We had a good day today!
By Jennifer
@LovingMyBabies (85288)
Valdosta, Georgia
March 11, 2012 10:27pm CST
My husband and I took our kids to the bounce house place today because they have been stuck in the motel and needed some play time. It was a good day for all of us.
The only thing that wasn't too good about the place is the older kids (like 12-15) were very pushy and jumping so hard they would knock my little ones down. In the bounce house I know its hard not to knock others down when your bouncing but not on the slides. One kid was going down the steps of the slide while my 3 year old was trying to climb up, he knocked her down twice! Plus knocked my other two down a few times too! I just do not understand why the parents do not watch and correct these kind of children! I understand you cannot always see everything but when your watching and your child does the same thing ten times, don't you think it would be a good idea to stop them?? I am not a perfect parent but even my children know to be careful of younger ones than them! I wanted to say something but geez thats hard for me so I just started telling my children to play on something different than them.
Have you seen parents like this that do nothing when their children hurt other kids? Have you ever said something to them about it? What's your thoughts?
5 people like this
15 responses
@salonga (27775)
• Philippines
15 Mar 12
There is nothing wrong if you stop them because they were already hurting the little ones. In the first place they are old (12-15) enough to know they should be careful to avoid hurting the little ones. As for me I never hesitate to confront other kids if they are already hurting mine. I've always been protective of my little ones and would never allow other children especially older children to hurt them even if they don't really mean it.
@LovingMyBabies (85288)
• Valdosta, Georgia
30 Mar 12
The parents should watch their kids and tell them to be careful.
I did tell the kids to be careful because they were hurting mine but I should not even have to! Their not MY kids. They have parents for a reason!!
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
12 Mar 12
That's how bullies are formed...the parents don't say a thing...and others move out of their way.....it's a tough situation when kids are playing in a public area...but all parent should be a bit more observant and watch the kids and give them rules....so they don't hurt others.
1 person likes this
@LovingMyBabies (85288)
• Valdosta, Georgia
12 Mar 12
The parents should correct their own children. Its not my job to tell them their kids need to be disciplined, I do enough with my own kids. I don't have that kind of time on my hands to enable lazy parents to continue to be lazy! They should have gotten off their lazy tails and done something since many times they watched it happen. They just did not seem to care.
@AmbiePam (92481)
• United States
12 Mar 12
Is there not a size limit on things like that? I remember being ten and not being allowed in the bouncy castle thing because I was too tall. I was ten, but I was also 5'5, and they didn't let people that tall get in. It is a shame people don't watch their children's behavior and correct them when they are blatantly bothering other kids.
@LovingMyBabies (85288)
• Valdosta, Georgia
12 Mar 12
Nope, adults can play on the slides too. My husband and I helped our youngest daughter on them and helped her get up the slide. The castles themselves there is a limit but its like 500 pounds so none of them exceeded that.
It is a shame that parents do not discipline when their children are being mean to other kids!
1 person likes this
@kat_princess (1470)
• Philippines
12 Mar 12
I've seen parents do nothing when their kids hurt other kids & it really annoys me.When I become a parent & I see my son/daughter hurting other kids,I'd reprimand him/her because I didn't teach him/her to do that & neither do his/her teachers in school.
1 person likes this
@LovingMyBabies (85288)
• Valdosta, Georgia
12 Mar 12
It annoyed me too very much. Thats what we should do. I do not let my children hurt any other children. They should have stopped their kids.
@ElicBxn (63594)
• United States
12 Mar 12
Well, I don't have kids, but when the roomie had her youngest nephew for a day and she got together with another friend who had a youngest son with her and they were playing on the playscape at McDonalds, there was a boy between the two of them in age who started getting rough with the younger boy. The roomie's nephew, who is the youngest of 3 in his family, came over and told the other kid to leave the boy alone. The bad kid's mom started getting huffy with the nephew until both the roomie and the friend stepped in and informed her, in NO uncertain terms, that her kid had started it.
Sometimes you do need to step in and stop the bullies of the world.
1 person likes this
@LovingMyBabies (85288)
• Valdosta, Georgia
12 Mar 12
I have had this problem at McD's playplace too. With the parents at the bounce place they just did not seem to care at all. They were just sitting there the whole time watching their kids not only hurt my kids but other kids too. I honestly don't think they would have done anything about it even if I did say something. Except get an attitude with me...
