I need opinions

[keelhauled]

Yesterday I witnessed some of the kids in my neighborhood fighting. These three 8 year old girls (triplets) were pressuring this younger girl (age 6) to fight two boys (6 and 8). The triplets would tell her to hit the boys then turn her around and push her at them. The younger girl would slap the boys and then they would punch her and knock her down. So I got really mad and yelled at all the kids to "go the **** home".
I am not proud of the language I used and admit that it was wrong, but I was so mad after seeing this that I flew off the handle.

My question is how would you react if you were the parent of the children I yelled/cursed at? Would you be paying me a visit to yell at me for yelling at your children?

 

[golfgal]

Well, I wouldn't be very happy with you swearing at little kids but I would not be mad for you stepping in to stop this. If I saw some kids doing this I certainly would have gone over there to stop it and sent the kids home but I would not have sworn at the kids.

 

[JerseyJanice]

I'm not one to get bent out of shape over my kid hearing curse words, so I wouldn't be upset with you.

 

[dislaney]

I would be happy you stopped my kid from fighting but probably would rather you have used different language. I would be concentrating on my kids actions not yours.

 

[npmommie]

the curse word would not have bothered me, its just a word, with no power til we give it power kwim?
I would have been glad you broke up the fighting and in fact I would be having a talk with the parents of the kids who were encouraging the girl to fight and pushing her into the boys.

 

[scrapbookworm]

I think that the tough part is that if the kids tattle, I guarantee that they will leave out the part that they were inciting a fight. They'll paint it like they were just talking and eating popsicles (minding their own business), and you just went bat poop crazy on them.

But, they probably won't say anything.

I admit to have let a cuss word slip every now and then, so I can't judge you on that.

 

[Pooh Crew]

I would doubt that the kids would tell their parents about the incident for fear of getting in trouble for their "game".

To answer your question, I'd be furious if someone screamed obscenities at my children, BUT my children (three of whom are triplets, btw) learned to not hit at about age two. We don't put up with that kind of nonsense.

I'd certainly let the mother of the younger girl know what was going on. Regardless of the language you used, you were protecting a child, so the parents should give you some latitude.

 

[indimom]

I think that the tough part is that if the kids tattle, I guarantee that they will leave out the part that they were inciting a fight. They'll paint it like they were just talking and eating popsicles (minding their own business), and you just went bat poop crazy on them.

But, they probably won't say anything.

I admit to have let a cuss word slip every now and then, so I can't judge you on that.

Yep, all the little snowflakes do this (mine included).

Don't worry about reprecussions from the parents, kids know when to keep their mouths shut. If they tell on you for the language, you get to tell on them for their behavior when their mom comes over to lecture you. I seriously doubt any other parent will hear about it. That's not a word I use, but it aint gonna burn their ears off. No big deal.

 

[CowboyCO]

Yesterday I witnessed some of the kids in my neighborhood fighting. These three 8 year old girls (triplets) were pressuring this younger girl (age 6) to fight two boys (6 and 8). The triplets would tell her to hit the boys then turn her around and push her at them. The younger girl would slap the boys and then they would punch her and knock her down. So I got really mad and yelled at all the kids to "go the f@#k home".
I am not proud of the language I used and admit that it was wrong, but I was so mad after seeing this that I flew off the handle.

My question is how would you react if you were the parent of the children I yelled/cursed at? Would you be paying me a visit to yell at me for yelling at your children?

I'm thinking there was a better and more civil way to handle it.

 

[keelhauled]

OP here.

The kids (triplets) did tell and their mother confronted me. She wouldn't let me explain what happened just started yelling at me for cursing at her kids. I yelled back and things got bad. I had to call the police on her for grabbing me by the neck.
I guess I was just trying to see if I should have expected this kind of reaction from the parents. Not the assault but the "I don't care what my kids did, you are a horrible person for swearing at my kids" reaction.

 

[CowboyCO]

OP here.

The kids (triplets) did tell and their mother confronted me. She wouldn't let me explain what happened just started yelling at me for cursing at her kids. I yelled back and things got bad. I had to call the police on her for grabbing me by the neck.
I guess I was just trying to see if I should have expected this kind of reaction from the parents. Not the assault but the "I don't care what my kids did, you are a horrible person for swearing at my kids" reaction.

And now I'm certain there was abetter and more civil way to handle it.

Sounds like a nice neighborhood.

 

[weewuvvdisney]

I guess the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree in the triplets family.

While I agree that swearing was not the best way to go about things..... the Mom was certainly in the wrong by sreaming, yelling and grabbing you by the neck.

What did the Police do?

Have you heard from the younger girl's parents or the boys parents?

What a mess!

 

[pixiewings71]

yes I would be upset with you for using that language, but I would like to think I would have asked you why you did what you did instead of simply flying off the handle at you.

 

[themilesfamily]

OP here.
The kids (triplets) did tell and their mother confronted me. She wouldn't let me explain what happened just started yelling at me for cursing at her kids. I yelled back and things got bad. I had to call the police on her for grabbing me by the neck.
I guess I was just trying to see if I should have expected this kind of reaction from the parents. Not the assault but the "I don't care what my kids did, you are a horrible person for swearing at my kids" reaction.

I agree with the apple/tree comment. If this is the way the mother acts -- violent, more worried about your swear word than her kids' behavior -- it's not surprising her kids act the way you observed them acting.

