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Random Man Scolds Mom For Letting Toddler Run Into Restricted Area, Her Rant Sparks Debate Online
What are the most popular and reasonable rules that many people still recklessly forget? It’s necessary to use turn signals while driving? Possibly. Vote in elections with your mind, not your heart? Well, probably. Always supervise and be responsible for your toddlers? Bingo!
Well, the author of the story we’re going to tell you today, the user AnnaSunshine, recently found herself in a very unpleasant and ambiguous situation. On the one hand, some man yelled at her little son, on the other hand, the kid really did behave inappropriately in one of the oldest botanical gardens on our planet. Okay, let’s just cut to the chase…
More info: Mumsnet
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The author of the post has some kids, the youngest of them is 18 months old and sometimes he can be unruly
Image credits: Maxim Tolchinskiy / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Recently the family went to Kew Gardens in London, where they have a full membership, just to walk and relax
Image credits: Blazergirl420
Image credits: Ray Wyman Jr / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
The toddler ran into a no-walking territory somewhere in the Japanese Gardens, and the dad had to step in there too, in order to catch him
Image credits: Blazergirl420
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Some random guy saw this pursuit and lashed out both at the boy and his parents, accusing them of vandalizing everything there
Image credits: Blazergirl420
The mom tried to explain that the kid just didn’t understand the signs, so the man cursed him out loudly
According to the Original Poster (OP), her youngest child is one and a half years old, and he, like many children of this age, loves to explore this beautiful and vast world, while still completely unaware of the prohibitions, dangers and all the conditions that limit adults and older kids. Long story short, he can be unruly, as many toddlers are.
The family lives in the UK, and recently they went to Kew Gardens, where they have a full membership. It’s not that cheap, the author admits, but the beauty of this place, one of the most beautiful botanical gardens in all of Britain, is really worth it. But let’s get back to our story.
At one point, the toddler ran into a no-walking area, located in the Japanese Gardens, with some gravel sections where the stones are raked. The father tried to intercept the boy, but he slipped away from him, and the man had to step into the prohibited territory too in order to catch him there.
A guy in his thirties watched the chase with indignation, angrily pointing to the prohibition sign, accusing the OP and her husband of being terrible parents. When our heroine tried to explain that a toddler at that age doesn’t yet understand the prohibitions, the man simply yelled at the kid so that he wouldn’t disturb those stones anymore.
Well, the author didn’t escalate the conflict, answering that when the man calmed down, they would definitely forgive him. But the child still suffered from stress from being yelled at, and the mom decided to vent online, in order to enlist the support of netizens.
Image credits: Philippe Gras / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Let’s recall right away that the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, in southwest London, were founded back in 1759, and today are not only a park for walks and recreation, but also a world-famous botanical research center, which has one of the largest collections of living plants in the whole world.
Some of these plants are incredibly rare, so it’s not surprising that, since they grow in a natural environment, there are restrictive and prohibitory signs throughout the park. This is completely reasonable – after all, for example, if we’re talking about the world-famous bonsai collection, the smallest of them is only 4 inches high. That is, even a little kid can easily harm them.
This is exactly what those commenters meant when they tried to draw the mother’s attention to the importance of supervising small children in such places. Yes, toddlers may indeed not understand what others want from them, and why they can’t just run off somewhere and, for example, pick that pretty flower – but that’s what parents are for, to stop them in time.
No, people in no way justified that random dude who attacked an innocent child with brutal insults, but parents should also be understanding of where exactly they are. “The Royal Botanical Gardens are not a playground for your boisterous toddler no matter how much you’ve paid,” someone reasonably wrote. So please let us know what do you think about this situation?
People’s opinions were divided, and many commenters just urged the mom to be more attentive while walking with the toddler in the places like this
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What do you think ?
