Rec. Center Issues
By mommy of many™. Filed in attitude, children, frustrating, kids, mom |Tags: attitude, children, frustrating, kids, mom, Mommy of Many, mommyofmany, MommyofMany.com
There is a rec. center in our housing area that is set up for the community to use and enjoy. Unfortunately it is not managed very well and it has become a hang-out for kids from all over the area (not just in our housing). We have lived here for 8 years and for a solid 6 years, my kids have not been allowed at the rec. Now that summer is on it’s way and school is winding down, the kids are staying even later and starting to cause trouble.
Yesterday one of my daughters took a bike ride with a friend and on the way past the rec. they were taunted and harassed by several of the kids “hanging-out”. When they came home and told me of the issues; a skateboard being rolled in front of the bike, stuff being thrown at them and one kid dropping his pants, I put my shoes on and “marched” down there. Of course there weren’t any kids there when I showed up. DANG!
All of this brings me to wonder about the parents. Why are the kids hanging-out on a school day? Why doesn’t a parent pop by every now and then to see what their kids are doing and who they are doing it with? Perhaps they feel secure because we are in military housing and “nothing bad is going to happen here”. Whatever it is, it frustrates me!
My kids, while not perfect, are supervised. If I can know where my kids are and who they are with and limit their activities outside of the home on school days, WHILE my husband is deployed AND having more than 1 or 2 kids, then WHY can’t these other parents manage it?
I truly believe that they just don’t want to. They’ve decided that “kids will be kids” and instead of trying to keep them from causing trouble somewhere, they have thrown their hands up and decided that there are other things to worry about.
So, another summer of keeping my kids away from the neighborhood rec. center is in front of me.
Have a great day~
Friday, May 2nd 2008 at 11:39 am |
To begin with Jen, try talking or, even sending a copy of this note, to whoever is in the office at the rec center. I’ve seen cars there so that means people in the offices. Next time the kids take a bike ride maybe you should take a nice walk with the little ones to check these kids out. I remember doing exactly what you did “marching back to the center to defend my child”. I, though, was lucky. The kids were still there. In my case they were throwing rocks. Guess, whatever I said, scared them because I never did see them again. That was a good thing that the kids came back to tell you.
Friday, May 2nd 2008 at 7:27 pm |
Jen,
You hit the nail right on the head; the parents DON’T WANT TO! It is so frustrating and unfortunate. I am by no means perfect, that is for sure, but I do realize that if I don’t put forth the effort day in and day out, no one else is going to except my husband. “Kids will be kids” just like “boys will be boys” (which I hate even more when I hear) is a total cop out. It’s more like, “Taking care of my kids is too hard and time consuming, and I’m too lazy and distracted to bother.” That sounds harsh I guess, and there are times where I definitely feel that way myself, but they are just brief moments, not my parenting philosophy or the way I tackle the day’s challenges. On the younger side of the coin, I often see at the park moms shouting at their kids from the bench, ignoring them talking on their cell phones, or being sarcastic with them. I guess these are the little guys that grow up to throw skate boards in front of other kids bc their parents didn’t show them compassion and respect with limits on behavior early on, so they don’t know how to be considerate of others as they grow up. One thing I know for sure is that without my faith I would probably drop the ball too bc parenting isn’t easy and it does require a lot of self-less sacrifice. One kid dropped his pants???!!! Geez, that really crosses the line. Leaving the parenting up to the TV, media, peers, and pop culture is not the way. Sorry you had to deal with this and I hope there will be a resolution soon.
Friday, May 2nd 2008 at 10:48 pm |
too bad the kids weren’t there anymore…i bet that would have been an interesting phone call from you…”so guess what i did today…”
Friday, May 2nd 2008 at 11:47 pm |
This is within housing? and they’re non-military? I’d be finding out what I could do to make that rec area usable for the military families that live there…because someone’s hyjacked it.
I’m with you on people not parenting their kids. REALLY iritates me…my kids just getting home, doing homework, and ALL the kids are ringing the doorbell…No, they can’t come out. They have homework to do. ACK! My kids get WAY more supervision than do most of the kids around us. I KNOW where my 14 year old is, and I KNOW what she is doing…because she’s either she’s at home, or she is communicating with me.
sorry for the rant…it’s late, and my brain is just spilling stuff…going to bed now!
Wednesday, May 7th 2008 at 9:52 am |
I am always amazed at the behavior and lack of supervision of children, young and older, in the UCLA Family Housing where I live. They are rude and inconsiderate, often even the ones Sophia’s age who may even have a parent right there with them who does nothing to correct there behavior. Doug has told me that I am making to much of it sometimes and they’re just kids. Well, ya there kids but their behavior is unacceptable and their parents are setting the example by not doing anything. I have seen kids as young as 4 or 5 outside without an adult or even an older sibling. And the ones with parents can be the worst at times. We have a lot of non-U.S. residents who live here and they pretty much just let their children do whatever. I can remember one girl, about 4, who would shove past Sophia or run to the thing she was headed for and get there first. I finally said to her, “Hey, be nice! She’s younger than you and it’s not okay to go shoving people and taking something that they were going to play on/with.” She gave me a blank stare and walked away. Where were her parents, couldn’t tell ya.
Monday, October 13th 2008 at 3:25 pm |
hi mommy