Not a nice mom at the zoo today

[mamicka]

& I don't mean me. So we're at the zoo, eating our lunch at the tables across from the playground area. This little boy (about 2) is obviously looking for his mommy & approaches a mom at the next table for help. She stands up to look around to see if it's obvious who he would belong to & sees nobody. So she starts repeatedly pointing at him & then throwing her hands in the air to show frustration. I thought I remembered seeing the little boy with a particular woman earlier & I tell the frustrated mom who I thought he belonged to, describing her & indicating with my head where she was. I was wrangling my own children at that point or I would have just taken the boy to her myself. She says to me, "but she's light-skinned". The woman who I thought was his mother looked caucasian & the boy had darker skin. I hadn't even noticed until she said something... but seriously is this still that unusual? So I say "I really think that's his mom". So this woman starts kind-of shooing this poor little boy towards the woman who I pointed out, like she doesn't want to touch him. I finally get my kids settled & I picked him up & carried him over to the mom, who at this point is looking for him frantically. She was very appreciative.

How can another mother be so lacking in compassion for other children? It's been bugging me all day.

[ha98ed14]

How can another mother be so lacking in compassion for other children? It's been bugging me all day.

Because she sees him as less than her own DC. Really, her attitude is disgusting.

[shawnandangel]

Because she sees him as less than her own DC. Really, her attitude is disgusting.

:yeahthat: I couldn't say it better.

[kali]

Wow. That's really upsetting. I always tell DS that he should find a mommy and tell her if he's lost.

[Fairy]

Good job, Allison. Some people are just ... ugh. I believe we get back what we put out there.

[Melanie]

That's awful. I am so glad you were there!

I also have told my son to "find a mommy" if lost. That woman should get her title revoked.

[MMMommy]

What an insensitive woman. The poor kid was probably scared to death, and she clearly didn't do much to console or soothe him. And her "light skinned" comments? Very presumptuous of her.

[ha98ed14]

What an insensitive woman. The poor kid was probably scared to death, and she clearly didn't do much to console or soothe him. And her "light skinned" comments? Very presumptuous of her.

Who gives a sh!t what color he is. He is a child, a human being, who is powerless to help himself. Anyone who cannot have compassion for another human being in that situation is missing a part of their own humanity, in my mind. After reading this, it has been bugging me all night!

[KBecks]

What an awful way to think and treat a child.

[JTsMom]

How awful! That poor little boy. :( I just don't understand how anyone could be so cold-hearted! Before I was a mom, I seemed to attract lost kids for some reason- I swear, it happened constantly. I don't care what I was doing, I would never leave a child hanging like that! A lost kid needs to be Priority 1.

[mommylamb]

Wow, I think saying she is insensitive is kind. Sounds more like racist to me...

My neice has a black father and a white mother, and people get so confused when she is spending time with her white grandmother (my MIL). They can say pretty awful things. I think we may be hyper sensitive to this kind of stuff in my family.

[hellokitty]

That's really awful! I've had a few lost kids come up to me before for help and always been more than willing to drop what I was doing to help the child. I can't imagine treating a lost child like that!

[mamicka]

Wow, I think saying she is insensitive is kind. Sounds more like racist to me...

You could be right, I don't know. The thing is, to me, I don't care (by IDC, I don't mean it's not important, just it isn't something we can always know). Whatever your motivation, it's your actions that I ultimately care about. Think whatever you want to think, you help a child in need standing right in front of you. Whether she was racist, thought the mom was negligent & therefore got what she deserved, whatever. A child needs help right in front of you. HELP THE CHILD. It's just a no-brainer.

It frightens me to think that that could be my child one day - they will need some stranger to help them & they'll pick the wrong stranger. One that, for whatever reason, can't be bothered or won't be bothered or will be so annoyed that someone is in need that they'll only give a half-a$$ attempt at helping to be able to say "they tried".

It's still bothering me.

[pinay]

That's awful. I'm glad that you were there to help that little boy find his way back to his mama.

[KrisM]

How terrible. I'm glad you were able to help him out.

[alexsmommy]

This makes me so sad. I have taught my children to go to a "mommy with kids or a stroller" if they are lost figuring that most mothers would be more than happy to help a child - ANY child. I am African-American and I shudder to think someone would fail to assist my sweet loving boys.
...and I have twice taken Caucasian children to the "lost parents" section of our amusement park and once someone did give me a bit of the second degree. Um, no, I'm not looking to take the kid, he was crying and screaming "Mommy!" I walked him around a bit trying to calm him down and when we didn't find his Mommy I took him where his parents will inevitably go to find him.
Sad.

[LexyLou]

Wow, that's really, really sad.

My DD#1 looks 100% Mexican and I am clearly not Mexican, but she came from my body. She's 50% me, she just looks just like my DH.

I've had many instances of racism and ignorance regarding our different skin color.

Depending on my mood it either angers me or just makes me sad. People are so ignorant.

[StantonHyde]

This is very sad. But I just wanted to inject a lighter note from the viewpoint of the kids with different skin color than parents..

A new family moved into the neighborhood in August. They are awesome and our kids are the same age so we really enjoy spending time with them. The parents are very caucasian, the kids are both adopted from China and they have really brown skin.

At some point, DS must have been reading a story about orphans at school because he said "we don't know any orphans".
me: J was an orphan.
DS: "No he's not, J&D are his parents".
me: J was born in China and his parents adopted him
DS: huh? really?

It was so cute--he literally did not see the differences (skin, hair, faces etc) between the kids and their parents. He just saw a family.

[BabyMine]

I feel bad for her DC. I hope they don't turn out like her.