We took the kids to a local splash pad today. Connor is warming up to it (he hated it at the beginning of the summer) and the girls love it. We always go really early, before 10 am, to beat the crowd (it's at a rather large, lakefront park so it gets busy fast)
When we first arrived there was another family there, mom, dad and two kids. The one child was a baby, under a year. The other one was a little boy, I'd guess about 3. The sprinklers are set on a rotation through the splash pad so the water gun doesn't always shoot water, only when it comes around to its rotation. So the mom is with the little baby near one sprinkler that sprays a light mist. The dad heads over to the water gun and aims it right at the baby. Nice. So of course the baby cries, mom blasts dad and takes the baby to their towels.
Then dad proceeds to spray the 3 year old who starts crying as well and asking dad to stop. The water gun comes off it's rotation so it's not shooting water anymore but the kid is now upset. So dad starts teasing him. "Oh, don't be a baby. Stop whining. Wah wah wah."
It's one of those cases where you just want to bitch slap the parent for the kid but you can't.
So the boy calms down and starts playing again. When the water gun comes on he starts playing with it. The dad says to him, you better not spray me or anyone else (meaning my kids) or you're in big trouble. I'm thinking, huh? Are you kidding? It was okay for you but not for him?
They left shortly after but then it happened.....
Another family comes along. It's a bunch of adults and a bunch of kids with coolers and umbrellas and chairs so you know they're making a day of it. One of the moms brings a little boy over to her, he's about 3. She takes off his clothes and diaper to get him into his swim diaper and bathing suit. Now I'm not overly opposed to this, I also change Connor into his swim diaper at the splash pad. They are not absorbent enough for the car ride there. But this little guy, as soon as he was undressed, peed next to a bench. Then he took off into the splash pad. Buck naked. Mom had a chuckle and went about her business. So now this little boy is running around the splash pad, knocking Connor over, spraying everyone with the water gun and Mom is oblivious. The kid then runs through a muddy patch on the grass, slips and gets a butt crack full of mud. Dad laughs. Then little streaker runs over to the gun (that Connor is now using) and shoves Connor over to spray Mary.
The last straw for me was when Dad finally decides that maybe his kid should have clothes on and says, "Oh, he's all dirty though" (DUH!) and Mom says "Well just rinse him off in the sprinkler" (Because you know, the public splash pad is your personal shower.)
So as I'm drying Connor off and getting him ready to go a little baby from their group comes toddling over to us, having a look. She's maybe just over a year, still not steady on her feet. The mom calls her over (not the naked boys mom a different one) and picks her up. She then starts telling the other lady about how the little girl just had lice and they treated it but she's not so sure if she got it all. So they start fishing through her hair looking for nits. BLAH!!!!
It was all around icky, the whole experience.
GROSS!
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