1 person likes this
@inertia4 (27960)
• United States
12 Mar 12
I took my kids to a few of those bounce places also. I remember when my son was small, if a bigger kid knocked him down he would get real crazy and push back. But I also tried to wait for younger kids being in there. I know it's not easy and I don't know why parents don't watch their kids closely enough. But as long as they had fun, thats all that counts.
@inertia4 (27960)
• United States
9 Apr 12
It is hard to find a happy medium. But we do have to remember that our children do have minds of their own. They do form their own opinions as well. My son is growing up to be one smart kid. When he was small, he was diagnosed with tourettes, a mild case and he was extremely active and hyper. He is still hyper but nothing like he used to be. My evil ex used to say that he will be a problem. He is no problem at all. I told her long ago that he will start to outgrow his ways. And that is exactly what's happening now.
@LovingMyBabies (85288)
• Valdosta, Georgia
30 Mar 12
My kids are very mild mannered compared to most kids so they never really fight back on their own. I don't want them to be mean but I don't want them to be bullied either. Its hard finding a happy medium.
We did have lots of fun besides that though.
1 person likes this
@SViswan (12051)
• India
9 Apr 12
Yes, I've come across quite a few parents like that as a parent of two boys myself. It really irritates me and I often find it hard to retaliate. I either ask my kids to be careful or remove them from the situation. Sometimes it is not fair on my kids that they have to stop having fun thanks to some unruly kids and their parents who do not correct them.But I dont know what else to do without creating a fuss about it.
@LovingMyBabies (85288)
• Valdosta, Georgia
15 Jun 12
It is very irritating to say the least. Yeah that is why I told my kiddos to play on something else. I was tired of it.
Exactly, it is not fair to our innocent kids that they have to stop doing what they want because of other people's brats!
But your right thats the only thing we can do...
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
• United States
13 Mar 12
I am wondering why 12-15 year olds are even in the same bounce house as those as young as your little ones. You would think the place would set some sort of age limit to the things, and have one set out for certain age groups. This is for every piece of play equipment on the premises.
I think though that if the kids are acting like that, it's long gone from being corrected. It sounds to me that maybe the parents never did correct them, and that doing so now may not do much good, but something does need to be done.
@LovingMyBabies (85288)
• Valdosta, Georgia
30 Mar 12
They do not have any seperate ones for different ages which is crazy to me.
But it mostly happened on the slide, and the kids were jumping over the sides and knocking my kids down because they were chasing each other. Its not even like the place was crowded so maybe the parents didnt see. It was my kids and those two kids. Thats it.
Those kids were definitely old enough to know better thats for sure.
@celticeagle (166761)
• Boise, Idaho
12 Mar 12
I have heard of this alot. I would have said something to the management. They may not be watching as much as they should be. Maybe these kids were too old. But then there is the money factor. I would have atleast found a moment when they were close by and befriended them, or tried to, and ask them to be more careful of the little ones. Couldn't hurt.
@celticeagle (166761)
• Boise, Idaho
12 Mar 12
And a good lesson for your kids. THis is the way I never want to see you act.
@LovingMyBabies (85288)
• Valdosta, Georgia
12 Mar 12
I did tell the boys to be more careful for the younger kids. That didn't help at all. I tried being as nice as possible even though I really wanted to go off on their parents. At that age they should have known better thats for sure! So I just kept my kiddos away from them as much as possible...
1 person likes this
@wilsongoddard (7291)
• United States
21 Mar 12
Kids that age are often not supervised. Instead, their parents leave them to roam about and do as they wish.
Children learn what they live. So, while a child that age should know how to behave around others, they may simply not care. Their parents are either foul human beings, or so neglectful to have left their children to basically be raised by the streets.
Parents must be involved in their children's lives, and they need to try to be positive influences. Sometimes, it is difficult to be a good role model, but it is important for your child to see that you try to do the right thing. If someone has no inclination to do those things, they should refrain from reproducing.
@LovingMyBabies (85288)
• Valdosta, Georgia
30 Mar 12
I think some people should just not have kids, I completely agree with you!
And your right they do what they see every day. They should be taught better but sadly their not. I think its bad parenting. Even my kids at their young ages know better than to hurt younger kids than them...
