Dear Aggressive Dad at McDonald’s,
I was just getting ready to relay to my girlfriends what I overheard you say to your 3ish year old son as I exited the bathroom…”Fight back..don’t just stand there and take it.”, when you addressed me specifically about my son (who is 2 by the way).
You said, “Is your son the blond in the red striped shirt?”
That’s a yes from me.
“Well he keeps punching my son in the face.”
Now….I certainly know my 2 year old can play a bit rough. I admit he sometimes bites when he plays. And I have seen him push. However, I have never seen him punch. In fact, I know he doesn’t know how to punch. And, I was close by the entire time….and heard/saw no ruckus.
Until, I overhead you, Aggressive Dad ordering your son to ‘fight back’.
I know, I know. I sound like the not-my-child mom, but, in fact, I am usually the first to jump in when I see my child doing something wrong, or hurting another child. That is behavior I don’t tolerate.
You’ll be happy to know I did my motherly duty….I went over to Cooper, took him over to your little boy (who was crying because you were making him leave, not because Coop punched him in the face) and told him to apologize.
Coop backed away, but did say he was sorry. You (Aggressive Dad) chimed in, “Don’t worry about it. I just thought you might want to know because, if he does that to a bigger kid, he’ll get punched back.”
My retort: “Like you just instructed your son to do?”
A grunt, but no real response from you.
Sadly, it wasn’t until after you and your son left, that one of the children we were playing with told her mom that Cooper pushed your son away when he tried to take his stuffed puppy.
Sad, because I would have added to my retort.
When we got home, I asked Cooper, “Did you hit that little boy today at McDonalds?”
Bottom lip comes out, “Yes, Mommy, but it’s my puppy.”
I want you to know….I truly believe older children should defend themselves if they are being hurt or bullied, however, I find it hard to reconcile that line of parenting when it comes to toddlers…especially, when YOUR son was clearly involved and not merely a victim of my son’s mean nature.
Hope we run into each other again soon,
Sincerely,
The Non-Face-Puncher’s Mom
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