I often take my son out and about on weekends, either to some indoor playgrounds when you have to buy tickets to go in, or some outdoor parks. Last weekend, I took him to a park simply because I was still concerned about indoor playgrounds with Covid and closed air conditioner. And let me tell you, even though we went there 2 days in a row, our experience wasn't the same.
We met a family with 2 awesome "giver" boys on Saturday.
Ok so we went there unprepared. And by that I meant, I packed his extra set of clothes, some extra masks and napkins but didn't take any toys with him.
We went to the sand playground. And there are kids and toys all over the places.
My son has a great affection toward cars and toy cars. So as soon as he ran to the playground, he spotted some toy cars and went straight to it.
And we met 2 awesome boys there.
They are siblings, playing with their many toys. And they saw my son walking closer with his hands out. The little boy offered my son some toys to play with. My son declined those toys, but he pointed out to one of the toy car, and they let him borrow it.
I am living in a developing country. That itself is not a problem. But more than often, the adults had to deal with so many "takers" in life, they teach their kids to become either a "taker" or a "keeper".
We met a stingy mother with a "keeper" boy on Sunday.
Same place but a total unpleasant experience on Sunday.
This time, we even went in prepared. I got his clothes, his masks, his napkins and his sand toys. But my son, with his great affection toward toy cars, refused to play with his own toys. And again he ran straight to the toy cars that he saw on the playground.
Right away we met a "keeper" boy and his stingy mother.
They were playing with so many toys in the corner of the playground alone, separated from other people and other kids. My little one ran closer to them and put his hands out, asking to borrow a toy car.
The "keeper" boy saw my son putting his hands out, he literally jumped and covered his toys so that my son couldn't come closer. And to my surprise, the mother held out a finger and told my son "No". My 3-year-old son was well behaved enough to not grabbing the toy without permission, so he kept putting his hands out to borrow it.
And again, the woman held out a finger and said "No".
My son turned around, and started crying. He hunched his shoulders, looked down and cried. As I was hugging my son to console him, the woman and her son kept on playing, without even flinch about what she just did to my son.
I remember the "Sharing song" that my son always watch on Cocomelon.
"Sharing is caring. Oh sharing is fun! We can all share together, Be kind to everyone! Let's all share!"
My son always shares his toys and he will meet other kids and other people who enjoy doing the same thing. And when he gets older, he will know that sharing is kind, and he can have much more fun when he shares.
And to you, the stingy mother, I hope your son have fun playing alone. I saw how lonely your boy got, playing alone in the corner of the playground with an over-protective mother. He wanted to go to other kids but you didn't let him. And you didn't let anyone get closed to him either.
I get it though, your child is the most precious one in the world for you. And you want him to have all the toys he wants. And you don't need him to play with anyone else that might be mean to him.
Well you are the adult and you are smarter than him. So you are making decisions for him. And I know you have the right to share or not to share your son's toys. I respect that, but you are also an a-hole for making my son cry.
I'm sorry that I am not mean or salty as you are, so I will never understand your behavior.
But I do hope your son will not be impacted by that to become a mean, salty keeper as you are. And for now, as you are making decisions for him, I do hope he will have fun playing alone at the corner of the playground.