Just an FYI, the mother probably would have confronted you, swear word or not.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

OP here.

The kids (triplets) did tell and their mother confronted me. She wouldn't let me explain what happened just started yelling at me for cursing at her kids. I yelled back and things got bad. I had to call the police on her for grabbing me by the neck.
I guess I was just trying to see if I should have expected this kind of reaction from the parents. Not the assault but the "I don't care what my kids did, you are a horrible person for swearing at my kids" reaction.

I knew something like this was coming when I read the first post, but I still think you did the right thing by breaking up the fight. Plus, like someone else already said, the apple doesn't fall farm from the tree. I also agree though that you should not have cussed at the children.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Yesterday I witnessed some of the kids in my neighborhood fighting. These three 8 year old girls (triplets) were pressuring this younger girl (age 6) to fight two boys (6 and 8). The triplets would tell her to hit the boys then turn her around and push her at them. The younger girl would slap the boys and then they would punch her and knock her down. So I got really mad and yelled at all the kids to "go the f@#k home".
I am not proud of the language I used and admit that it was wrong, but I was so mad after seeing this that I flew off the handle.

My question is how would you react if you were the parent of the children I yelled/cursed at? Would you be paying me a visit to yell at me for yelling at your children?

I understand how sometimes reaction are just that reactions, but yes, I would be upset over your language, but most likely would not come and "visit" you over it. I would have appreciated it if you just broke up the problem and let me know. I think you did what you thought was right at the time, and if there is another incident, you will handle it different.

 

[Brit17]

OP here.

The kids (triplets) did tell and their mother confronted me. She wouldn't let me explain what happened just started yelling at me for cursing at her kids. I yelled back and things got bad. I had to call the police on her for grabbing me by the neck. I guess I was just trying to see if I should have expected this kind of reaction from the parents. Not the assault but the "I don't care what my kids did, you are a horrible person for swearing at my kids" reaction.

OMG ... I guess that may explain why her own triplets were behaving like they were ... I hope she didn't hurt you ...

As far as your reaction with the kids, I'm sure that wasn't the first time the kids ever heard a curse word ... and quite frankly, IMO, I think their mother over-reacted to the entire situation ... instead of assaulting you, maybe she should have stepped back for a minute and thought about even thanking you for watching out and taking an interest in her kids before someone got hurt ... or at the very least, just allow you to explain your side of the story before flying off the handle ... or how about this, maybe, if she were watching her own kids herself, none of this would have happened at all and her sweet little angels wouldn't have been subjected to a "swear word" ...

A similar situation like this happened to me ... a few kids from the neighborhood, and others who weren't even from here, were roughhousing in front of my house ... they were playing in the middle of the street, not paying attention to oncoming cars, and also flipping over the handle bars of their bikes onto a grassy area on the curb ... it was an accident in the making, no doubt ... so thinking I was being a good neighbor, I asked the kids to stop before someone got hurt or even worse ... they totally ignored me ... so I walked away until I saw one of the boys nearly get hit by a car, which thank goodness, was going slow and had enough time to stop ... and then another boy flip over his bike handles and land on the base of his neck ... it just made me shiver, and at that point my maternal instincts kicked in and I told them, ok, that was enough and they had to go home ... well, wouldn't you know it, in about 5 minutes their mother walked up the street and reemed me out that "it wasn't any of my business because they were playing in the street and not on my property, blah blah blah" ... I basically just stood their dumbfounded ... then I told her exactly what her kids and the others were doing and that I was "sorry" for watching out for the well-being of her unsupervised children & their friends before something tragic happened and I assured her that I would never do it again ... at that point she calmed down (I guess her kids didn't tell her the whole truth) and she went home quietly ... but let me tell you, it sure makes one question whether it's even worth trying to be a good samaritan anymore now-a-days ... and that's sad ...

So in conclusion, OP, I think your heart was in the right place and the kids won't suffer any permanent damages from your potty mouth ... in the contrary, you may have just prevented one of those kids from suffering a physical injury ... and I sure hope that their mother didn't cause you any injury either ...

 

[Mermaid02]

Swearing isn't illegal- grabbing your neighbor by the neck is.

 

[CowboyCO]

I'm actually taken aback by the response of dis'ers to cursing at children. I don't curse. Not at kids, not at adults. It's ugly and I don't want my kids exposed to that kind of language. Yes, they will hear it, but not from my lips, and I don't expect to hear it from theirs. Language is a powerful thing.

A simple, "Hey Kids! Knock it off and go home!" would likely not illicit a response that would require the calling of police later in the day. Language incites people to violence. It can also help keep emotions in check.

Let me ask you this -- do you think it is OK to be on vacation at WDW and hear a mother rip her kids head off while cursing in the Magic Kingdom? I think not. Then why is it okay in your own neighborhood?

 

[smb6]

OP here.

The kids (triplets) did tell and their mother confronted me. She wouldn't let me explain what happened just started yelling at me for cursing at her kids. I yelled back and things got bad. I had to call the police on her for grabbing me by the neck.
I guess I was just trying to see if I should have expected this kind of reaction from the parents. Not the assault but the "I don't care what my kids did, you are a horrible person for swearing at my kids" reaction.

Well, if she grabbed your neck she could actually be arrested for assualt.

Also, FYI- it is illegal to say what you said to a minor.