Mom banned from children's museum after letting toddlers escape during tantrum.
"Karen let the toddlers out; shocked she is banned."
Our town has a children's museum. It's cute, full of activities from baby through 9 or so. The baby and toddler areas have gates that latch for obvious reasons. Well Karen decided she would use authority to have her toddler leave. So she opens the toddler gate and tells her child it's time to leave! Now! Well her kid doesn't move and clearly wants to stay and play.
Instead of closing the gate, retrieving the toddler, and going on with life Karen decided to hold the gate open and start demanding her toddler listen. So of course other toddlers book it out and Karen continues to hold the gate open and does NOTHING to prevent this and just keeps yelling at her kid.
Instant chaos as parents and a grandparent scramble out to catch the escaped tots. Toddlers are running to open elevators, to balconies, into the managers office, and my child was booking it towards the stairs.
I am about to catch her when she ducks into the art room (messy but safe) and I notice a toddler nearly to the stair landing (which are 2 story and stone) glance quickly and see Granma going as fast as she can but nowhere near fast enough so I leave my kid to her painty fate and snatch up "Darius" and deliver him to a grateful Granma.
I hear a Dad say CLOSE the GATE as he has one twin in surfboard meltdown and another has just booked it out of the gate towards me and the paint room. This Karen then yells at him that it's not her job to watch his kids she's got 3 kids of her own to handle!
She is still holding open the gate. I'm acting as a Shepard of sorts between the toddlers and the stairs. Paint is everywhere with unsupervised tots not wearing their paint proof smocks going hogwild. (Apparently my daughter's favorite color is yellow).
With this sudden chaos a manager came to see what was happening and 2 Dad's point to Karen who finally picked up her child and shut the gate. Karen then tells the manager how she felt UNSAFE because the dad who yelled close the gate. And demands action.
By then I head over Yellow Gremlin in arms as all the tots are corraled and me and Granma back up the Dad's and say how irresponsible her behavior was. Karen then launches into a tirade about how it's not her job to watch all of our children.
The manager tells her she is banned and she starts screaming so security gather her and her 3 kids and march them out. I feel bad for her children but honestly girl how entitled do you have to be?
A simple - I'm sorry I froze when the kids ran out. I wasn't thinking straight. Literally anything but SHE wanted to act like SHE was a victim of "unsafe" after releasing half a dozen toddlers into dangerous situations.
Here is what readers had to say in response to the OP’s post:
I teach toddlers. Trying to wrangle multiple toddlers who found an escape route is like trying to rake leaves in a tornado. I’m glad the karma fairy was swift and just.
SeraphimSphynx (OP)
I was also flabbergasted that she thought demanding a toddler stop playing would work. Kid is 1 maybe 2? That's not how toddlers work at all!
Your description of the toddler escape was delightful. Thank you.
She absolutely deserved to be banned. If any of those kids got hurt it would be on her head.
Jfc, I can see this happening as you’re describing. We did those things with our kids when they were little and they too had a baby and a toddler area when also had a gate. I couldn’t imagine someone just letting the messy toddlers out because she wasn’t willing to go physically pick up her own. It’s like letting out a bunch of puppies and expecting it to go well.
You are right Karen, 100% not your responsibly to watch other people's kids. There is a safe play area with a secured gate, the gate ensures the kids are in a safe area and need minimal supervision from you or anyone else.
It sure is a good thing that no one opens a child proof gate and let's those kids into unsafe areas, because if they did they would become immediately responsible for the safety of those kids. No one opened that gate right? Karen?
What a dumb woman. I work at a gym childcare center and sometimes it gets pretty busy. It’s typically just the two of us employees in there sometimes just 1 if someone calls out and no one can pick up the shift.
So we also have toddlers that try to run out as soon as the door opens. What absolutely infuriates me is when a parent comes to drop off or pick their kid up and lets a toddler get out the door and run right past them out into the lobby because they wanna hold the door as far open as they can.
So I’ve had to chase after a toddler while holding a baby in each arm and try to direct them back into the room with my body. And the parent just stands there like a deer in headlights.
I would have punched her. I cant stand people who only care about themselves. There were many babies involved and many of them could have been hurt that day. Glad she got banned. She also probably needs to un-smooth her brain. Are you and your babies okay OP? I think you mentioned you had your kiddo there too but could be mistaken.
SeraphimSphynx (OP)
She's fine. Just completely covered herself in yellow paint. I then stood guard between that door and the stairs so no one fell or got hurt.
I just love how her initial reaction is to blame a man and make a false accusation that could have destroyed his life.