Allowing your child to go to someone else’s house for a playdate is not easy. Even if they are suddenly at that age where you no longer have to hover over them and make sure they play nicely, allowing them to go off and trusting another parent is no easy task. So when one parent shared on Reddit that their son was forced to stay outside in extreme heat with nothing but hose water to cool off with, it was some parents’ worst nightmare.
At least, where playdates are concerned. The biggest worry that many have is whether their kid will indeed be safe in the care of another parent without them there to watch over their own child. When the parent on Reddit shared their experience with their child not only coming home thirsty, but also with noticeable sunburn, it sparked a conversation about what to say and what not to say to other parents after playdates gone wrong.
A parent on Reddit said their son was mistreated during a playdate.
The user on Reddit, who didn’t share if they are a mom or dad, wrote in a post that they allowed their 7-year-old son to play at the home of a friend, whose mom is also the boys’ soccer coach. So far so good, right? According to the parent, however, the playdate entailed remaining outside for the duration of the day, in 95-degree heat, and drinking water from a hose instead of heading inside for Capri Suns or, at the least, bottles of water.
“The boys asked to come inside multiple times because they were overheating, but she refused and just told them to ‘drink from the hose if they’re thirsty,'” the Redditor wrote in the post. “My son said they weren’t allowed inside even to use the bathroom and were told to ‘go behind the shed.'”
They also shared that their son is particularly fair-skinned and prone to sunburn in prolonged exposure outside. The Redditor was even sure to explain this to the other parent when they dropped off their son. Despite that, and thanks to being forced to stay outside for the duration of the sun-drenched playdate, by the time the Redditor picked up their son, he had noticeable sunburn and he wouldn’t even talk about what happened until they got to the car.
The boy wasn’t allowed to make a phone call home.
The worst playdate ever gets worse from there. According to the parent, their son was also refused access to the phone to call home. The Redditor shared that when they asked their son why he didn’t just call home to get picked up early, he responded by explaining that the mom told him, “kids these days are too soft.”
Most of the parents who commented on the thread were quick to urge the parent to say something to the mom, and to speak up for their son.
“But, like, why did she do that?” one user commented. “It’s completely irrational. Confront her.”
Another wrote: “I have an unpopular opinion. From a GenX perspective, this was how many of us grew up. We played outside all day and drank from the water hose and I don’t feel like I was abused. On the other hand, he should have been able to call his parents for any reason.”
These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
