Children’s playgrounds are no strangers to arguments, but it’s normally the kids who are fighting.
But yesterday afternoon police were called to a Sydney playground where two parents were locked in a heated conversation over a set of child swings.
Sydney mother Elaine Stack took to Facebook after witnessing a man and woman arguing over whose child was more entitled to sitting on the swing.
Here’s how Elaine Stack described it on her Facebook page.
“Discussion to be had …
I was just at the park & the police arrived. Seemingly a Mother was pushing her little girl on a swing when a Father approached & said he was also waiting for the swing. The Mother replied that they would be another 5 minutes or so. The Father proceeded to stop the swing in motion & tried to lift the daughter out! The Mother was very upset & called the police. Another parent in the park thought this was a little over board. What would you do?!? Would you call the police?”
Comments were definitely divided.
Many were horrified that a stranger would touch a child without permission.
“Yep I would! How dare he touch another persons child! And teaching his child disgusting manners and how to be impatient and RUDE!!”
“Woah! I think that the father trying to lift the child out of the swing is completely over the line.
Not sure if I would have called the police, but it would have been a very confronting situation to be in. It’s hard to say how anyone would react when they are actually in that circumstance. Definitely not okay for any parent to be lifting a child out of the swing like that. Selfish.”
But they were unsure of whether calling the police was the right move:
“Wow that father is waayyyyy out of line. No matter the circumstances whether they had been on the swing for an hour. It is not ok to stop the swing and to physically try take another child out! Not sure about whether the police needed to be involved though. I don’t know what I would do in that situation!”