I totally forgot that our electricity was due to be off for the day thanks to the electricity works that have been going on in my area for the last few months. I'm pretty sure its my fault it needed to be turned off for the day, I was just saying to the other half that I'm surprised they hadn't turned off our electricity yet when a note pops through the door saying that from the hours of 8.30am to 4.30pm we would be without. Typical.
And being the muppet that I am, I totally forgot. Queue jumping in the car to go to local soft play area to save both mine and Oli's sanity - we've had enough with finding activities to do at home what with being snowed in and then being confined to the house thanks to chicken pox. Oli's at the age now where I can pretty much leave him alone to run off and play when its quiet, which it usually is at tot time. He's a good boy when it comes to playing with others and usually will just chase or laugh at the bigger kids. So its not him I have to worry about, its the other kids.
Usually problems involving other kids mean simply fighting over a ride on toy, something simple where the parent simply tells the child that the one kid had it first and to share, the usual stuff. But there was one kid today that wasn't like the other kids, this child was nasty. From the moment I saw him chucking balls in other kids faces I knew I couldn't leave Oli to play alone. So much for me settling down to drink coffee, eat cake and watching some naked chef who was on some morning program with all the other mothers who were dribbling away.
Did she know her child was like that? I don't know if he had some kind of behaviour problem or something, I don't judge or make assumptions. Should I of made her aware of the way her child was playing just in case she didn't know, in case she's never watched him interact in soft play before. Part of me hoped one of the other parents would say something but I guess they were scared of the backlash they might receive.
If Oli was to have a behaviour problem the last thing I would do is to leave him around other children without supervising him, I felt terrible enough when Oli accidentally mowed down some kid with the ride on he was on. I got Oli off it and explained he had to be more careful, they cuddled and continued to push one another around. Just after this the 'bad' child decided to ride a bike back and forth into a little girl who was sat on the ground, he was really hurting her. None of the other parents who could see what was going on did anything, I stepped in. I gave him a no and told he what he was doing was naughty. He laughed and rode away. He must of been about 4 as it was tot time and any older kids would be in school.
Just what do you do when you're in that kind of situation? Was I being too paranoid by following Oli around in fear that kid would hurt him? That child clearly had some kind of problem and I hope for his future sake that the mother takes notice.