Parenting Toddlers

I sometimes wonder why people have kids. The other day I took Peanut out to the playground. We live in an apartment complex, so there are often other children playing. I saw four kids but was too far away to see who they were. I did see, however, a little kid flinging around a baby like she was a doll. I went closer and saw that a child, who was eight or so, was “playing” with her sister. By playing, I mean she was moving her around from slide to swing to see-saw to the ground and back again. I was surprised the poor kid wasn’t getting shaken baby syndrome with all the rough treatment. She was crying, clearly very upset and unhappy. The girl, who I REPEAT, was about eight, was in charge of watching her AND her two cousins. So this eight year old was watching three children. I don’t even think an eight year old should watch herself!! And where were her parents? Her grandparents, she told me, were inside visiting someone. They never once checked on these kids. Does anyone else find it absurd that an eight year old (I know I keep repeating that, but it just astonishes me to no end) was responsible for three children on a playground. The baby was just one! At one point, the girl asked me to check her little sister’s diaper. I mean, come on! I’m a stranger, and yet these kids were looking to me as a babysitter. First of all, this is sad. Second of all, they’ll trust anyone (I happen to be trustworthy), third of all, they need parental supervision!! I still can’t believe this.

So the baby is still crying, and the girl thinks it’s because she has a sunburn. I said, “Do you think your grandparents would mind if we put some sunscreen on her?” I don’t think her grandparents would have minded if I took them all inside and fed them. Really! So anyway, I got some sunscreen and the older child put it on the younger ones. At one point, the girl took her cousin inside to get changed (he was about three), leaving a four year old and the baby on the playground. So the baby kept trying to go inside - by crossing a huge parking lot. I - who these people do not know from Adam - was trying to keep her from getting hit by a car. Because the four year old really wasn’t a great babysitter. Then they were all back again for more fun and playing unsupervised. Oh, I guess that was my job??

Anyway, finallly Grandma poked her head out to yell at the girl. “Why is that baby crying?” Hmmmm….maybe the baby realizes the f’ed up situation they’re in! My God! She was a baby!! A BABY!!! Babies need supervision, and an eight year old babysitter does not count.

This infuriated me. I feel bad a lot because I work at home, and I feel like I neglect Peanut. I feel like I could play more with her and all that - but I would never send her outside by herself. You never know who else is out there, first. Second, you never know if they will hurt themselves. It is absolutely ridiculous. I know I’m preaching to the choir here, that people who take the time to read a parenting blog wouldn’t dream of leaving their baby with a child babysitter, but it just really made me mad. It made we wonder why people have kids, kids, and more kids when they clearly don’t want to play with them, pay them attention, or care for them. I know these were grandparents, but I feel like that still applies when children are in your care.

It just makes no sense - I just wanted to scream at these people. And I very rarely scream!!