Do you stick up for your kid at the playground?
Here was the scene: My 3-year-old at the playground Monday. At one point, an eager boy about his age pushed him as he readied to launch down the slide. Nothing mean – the other boy was just wanted a turn. I shouted, “Hey, no pushing!” Then I realized the boy’s mom was next to me. I braced myself for her reaction. She apologized instead. Everyone moved on.
But it raised a question for me: Should we intervene on the playground? If so, when? Where’s the line?
I try to resist doing so. That voice inside my head says, “He needs to learn to speak up. I can’t always be there.” Still, there’s a competing voice: “But he will only know it’s wrong if I say so.” There’s another issue: what if someone is hurt? And I don’t want it to be my kid.
We probably all have a story from childhood on this point. Here’s mine: I was on a seesaw with a friend, who was much smaller (I was a pudgy kid). It seemed like fun to smash the seat into the ground. Next thing I remember, my slight friend was lofted into the air. He crashed into the metal bar, chipping a tooth.
If only someone had stopped me.
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