Another father scared my son today, and I am having a hard time getting over it. My son is 4 years and 3 months old. We were at an indoor play complex today with a friend and her 4 year old son. We usually don't come on Sunday afternoons when it's so busy but this was a special playdate.The play center has various climbing structures and slides. The boys were at the top of one of the slides that has 6 rainbow themed slides. My friend was watching the boys when I left them briefly to get some water. When I returned in a few minutes, I saw a grown man holding my son by his arm, and my son was sobbing. My friend was talking to the man, and when I approached them the man was very upset and said my son was jumping on his girl's head. This happened so quickly, and my son was able to pull away from the man and run away, so I didn't have a chance to get more details because I was running after my son who was crying.When he finally sat down at the end of the building, he told me that the girls were blocking the slides. Instead of waiting for the girls to go down, he tried to climb over the girls. I believe he did knock over the girl so the girl began to crying. I asked him if he hit the girls and he said no, but he did admit to climbing over the girl so he can go down the slide. We had a little talk about waiting for his turn and apologizing to the girl. He was barely able to speak because he was still crying. He said the man made him go down the slide so fast and he couldn't slow down and he was scared. He also said he held him really tightly and he couldn't get away from the man until I returned. He said, "I was really scared."When we returned the man and the girl were gone, and my son had calmed down enough to start playing again. My friend was pretty flustered by the incident and it took her some time to collect her though and digest what happened. According to my friend the father was nearby, and he grabbed my son and put my son on his legs and slid down the slide. Then, he grabbed my son's arm and refused to let him go until I returned while my son was sobbing. I was so shocked when I heard what happened, I sat there just stunned.I'm a pretty laid-back parent but I am also very vigilant about making sure that my son plays nicely with other kids. I've seen him get hit by older kids but understand that accidents happen and sometimes playing can get rough. I will casually step in and remind the older/bigger kids need to be more mindful of the smaller ones. I've never had an incident with another parent, and it's always handled very cordially and usually with kids will be kids attitude.I sat there thinking whether I should confront the father, but I was nervous about confronting him and was also a bit scared by his size. I also didn't want to make any scene in front of my son, so I asked to speak to the manager of the complex and explained the situation. I said will apologize if my son hurt the girl, but in no way he should EVER have bullied and scared a 4 year old boy like that.The manager went to speak to the father, and I left my # with an employee if they wanted to talk to me while I went to look for my son. I never got a call from the manager, and I don't know what the father said but he was still there when we left.I don't know whether I am over reacting to the incident or I should have done more? It hurts thinking about how scared my son was and I still can see this big man holding my son's arm while he's scared and crying. I'm also embarrassed that I didn't protect my son more in this situation. How should I have handled the situation? via /r/Parenting http://ift.tt/2x9RBDw
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