Andy 2 months ago
If this was a new place, and the kid had run off, if say these things happen, not an ahole. However this is somewhere they go every weekend, they know the Japanese garden and that people are not allowed onto the raked areas. If, as she says, her son is too young to understand this, why did they not hold his hand or take measures to make sure he stayed with them? And to then strop on it herself to spite the man just shows she has no consideration for anyone else, or the workers who spend time maintaining it.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 2 months ago
I have a feeling that OP is exaggerating the things that the "angry stranger" said and how loud/much he was yelling. I feel like she thinks her child is perfect ("He is in that gorgeous stage" ....uh...okay) and she shouldn't have been anywhere near a "don't walk on this stuff" area with a loose toddler, whom she knows - and admits - likes to run around wildly and not listen to instructions/thinks being told to do/not to do something is a game. Go over and look at the Japanese gardens while your child is in your arms or your husband's arms, not while he's unrestrained. And yes, she transmogrified into a snotty teenager herself when she decided, purposefully, to walk across the "no walk" area herself.
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Tabitha 2 months ago
Hey a*****e, someone now has to re-rake that gravel that your kid ran on, then your husband and you walked on, and totally ruined! The manner in which the gravel is raked has meaning to the Japanese, and you apparently couldn’t give a fat rat’s a*s about that. That area is meant to be viewed by EVERYONE. It is not your brat’s personal playground. YOU and YOUR HUSBAND are the PARENTS here. It is YOUR job to make sure your child doesn’t destroy public property. Also, your child is only “gorgeous” to you. He’s a pain in the a*s to everyone else. So keep an eye—-and a hold—-on him when you’re out in public. TBH, Kew Gardens should make you pay to have that gravel redone.
FreeTheUnicorn 2 months ago
OP goes every week, so thinks the rules don't apply. If your child can't follow directions, you need to physically keep hold of your toddler. She's there every week, probably driving people crazy the whole time. You're a member, that doesn't entitle you to trample the exhibits.
Tabitha 2 months ago
They make child leashes for kids exactly like her toddler. They’ve been around since at least the early 1970s if not late 1960s. Yes, I said leashes, and the parents who have bought them because they’re at their wit’s end trying to keep their child from disappearing and going places they’re not supposed to be, end up loving them.
Load More Replies...
Andy 2 months ago
If this was a new place, and the kid had run off, if say these things happen, not an ahole. However this is somewhere they go every weekend, they know the Japanese garden and that people are not allowed onto the raked areas. If, as she says, her son is too young to understand this, why did they not hold his hand or take measures to make sure he stayed with them? And to then strop on it herself to spite the man just shows she has no consideration for anyone else, or the workers who spend time maintaining it.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 2 months ago
I have a feeling that OP is exaggerating the things that the "angry stranger" said and how loud/much he was yelling. I feel like she thinks her child is perfect ("He is in that gorgeous stage" ....uh...okay) and she shouldn't have been anywhere near a "don't walk on this stuff" area with a loose toddler, whom she knows - and admits - likes to run around wildly and not listen to instructions/thinks being told to do/not to do something is a game. Go over and look at the Japanese gardens while your child is in your arms or your husband's arms, not while he's unrestrained. And yes, she transmogrified into a snotty teenager herself when she decided, purposefully, to walk across the "no walk" area herself.
Load More Replies... Tabitha 2 months ago
Hey a*****e, someone now has to re-rake that gravel that your kid ran on, then your husband and you walked on, and totally ruined! The manner in which the gravel is raked has meaning to the Japanese, and you apparently couldn’t give a fat rat’s a*s about that. That area is meant to be viewed by EVERYONE. It is not your brat’s personal playground. YOU and YOUR HUSBAND are the PARENTS here. It is YOUR job to make sure your child doesn’t destroy public property. Also, your child is only “gorgeous” to you. He’s a pain in the a*s to everyone else. So keep an eye—-and a hold—-on him when you’re out in public. TBH, Kew Gardens should make you pay to have that gravel redone.
FreeTheUnicorn 2 months ago
OP goes every week, so thinks the rules don't apply. If your child can't follow directions, you need to physically keep hold of your toddler. She's there every week, probably driving people crazy the whole time. You're a member, that doesn't entitle you to trample the exhibits.
Tabitha 2 months ago
They make child leashes for kids exactly like her toddler. They’ve been around since at least the early 1970s if not late 1960s. Yes, I said leashes, and the parents who have bought them because they’re at their wit’s end trying to keep their child from disappearing and going places they’re not supposed to be, end up loving them.
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