“I yelled at someone else’s kid today. I took the babes to the park instead of doing the 15 loads of laundry I needed to do. They never stray more than 4 feet from my side, and with Ellis not even walking, I’m always close by to grab the sticks and dirt he always puts in his mouth.
Andy was climbing on the playground and right after I took this picture, a child came up and climbed over Ellis and stepped on Andy’s hand and sat on top of his head! Andy was screaming and I said, ‘Hey! You can’t sit on him! He’s tiny!’ I picked up Andy, crying with tears rolling down his face and Ellis started crying because Andy was. I guessed this kid was about 5 years old from the way he talked with other kids on the playground, his height, and the fact that Andy didn’t even come up to his waist.
I picked up both boys and went over to a baby slide on the opposite side of the park where we were alone, and Andy could go down the slide by himself. No sooner had Andy gotten to the bottom of the slide and stood up on the ground, that the same kid came rushing down the slide towards him, and as he stood up, he kicked Andy in the face! It hit Andy so hard he fell straight backward right to the back of his head. I took 2 giant steps toward them and yelled, ‘Hey! What the HELL ARE YOU DOING?!’
Andy was screaming with a very swollen red eye and the kid looked at me and stuck out his tongue and ran off. I almost turned into Medusa. I looked around and saw him run off towards his mom, whom I had noticed had been on her phone for almost the entire hour we were there, not looking up once.
I am not sure why – I just packed up the kids and left. I was so angry and knew I would have made a scene. I am very sympathetic and try not to judge a child too quickly because I know firsthand from working with children that not all are developmentally age-appropriate, and some are cognitively unable to control their emotions or actions. But, I will not excuse a mother who does not pay attention or can’t look up from her phone to notice that her child is being a bully.
My momma bear instincts were and still are FURIOUS! Andy will be ok. He may have a little black eye. But my momma heart needs a hug.”
This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Heather Crockett Oram of Utah. You can follow their adoption journey on Instagram. Do you have a similar experience? We’d like to hear your important journey. Submit your own story here. Be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube for our best videos.
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