We had a play date today at McDonald's with some dear friends. If you have known me since my pre-kid days you are giggling right now and remembering that I swore my kids would never eat at McDonald's. I've never had a problem with fast food but I have never liked McDonald's. I don't like their burgers. It goes back to childhood. I didn't like anything on my burger and it didn't matter how many times we went there and asked for plain burger they always put onions on my burger anyway. And the onions at McDonalds are so tiny it is impossible to pick them off. Thus my lasting hatred for the restaurant. This was way back in the day when McDonald's didn't have McNuggets. So there was no alternative to a burger. I remember when they first introduced McNuggets. Man, I must be getting old.
Anyway, I have found that the Micky D's close to my house has a nice air conditioned playscape and a restroom located in the playscapy area. Having small children this is the perfect place for a playdate. Everyone is contained. Everyone is occupied. Restrooms are close at hand. I can actually visit with a friend and my kids have a blast. It is the best of all worlds. And they have gotten much better with their special orders as my picky child can even find something to eat there - he gets a cheese burger, no patty please, bacon instead, no condiments, no veggies. You should see the look on their faces when I order for him. They always look completely dumbfounded and most of the time they get it right. If not the first time, always the second.
OK, finally I'm ready to tell you about the firsts. Eliza got stuck in the playscape. She climbed way up to the top and couldn't figure out how to get down. The more the other kids tried to help her the more upset she got. Finally I had to climb up and help her get down. Let me tell you those things are not made for adults to be in. It is a good thing I'm not claustrophobic because it requires some fun manuvering to get around in there.
After my fun jaunt in the playscape everything was going great until Charlotte was running (which she should not have been doing) and ran into a little boy about a year old. She knocked him down. He hit a support column, knocking off a peice of wood moulding and then smacked the back of his head hard on the tile floor. I didn't see Charlotte run into him, I just turned in time to see his head hit the floor. He had a large knot on the back of his head. I felt terrible. Charlotte felt terrible. She appologized. I appologized. She had a time out for running.
This of course led me to the quandry of what was the right thing to do in this situation. Was there something else I should have done? Was my response appropriate? Was Charlotte's consquence enough?
Ah the joys of Micky D's
Jenn
3 comments:
Please ask Charlotte to watch where she is going!! 2 times in less that a week is not good. I saw in the paper today that a man died who had run into someone in a ball game (church league, I think) and died a couple of days later. I know she is tough, but all these other kids may not be that tough!!
Let me just say that I will NOT be taking the kids there to play unless you will be where I can call you to come get Eliza. I am not going in after her!!
Oh Jenn! I could have written the entire first paragraph of your blog. I had the exact same experience with McD as a child. (Picky eater - NO special sauce, just plain/dry burger and they *always* got it wrong. Every. Single. Time.) And that's how I learned that you can't scrape off the onions, special sauce, etc.
To this day, I don't do McDonalds. It's a Daddy thing or Grandparents thing. (I remember McNuggets and also the McRib sandwich, but today ICK.)
I'm impressed you let the little girls climb in those playsets. I never let them do that so young, for exactly that reason (getting stuck).
Charlotte will learn. I think the only thing you could do is apologize (and maybe offer to get ice for the lump.) Having Charlotte apologize was good to teach her that when we make mistakes we have to be responsible for them.
Apparently it's a trend among mom's because I won't go to McDonald's either. Scott takes the kids occasionally though.
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