Park etiquette.

Maya loves going to the park.  She loves the swings and the slides.  She loves running up and down ramps.  Climbing things.  Riding on things.

But there are times when we are at the park and some child will punch, push or kick Maya for no reason.

Recently while at a park I watched some older children running around with plastic cups throwing sand at each other.  Then one boy threw a cup of sand directly into the face of a much smaller, toddling, little boy, who was playing nearby. The toddler began howling while the older children laughed and continued with their game.  The toddler's mother tried talking to the older children about how dangerous it is to throw sand at people, but they took no notice.

Now what I want to know is.. where were these boy's carers and why were they letting them thrown sand at each other and other people?  I've been in a situation where I ended up with sand in my eye.  And it hurt!  A lot. I ended up in hospital because I couldn't open my eye from the pain the sand was causing.  Having sand thrown in your face is highly unpleasant.

Of course, it's not always the case that a carer isn't around to help deal with situations and thankfully those situations are rare. But it does surprise me how often I will witness a child being punched, kicked or pushed by another child and there is no carer in sight.