I am starting to dislike going to the park

[arivecchi]

It was gorgeous yesterday, so we headed to the park. The kiddos wanted to take the RF wagon, so we loaded our keys, garage remote control, drinks, etc. We get to the park and I "park" the wagon right by us so I can keep an eye on it. As soon as we head to the swings, a little boy with his mom right by him (but talking to another mom) gets onto the wagon and throws all of our stuff to the grass. WTF? I tell his mom to please tell her kid not to throw our stuff out of our wagon. She looks at me like I have three heads. The little boy leaves and then a little girl comes over with her dad. The dad says do you want to climb on it and play. WTH? Is it your wagon? ASK me whether you can use it. His girl nearly falls out of it too because he was not watching her. I am so tempted to make a sign that says: THIS IS NOT A TOY. DO NOT CLIMB. I do not let my kids climb all over their strollers. I am so tempted no to use it anymore when going to the park, but the kids love it. :mad:

[HIU8]

That would piss me off. Let them get a wagon for their kid. I would either not take it again, or put a sign on it that clearly says "PERSONAL PROPERTY, DO NOT PLAY ON". My kids are always going up to parked wagons and bikes etc. at the playground. I ALWAYS tell them to keep their hands off of it b/c it doesn't belong to them. For me it's about teaching my children that you don't just touch other peoples things (unless you ask and they say it's ok).

[TwinFoxes]

My kids are always going up to parked wagons and bikes etc. at the playground. I ALWAYS tell them to keep their hands off of it b/c it doesn't belong to them. For me it's about teaching my children that you don't just touch other peoples things (unless you ask and they say it's ok).

:yeahthat: DDs want to climb on anything that's parked (and a few things that aren't!) but I don't let them! That's crazy.

Maybe you can get a cute sign that says "property of DS1 & DS2", and maybe like a pirate skull and crossbones. Do you think people would get the hint?

[elektra]

I too think a sign might be a good ideas. It's a little weird but I would hate being all stressed out, always looking over at the wagon to see if anyone was messing with it. Let them think you are anal!
I was thinking about how you could do it so that the kids would stay off too, even if their parents weren't close enough to read the sign.
Maybe buy some kind of thin blanket or sheet (that you could roll up for transport) and put big letter stickers on it that spelled out (STAY OFF OF OUR WAGON!) and then drape that over the opening of the wagon.
I'm LOL'ing thinking about my DH's face if he saw me making some such thing but I think it might be worth a shot.

[arivecchi]

Maybe you can get a cute sign that says "property of DS1 & DS2", and maybe like a pirate skull and crossbones. love it!


Maybe buy some kind of thin blanket or sheet (that you could roll up for transport) and put big letter stickers on it that spelled out (STAY OFF OF OUR WAGON!) and then drape that over the opening of the wagon. I am not so annoyed by the kids, more by the adults who let them use others' belongings without a second thought, especially since I am right there so they could just be polite and ask! The blanket is a good idea though. Definitely sends a message.

[sunshine873]

love it!

I am not so annoyed by the kids, more by the adults who let them use others' belongings without a second thought, especially since I am right there so they could just be polite and ask!

Yeah, kids are curious, and it seems like a toy to them, so they're going to try to play on/with it. That is totally understandable. But hey parents...this is an opportunity for you to get off your butt and teach them something! That parents not intervening and even encouraging would send me over the edge too.

[salsah]

My kids are always going up to parked wagons and bikes etc. at the playground. I ALWAYS tell them to keep their hands off of it b/c it doesn't belong to them. For me it's about teaching my children that you don't just touch other peoples things (unless you ask and they say it's ok).

:yeahthat:

[Melbel]

I personally would be willing to put a blanket over the wagon to discourage kids from playing on your wagon, but IMO the sign is a bit over the top. I am more than willing to share my DC's toys but would appreciate the courtesy of asking first. I think it was very rude of the parents who allowed their DC to throw your belongings out of the wagon. Perhaps you could turn the wagon upside down while your kids are playing.

[arivecchi]

Perhaps you could turn the wagon upside down while your kids are playing. Duh! So simple yet so brilliant!

[HIU8]

along those lines, I would keep your personal belongings on you (keys and cell phone are all I take to the playground right now).

[deborah_r]

Not that you should have to, but since you can't change the other people, I think bringing a blanket to throw over the whole thing is a great idea!

When we've brought trikes, bikes, etc to the park, I kind of hide them behind a bench, and for the most part people don't bother them. Probably wouldn't work at every park.

