This morning a group of friends & I took our kiddos to the skate park. We try to go weekly, and only on weekday mornings to avoid disturbing the actual-skilled-skating teenagers. Our playtime lasts roughly an hour or two and we all leave happy and tired. Helmets were donned, scooters were unfolded, and bikes were brought out of trunks. We were prepared for a good time. After being there for roughly fifteen minutes, the only other patron, a middle-aged guy riding a skateboard, stormed out with a huff and loud comments about our kids getting hurt someday and a skate park not being a play park. We were shocked.
Our kids were skating. They were wearing helmets and riding up and down ramps. My seven year old was trying to master a tiny airborne jump on a corner. There weren’t any crashes, crying, or scrapes. Were we supposed to drag them over to the playground to ride bikes up and down the slides? Surely their amateur skills weren’t that inappropriate for the skatepark. Heck, the older kids in the group can do cooler bike tricks than I can – riding standing up, balancing on the seat with one leg, all kinds of things that make me hold my breath in scaredy-cat-mama-hen fear.
On one hand, I can get where he was coming from, truly. Kids can be loud, boisterous, and overwhelming. Maybe he was trying to learn a new skill and they were distracting (but if so, use your words, man, use your words). On the other hand, part of having a successful society is patiently letting the younger generation explore and learn.
Is it hard hearing a toddler whine in the restaurant booth behind you? Yes, of course, but it’s also part of the them practicing behaving in a restaurant. Does anyone like being splashed while relaxing in pools? Probably not, but that doesn’t mean the kids at the pool shouldn’t get to practice their cannonballs or play games. If we don’t let little kids use the skatepark, how do you expect them to be able to ride as teenagers? If there aren’t any teenagers using the skatepark in ten years, because young kids were clearly unwelcome, how will the town find it’s upkeep a good use of funds? The next generation can be a nuisance, sure, but they’re also our literal future. Involving kids in the things that make a society great isn’t just hard work, it’s necessary work. They need to learn how to behave in public and interact with others. They need to learn to communicate, or they’ll grow up to be aggressive jerks instead of saying, “Hey, would you mind asking the kids to stay off that one curve? I’m trying to learn something new”. Societal patience, people, try to have some societal patience.
Disclaimer/Reality Check: I don’t have one. I’m mad. Kids are people, too. This was written on September 17th; on the very, very rare chance you are the rude dude reading this, do better. Our kids are 7 and under and were acting their ages; how about you give acting your own age a shot as well. I don’t ever want this column to make another mama think she’s not doing enough. Some days we do skatepark with friends, somedays we do nothing but lay in pajamas and eat pretzels. If you’re reading this, I want you to know that you are, you’re doing great, keep it up. Sing it with me: no-one is doing it allllll!
