similar. I was beside a group of teen boys at an ice rink who pretended to shoot at the little kids learning to skate and falling all over the place. I don’t care if the parents were nearby or not, I turned to them and said ‘hey, guys that’s not cool. Knock it off.” They got the message.

Yes, I’d tell the lady it makes me uncomfortable even knowing the kid is just playing. Keep it short, sweet and to them point.

You know what else would be short, sweet, and to the point? My response telling you to get the fu(k out of my face.

Takes a village.

thoughts&prayers.

"It takes a village" =/= "I get to tell other people's kids to act in a way that is in accordance with my values." JFC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On my commute home, I bike by a bus stop in a quiet DC neighborhood. Earlier this week, I saw a mom and a young son (maybe age 5 or 6) waiting for a bus. I noticed that the kid had picked up a stick from the ground and was pretending to shoot cars as they drove by. As I biked by he did the same to me while also making shooting noises. He was even "shooting" at my back. I heard and saw everything quite clearly because I was on my bike. The mom was on her phone.
Yesterday, I saw the same kid again and he repeated his behavior. Mom was once again on her phone.

Of course when I was a kid, it was common for kids to play with toy guys or pretend that sticks are guns, but in today's context, this is quite jarring. In my daughter's school, kids are not allowed to do this and teachers are very strict about it. Makes sense given the world we live in.

I was talking to my family over dinner about the incident, and I said that next time this happens, I'd like to say something to the mom. I don't want to be rude or get angry, I just want to make her aware that this is happening and that other people (including myself) find the behavior unnerving given the context. My preteen daughter and my husband said if I should not say anything and that would be classic "Karen" behavior.

WWYD?

In case anyone missed OP's coded messaging here, I will spell it out for you:

OP commutes to work on a bike, which means that she is a white liberal. This mom and son were waiting for a bus, which means that they are poor and/or people of color. It was also important to note that the mother was on her phone, twice, which means that she is negligent in her parenting duties.

Thank God we have people like OP to educate parents from lower SES on how to raise their kids.

Wrong assumptions, sorry. I am a POC and the son and mom are white.

I assumed the mom (and likely the kid) was white (no SES assumptions) because I would guess a parent of color (or a parent of a child of color) would be more concerned about someone mistaking the toy or stick for a gun and forcefully over-reacting with either violence or a call to the police.

OP here. I am a POC but I didn't think my reaction was a product of race.

I agree with that. I think it's a product of you being a self-important busybody who is operating under the delusion that you have the right not to be "uncomfortable," ever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't like it either, OP. I only have boys. As a parent, I would tell my boys to knock it off.

That said, I wouldn't approach the mom. I would probably shake my head at the kid when I passed by and tell him don't.

You don’t get to discipline someone else’s child. You dont.

That's not discipline. A kid is pointing something at me, an adult. I don't like it. I say don't.

And he and his mother would likely ignore you, as they should. You don't get to demand people stop doing something just because you don't like it.

I disagree. The child can do the stick pointing at cars and at trees and at houses. If he does the stick pointing pretend gun thing at me and I don't like it, I can say don't. Same if he were throwing rocks at me or screaming at me or similar.

That said, I don't think there is anything wrong with the kid at all. I think it's perfectly within the range of normal. It's also fine if I don't like it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG MYOB. totally normal behavior for a little boy.

So boys will be boys?

#boymom

But no, OP, don’t say anything. As you can see, all you’ll get from bad parents is derision and/or excuses.