[catpagmo]

I read somewhere (maybe here?) that to keep people from walking off with their strollers at Disney, they would tape a clear plastic baggie with what looks like a dirty diaper inside, to their stroller. I'm thinking melted chocolate. That will keep everyone away, probably even kids. Maybe you could do something like that to keep them off?

[truly scrumptious]

Could it be that the parents don't realize the wagon is yours?

I'm not defending them - I definitely think that people should not allow their kids to touch other people's belongings, and should ask permission before playing with toys.

But in a park we go to, there are some toys which belong to the "park" - as in, they were donated or left by other kids for everyone to play with. This gets a bit tricky when people bring their own toys and no one knows if they are for general use. I have definitely allowed DS to play in a Step2 car which was left sitting around. I kept a sharp eye out in case someone looked like they were bothered by it, or in case it belonged to anyone, but no one seemed to care. That was my *scientific* system for figuring out if it belonged to the "park"!

I like the idea of putting cute sticker or sign saying "Property of XYZ" - that way it is a non-aggressive way of letting people know to keep their hands off.

[maestramommy]

I'm really shocked, not by the kids, but by parents who don't seem to have a clue. Clearly it was a privately owned wagon, since your stuff was in it! If my kids suddenly saw a wagon and started to climb in, I'd tell them to get out, and remove them if necessary! I mean, it's not ours, it's someone else's, for pete's sake!

[arivecchi]

No "park" toys at this park, so they know it is someone else's wagon. I like the sticker idea and turning it upside down. I will try that! Thanks! I am glad to hear I am not crazy for being peeved about this.

[TwinFoxes]

Perhaps you could turn the wagon upside down while your kids are playing.

You can give this a try, it might work. But my DDs would still try to climb it! They like to climb.

[egoldber]

It stinks for you, but if it were me, I would just stop bringing toys to the park. I had to do this at the pool we belonged to for a couple years. It just wasn't worth the hassle.

[ewpmsw]

I read somewhere (maybe here?) that to keep people from walking off with their strollers at Disney, they would tape a clear plastic baggie with what looks like a dirty diaper inside, to their stroller. I'm thinking melted chocolate. That will keep everyone away, probably even kids. Maybe you could do something like that to keep them off?

OMG! We're going to have to use this one.

Liked the idea of flipping the wagon over, too, unless it's covered or too big.

[arivecchi]

It stinks for you, but if it were me, I would just stop bringing toys to the park. I had to do this at the pool we belonged to for a couple years. It just wasn't worth the hassle. That's just it though! It is not a toy. It is our mode of transportation to the park. I bet those same parents would be all over me if I let my DC climb all over their strollers. :rolleyes:

I'm sorry you had to stop bringing toys to the pool. That sucks.

[Gena]

I know what you mean. I had the same experiences when my son was wagon-age. I could not belive how rude some adults were about it.


That's just it though! It is not a toy. It is our mode of transportation to the park. I bet those same parents would be all over me if I let my DC climb all over their strollers. :rolleyes:



This exactly. One time when we had gone to the park via wagon, there was Dad there who would not stop his little boy from climbing into it and getting into our cooler of snacks. This Dad told me that I should not have brought the wagon if we weren't going to share it. I politely told him that the wagon was our mode of transportation. He told me again that I should share it. So I told him that I had noticed the nice car he arrived in and asked him for the keys because I would like to take it for a joyride. He angrily refused and I politely told him that he should not bring his cute little sportscar to the park if he wasn't going to share it.

I would not let rude people keep you from going to the park in the wagon. It's really such a fun way to get there and makes nice memories for the kids.

[DrSally]

Strange!.....

[DrSally]

I read somewhere (maybe here?) that to keep people from walking off with their strollers at Disney, they would tape a clear plastic baggie with what looks like a dirty diaper inside, to their stroller. I'm thinking melted chocolate. That will keep everyone away, probably even kids. Maybe you could do something like that to keep them off?

:hysterical: I like the idea of a blanket or turning it upside down.

[arivecchi]

This Dad told me that I should not have brought the wagon if we weren't going to share it. Wow. That guy had some b@ll$.

[catpagmo]

So I told him that I had noticed the nice car he arrived in and asked him for the keys because I would like to take it for a joyride. He angrily refused and I politely told him that he should not bring his cute little sportscar to the park if he wasn't going to share it.


:ROTFLMAO: Ha! Good for you!