The Letter

Dear Mean Mom on the Playground,

Apparently while I was walking around the festival looking at overpriced art with Angie, you had an encounter with my son. It was brought to my attention that you confronted my 3 year-old and your big grown-up self told him not to be mean. When he responded to your accusations and informed you that he wasn't being mean, you continued to assure him, and yourself, that he was indeed mean and you saw him. Very big of you.

I think what you didn't see was perhaps the entire string of events. I was told by my not mean 3 year-old that your child pushed him and that he was pushing back. I am not saying that it was okay for my son to push back, and perhaps he pushed first, but he is 3, he is learning the limits, he is figuring out his voice and how to protect himself from getting pushed around on the playground.

What I do know, without a doubt, is what you didn't see. You didn't see the real tears that were cried for hours because a grown-up, actually a grown-up who knows nothing about him, told him he was mean. You didn't see the little boy that told his mom ALL night long that he wasn't trying to be mean. You didn't see the little boy that woke up the next morning and reminded his mom again he wasn't trying to be mean. You didn't see the little boy that woke up two days later and wanted to talk about how sad he was when the grown-up yelled at him.

My little boy has a kind heart, he isn't mean. He takes care of his mom, he loves his baby sister who isn't even here yet, he adores his friends, and he never leaves his owl home because he doesn't want him to be alone and scared. What you said hurt him because he truly isn't mean and he wasn't trying to be mean to your child, he simply didn't want to be pushed.

Maybe next time, you should pay more attention to your own child and his actions. Or perhaps you should sit back and simply say nothing. Or, since that appears impossible, you could have used some different words. At least my little boy learned a lot from what happened, as I saw to it that he would. I took this as a great opportunity to teach him something. You on the other hand, fought with a little boy on the playground, and taught your little boy he can push someone and as long as his mom doesn't see, she will run to his rescue and tell a THREE-YEAR old that he is mean.

I hope we don't run into either of you at the playground again.

From,

The Mom Who is Glad She Was Looking at Art, Because She Would Have Wanted to Kick Your Ass.