@Shellyann36 (11384)
• United States
12 Mar 12
I am glad you got out of the motel. I don't understand why a 12 to 15 year old would be in a bouncy house with little kids.. I thought there was a weight limit or something. (Needless to say my older kids never went to a bouncy house and my younger kids are still too young right now). Now we have had problems at the local McDonald's playground. Older kids being rough with the little ones and shoving past them. The parents of the children were right there and doing nothing so my hubby told my son that the next time another child pushed him that he should push that child back. (I did not necessarily agree with that but in some ways it is true.) He made sure that he told my son this loud enough so that the little boy pushing past heard him as well as his parents. The mom finally spoke up and told the little boy to be careful of the smaller kids.
@LovingMyBabies (85288)
• Valdosta, Georgia
12 Mar 12
I was glad to get out for a while.
These bounce houses are huge commercial grade ones where the weight limit is over 500 pounds so yeah their allowed on them...unfortunately in a way.
You know, I don't usually condone kids pushing back but I do agree with your husband on that one too. The older kids should know better and they should be taught better! I just took my kids away from the situation because even if they tried to fight back they wouldn't have been able to...
@wqdayang (137)
• China
16 Mar 12
I have the same experience before,when my kids is small,the biger children may cheat my kid to do something,and leave him alone,the my kids run to find them everywhere.
I don't think that is good to angry with the bigger children,so I told my kids to play with the children at the same ages.
When my kids grew up,I alway tell them to protect the younger kids.
@LovingMyBabies (85288)
• Valdosta, Georgia
30 Mar 12
Yeah its not fair to the younger kids when the older ones bully them. It ruins it for them.
The parents of the older kids should watch them and tell them to be more careful.
@bounce58 (17387)
• Canada
20 Mar 12
Are you sure it wasn't my place that your kids played bounce?
I see parents like those all the time. I have a 5 year old, and because he has an 11 year old brother, he always plays with the big boys. I always catch myself trying to run and worry about him when he plays rough with the older kids. Then I try to remember, I shouldn't worry too much and let him sort it out. He's a boy, and I know he would eventually know what to do so as not to get hurt.
But when I see a kid who's really hurting my own kid, I wouldn't hesitate to give the parents a piece of my mind.
@LovingMyBabies (85288)
• Valdosta, Georgia
30 Mar 12
Yeah my kids are young and pretty.mild mannered so their not used to fending for themselves. It made me mad because they could see what their kids were doing, we were the only ones there. I do not want to enable laziness by parents, they should get up and discipline their own children! I have my own kids to worry about, you know? I don't expect parents to come tell me my kids are not behaving, I watch them myself so I know if they do something wrong! @r3jcorp (1382)
• Philippines
13 Mar 12
I remember last January, we brought our youngest daughter to a fiesta carnival where there is a place for kids to slide, jump and do the usual. As I was watching the kidz, the first one to drop from the slide is a little boy, as soon as he was about to get up, a big kid dropped making the little kid to bounce because of the weight of the bigger kid. I was too worried because it seems that the little kid would drop from the bounce on the floor where there is no cushion. Good that the father of the little kid has come to the rescue and watch the little boy who is enjoying the ride in each of his drop. But I still talk to my daughter to be careful and make sure that she will not dropped on any little kid. And I see that she was extra careful. For the other bigger kid, I don't know... maybe his parents should talk to him.
@LovingMyBabies (85288)
• Valdosta, Georgia
30 Mar 12
Yeah its sad that bigger kids most ofthe time are not more careful. It ruins things for the younger kids sometimes. My daughter was afraid to go back on without me after she got knocked down so many times.
The parents should do something about their kids behavior!
@GardenGerty (160626)
• United States
12 Mar 12
Those parents are lazy and careless. I think places like the bounce house should limit the big kids and not have them with the littler ones. I am glad you got to go take your kids and have some fun today though. I imagine as they grow older they will be more and more thoughtful and considerate, because of your example and reminder and also they will remember what it is like to be the little kid.
@LovingMyBabies (85288)
• Valdosta, Georgia
12 Mar 12
Thats how I felt too. Lazy and careless is exactly what they were. I think the big kids should have to be easy or get out. Period. If their the only kids there then fine but not with little ones that can get really hurt.
We did all have fun. My husband and I even played too! Lol. I will never get too old for those things. They are a blast! I hope they remember how they were raised and are respectful as they get older, we are trying our best with them. =)
