The Park

I take my kids to the park almost every day. I have lots of reasons for this. First, I am no longer the pasty white color that I was when I arrived here from Germany. Second, the kids aren't either. Third, they can run around and get their energy out. Fourth, they sleep much better at night when they have played hard for over an hour. Fifth, I'm not stuck in the house all day with them bouncing off of the walls.

We have a specific park that we go to. It has a fence around it, we have friends that live close by, and it has shade for me to sit under. It also has pretend roads in it for the kids to ride bikes on. On post there are rules about how old kids need to be, to be without parental supervision. Now, before I start on my little tirade, there are some kids that are really responsible at a young age, and there are those who at even 12 need parental supervision. Yesterday while at the park, there was a boy there. We've seen him before, and there is never a parent there to watch him. Ever. I know which house he lives in, but never a parent out there with him. Maybe they think that because they live so close they don't need to go out and watch him. And I know that there are those that think that because we live on post, we are safe. Which we are to some extent. Well, this kid that I'm talking about is only 5. His parents are never watching him. There is another one that is 9, they also live close to the park, and never a parent to be seen.

The weather here is very hot, even if we are getting a lot of rain. Yesterday this five year old came up to me and told me he was thirsty. Well, I bring stuff for me and my kids, but I don't have anything that he can drink out of. I don't even know his name!! I felt bad, but I told him to go home and get a drink. He said some other things to me, and I told him to go home too. I can't remember what he asked for. I'm at the point that I'm going to call the MP's and ask them to patrol the park. I don't understand why parents cannot watch their kids. I bring stuff to do at the park all the time. I always have a book, my cross stitch, or something that I need to do. I bring snacks and drinks. I know that there are different parenting styles. But I think that being with your kids and making sure they are safe should fall into every style that there is. I've had to ask (ok, I told them) some kids to leave because they were yelling at each other, and saying things that I didn't want my kids to hear. Maybe this is the price I have to pay for taking my kids to the park. But I think I am going to look up the MP's number and make a call today or tomorrow. These parents need to be responsible for their kids.