Ok, the other day, we take the kids to the indoor play area at the mall – it was too hot to really play outside. Yes, I know this is just asking for trouble, but we felt optimistic. We’re suckers, what can I say….

No, this is a rant on how parents stop parenting at playgrounds (but WHY do we do this?), but instead a rant on one parent being rude to another. This play-ground has no door/gate, so the parent should keep an eye on their kids or they could just walk/toddle away through the mall. I was sitting there watching C (and the other kids, too) and I noticed this toddler walk out the gate. I waited a minute to see if her mom and/or sisters were going to grab her and noticed another mom look at her and then around at the people questioningly. When no one immediately went after her or seemed to noticed that she was halfway up a set of stairs, I approached the mom and asked if that was her child on the stairs…instead of being grateful or saying thank you, she seemed very put off that I a) approached her and b) spoke to her about one of her children. As I stood there asking, I felt like a fool – she wouldn’t even make eye contact with me. She did look up, and became startled when she did indeed realize it was her kid and sent another of her kids (a teen) after her. I turned to leave, not once did she thank me for it. Hello, manners? People of the word, if you ever help me with something, please know I will thank you.

The other mom – the one looking at the child questioningly as the child left the play area approached me and thanked me for getting the kid’s mom’s attention. The child was not even hers and she felt responsible enough to thank me. So I thanked her back, it was her face that made me approach the right mom.