Clueless
Darth Daddy posted a funny comment about playgroups:
Men seek playgroups for their kids to be able to have someone to play with. Women seek out playgroups to have someone for THEM to talk to.
This made me laugh because I see these moms all the time, so wrapped up in their conversations with other moms that they have no idea what their kids are doing. The most outrageous example I've seen was at a Burger King play area. Two boys, probably around age 8, tore through the roof netting inside the play structure and climbed up into an area that was off-limits and kind of dangerous. An employee spotted them and ordered them down, saying, "This is the second time you've been told not to go up there, so you are not allowed in the play area anymore."
So these boys get their shoes and go into the main eating area, because that's where their moms are sitting well removed from having to listen to kids at play. These women are actively engaged in conversation, totally focused on each other and little else. When the boys arrive at the table, the moms won't even let them talk and immediately shoo them back into the play area. These two boys were so confused. They just stood by the door for a few minutes before going back to their moms, or rather near their moms. It was another few minutes before they were noticed and were finally able to explain why they couldn't be in the play area.
You know what happened next... The righteous indignation of a clueless mom! I just wanted to laugh as one of the moms marched around trying to find out who dared to discipline her little precious.
Of course I know that not all playgroup moms are like that, but it only takes one rotten apple to spoil the whole bunch (sorry, got apples on the brain... see below).
Men seek playgroups for their kids to be able to have someone to play with. Women seek out playgroups to have someone for THEM to talk to.
This made me laugh because I see these moms all the time, so wrapped up in their conversations with other moms that they have no idea what their kids are doing. The most outrageous example I've seen was at a Burger King play area. Two boys, probably around age 8, tore through the roof netting inside the play structure and climbed up into an area that was off-limits and kind of dangerous. An employee spotted them and ordered them down, saying, "This is the second time you've been told not to go up there, so you are not allowed in the play area anymore."
So these boys get their shoes and go into the main eating area, because that's where their moms are sitting well removed from having to listen to kids at play. These women are actively engaged in conversation, totally focused on each other and little else. When the boys arrive at the table, the moms won't even let them talk and immediately shoo them back into the play area. These two boys were so confused. They just stood by the door for a few minutes before going back to their moms, or rather near their moms. It was another few minutes before they were noticed and were finally able to explain why they couldn't be in the play area.
You know what happened next... The righteous indignation of a clueless mom! I just wanted to laugh as one of the moms marched around trying to find out who dared to discipline her little precious.
Of course I know that not all playgroup moms are like that, but it only takes one rotten apple to spoil the whole bunch (sorry, got apples on the brain... see below).
Permalink posted by Phil at 1:13 AM
6 Comments:
I must be odd. I am known as the antisocial mom. I don't want to talk to the moms, I want to watch my kids play, and make sure little Suzie isn't putting her boogers on my kid again. I should hang out with the dads more I guess.
I noticed similar behavior at the park. On the other hand, men here are notorious for spending all their playtime on the cellphone while sort of watching their kids.
I am the kind of "focused on herself mum" who actually thinks that it is good for kids to feel that they have some space, that their parents have a life, that they are not under absolute control all the time, and that they are not the only thing in their parents life...as long as the kids are safe of course...Give them a little bit of FREEDOM!
Oof - you have nailed the reason why I avoided play-groups with my daughters. This gender trait is particularly evident in my agrarian small-town experience, where I was usually the only dad to show up with kids. I'm quite happy to be navigating the "your house or my house?" waters that come with older kids.
You got that right. The ladies are surprisingly oblivious at places like restaurants with play areas. I think they want free babysitting and a break from parenting, so they don't even look through the window at what their kids are doing.
Parks aren't as bad in the sense that kids are expected to run around a little further and be on their own. Still, I don't act like I'm at the park without a care in the world
I give my kid as much space as the next parent, but I don't see any reason to blindly trust other kids or my own kid to always do the right thing -- and stay safe and unhurt.
Hey, let me pipe in here.....since my blog started this.
Something fun to watch for, in the context of "women at a playground", is what I call the "Queen bee". You will notice that several women are sitting together, oblivious to what their kids ae doing, but most times, there will seem to be a centrally located Queen bee that is the "leader" of the grouop. The rest are followers. The Queen freely gives her opinions, what she likes and doens't...what the OTHERS should like and what they shouldn't. She is the one that al the others cater to. Funny as hell when you see it.
As for Ines posted comment..Im all for giving my kid space. Maybe Im protective cause I have daredevils for sons, and they are very young still. I not only watch my kids, I PLAY with them too. I crawl up slide tubes with them, I carry them up to places that are too high for them to reach themselves (and hold them so they dont fall off!)- I crawl, I run,I jump..I do it all. Im all for freedom. But not for the freedom of some mutant 8 yr old that barrels thru the play area with reckless regard to my 2 yr old. Or the 6 yr old little twit that has the physical ability to jump over the side of the playground "climb on it"toy, but not the mental abilty to imagine the damage of landing on my 1 yr old. My children are young..but they know that daddy has other interest or hobbies...and at the same time, they are INDEED the only thing in their parents life.
Shannon
Oops--sorry I wrote so much. Ought to just make another blog post of my own.
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