feeling uncomfortable at the park with my child today

Well since you had your camera with you I would have taken a pic of the guy and then went to the police and told them that I had an uneasy feeling about this guy. That way they could have checked to see if this guy was a predator that had any restrictions on him. Then he would have been nailed if he was. YOu can never be too safe when it comes to your kids. Especially if the guy left when you did. I would have been crept out too.

That can definately be a very nerving situation. My recent family hardship has caused my husband and myself to become hyper vigilant. We're not quite as bad as we were at the start of 2008 but we pay attention. Part of this come from our martial arts training though, we're always aware of our surroundings. However, where the children are concerned we are overly aware. We watch everyone closely and we do not allow others to get close to our children unless they are friends, and even then we don't allow them too close, if that makes sense. I think you did the right thing by getting your son and going. It's possible that the man was just interested in watching a mom play with her son, possible he thought perhaps it was odd and was just making sure nothing was wrong, and perhaps he was indeed a bad man with not so nice intentions. The problem in our society today is you can't take that chance. This is your child. I am a bit bold though. I may not have left, I probably would have had my husband go over and find out what he was up to. My husband and I take our children out together as his shift allows us the luxary of him being home with them during waking hours. And my husband is a large man that truly can be intimidating. (He was former military, and there is just something with the posturing). However, being that you were alone, I definately support leaving and not putting yourself in a potentially bad situation.

Maybe your kid reminded him of another. Maybe it reminded him of his own kid/s at that age, or his grandchildren who are now thousands of miles away. Or perhaps of a childhood friend. Maybe the kid he was reminded of had passed away. Not every man in a park, allegedly staring, is a pervert.

I was told not so long ago that if you get a feeling in your gut good or bad then it is an instinct in yourself that you are picking up on and you should always listen to it. No matter how daft it may seem that gut feeling is usually right in some way and so if it had been me then I would probably have been exactly the same!!

You absolutely did the right thing! If it was simply a matter of this man being the only other person in the park and nothing more than I would say you are overreacting. But as you mentioned, this man seemed to take too much interest in your son. They say that if you get a "strange" feeling about a situation, odds are you are probably right. Trust your instincts. That being said, please don't let this man keep you from leaving your home. That would mean he has already caused you damage without actually having done anything. Don't let him win that way. For the next while it is understandable that you will want to take someone with you when you go to the park--your husband, your brother or another relative. When you go, do so on days that you know the park will be busy. While you're there, see if he shows up again. If he is the kind of creep you suspect he may be, your encounter was likely not the first--or last--time to visit this park. Have your camera at the ready just in case you need to take pictures. And if it would help make you feel better, why not take some martial arts clases? While you may not become a black belt, it never hurts to learn a few self-defense moves and it may help you regain your confidence. And if you do see this guy again and witness him behaving in a way that seems odd or unusual, do not be afraid to call the police. If your instincts are right, you may be helping to save a life.

I think that you did the right thing, I would have done the same. You are right it is scary, it's also very sad that a parent can't feel comfortable taking their children out anymore. I know that I won't take my girls out unless my husband is with us, there is just too much that could go wrong. It is for that reason that we bought a play set for our backyard. Then my children get the fun of playing at the park, from the safety of our own home. I think that now a days it just isn't safe any more and I doubt that it will get better. It is sad to say but I just don't feel comfortable going out anymore.

I would have probably done the same thing as you especially as no one else was around. I would have felt very uneasy and nervous as well. That feeling would have spoiled the enjoyable time you were having at the park. Having five children myself the youngest coming up three in May. I know how hard it can be to get them away from the park. You said the first thing that come in your head which your son understood. You are not a horrible mother you were just trying to protect your son. You have to be so careful nowadays.

You aren't a bad mom, just an understandably protective one. I would have left also. But, I would have just picked up the 2 year old and left when he refused - rather than tell him a bad man may be near. But, when we are nervous we say things quickly. It will pass. But I don't blame you a bit for being protective.

I understand how you feel, and I don't know if I would have reacted any different than you in that situation. I do believe you did the right thing. It is better to be safe than sorry and go with your heart. I suggest the next time you decide to take your child to the park try to have some one go with you. I believe you will be and feel more safer in numbers. Yes it is sad the way things are going on in the world today. It is up to us to protect our children. Don't consider yourself a horrible mother, consider yourself a loving and protective mother.

I would have done the same thing and I think it's great that you are a mother who is very aware of potential dangers in regards to your child. You said what you said because you were scared and wanted to get out of there. Don't feel bad, you had the best of intentions! I would have taken him for an ice cream instead so I could calm my nerves and ease my guilt for dragging him away. By the way you sound like a great mother to me!

Always go with your feelings in a situation like that, maybe next time take a picture of the man if you have your camera, That way you could report it if anything should happen to anyone in the future. It is a shame that you had to be scared to be in the park with your child. and it is a good thing to make your child aware that their is bad people in this world. You are not a horrible mother. Some day you might not be their with him and he will know by your actions to get away from people that he does not know. Keeping your son safe makes you a good mother.

Sad isn't it? That we have to be protective to that point but you did the right thing. And in a crowd that same guy could have been there but nobody would have seen him. I take my kids to the park but with others and still I watch for the lone person (not just guy) or the older kids who aren't there because a younger sibling is. I don't overly worry about it but I keep my eyes open.

I agree with the previous poster.It's better safe than sorry. I probably would have done the same thing. I have two girls ages 9 and 3. I would kill for them too. It's natural and perfectly normal to be protective of your child.

You did the right thing by leaving and you are a very wise mother! I never take my eyes off my daughter still and she is seven! I know it's a bit paranoid, and I do let her play outside in our safe neighborhood, but I am always aware of where she is, and if any cars come down our cul-de-sac. You can NOT be too safe in this crazy world. Next time you go to the park, you really should take a freins, and if you see this man again, get some information about him and reprot him to the police! If he drives a car, see what kind it is, etc. Look at his clothing, his height, his hair etc and get info. It would be worth your time if you save someone elses child from a pervert!!

Hi ethansmommy06 - I don't blame you AT ALL, especially since you said the park that day was practically empty so you two were essentially alone there... besides this man who gave you the willies. You just never know what may or may not happen and it is so hard to tell who has good intentions or not. You HAD to go with your gut instincts which was that this man could harm your child. I do believe we have instincts, especially mothers for their children. If you don't have anything else to go by you must go with your first impression. As for the fact that you ended up telling your 2 year old son that there was "a bad man there to get us", it probably was not the most appropriate thing to say but obviously you felt like you needed to say it in order to get your son to listen to you immediately so you could keep him safe... just in case. Try not to feel bad about saying it as sometimes things come out of our mouths that we wished we hadn't said. Even though your son is only two years old, at the appropriate time (sooner rather than later) I'd have a little casual chat with you while he is playing or something and ask him if he remembers "when we were in the park & mommy talked about the bad man" and just in very simple terms explain to him that he probably was not a bad man but he worried you and you wanted to go home just to be safe. Because, even though he is 2, it might have upset him and you don't want him to think every man in the park or elsewhere is bad. Just a suggestion. I hope you don't worry about going back to the park again, just be careful and try to stay near other kids & moms too. I know it wasn't possible that day but it is probably safer. Take care.

You know I'm the same way. It's quite possible the guy was just a lonely man who wanted someone to talk to, maybe all his kids were grown and he didn't have grandkids anymore, and just generally enjoyed being around children. But I too would have been far too leery of him. A few weeks ago hubby and I took the kids sledding at a nearby hill. Nobody else was there, just us. After a little while a car pulled up along side the hill, and an old man got out. I assumed he was walking to the nearby bank or something, but he didn't, he stopped at the hill and watched the children sled. He then struck up a conversation with me. Hubby was too busy playing with the kids, so I was left alone to chat with this old man. At first I was very leery and uncomfortable. I wanted to get the heck away from him. But my kids were having too much fun, and hubby was with us so nothing bad could have really happened. So I stayed and listened to the old man tell the same stories over and over. As we left, hubby and I said to each other that he seemed he was just a very lonely old man who doesn't have anyone to talk to anymore, so he stopped by to watch us play just so he could have a little interaction.

I don't know that I'd have said that to him, but I probably would've left right away, even if I had to pick up the boy and carry him away. Suspicious people like that are not to be messed with. If it had been different circumstances, like me being at the park by myself and some guy leering at me or something, I'd probably confront them and tell them to leave me alone and if they didn't, use my cell phone to call the cops, but since you had a toddler with you, that might've been a bad idea. You were definitely right to get him out of that situation ASAP! Maybe that's why there weren't any children at that park.

I think you did the right thing. Earning is right to an extent. But you're definitely right though. You can't be too safe with this sort of thing. That man might not have had any ill intentions, but then again, he might have. These days, unfortunately there are a lot of bad people out there who are all too willing to do their bad things, especially to kids. So what you did was the best course of action.