McDonald's play land: Update pg. 2

[worm761]

i am a manager at mcdonald's. this incident is horrendous!!! you should call the police and file a claim. children are NOT allowed in the playland without ADULT supervision!!!! i have kicked more than one kid out of my playland because their parents were not out there with them. please call the police in the morning. this was assault on your son. especially if the manager didnt act horrified! i have employees with kids. i have a kid. and yes i have taken him into work with me. my sitter was running late i had to be there. he wasn't there for anymore than a half hour and he sat in the back watching cartoons. never unsupervised in the playland. i am totally appalled! if you do not get an email back from corporate look at a bag or cup. in small writing on the bottom of the bag or along the seam of the cup is the 1-800 number for the corporate offices. if you dont have any or dont want to go back let me know and i will see what i can do for you. {{hugs}} to your son and you. i would be livid too.

 

[hentob]

It is not too late to call the police and file a claim. That will also scare the manager of the McD's enough that I am SURE he will forbid those workers to NEVER bring their children to work again.
Call the authorities. You will be glad that you did.

It is with great displeasure that I remind you all of the poor child that was murdered in the UK several years ago. The murderers were children themselves. They lured this sweet toddler away from a mall, holding his hand. Then then took him to railroad tracks and I won't even type the rest of the story.

I am not saying that your child could have been murdered, but OMG, what if your mother hadn't caught those girls when she did?!?!?! The neck is a delicate part of the body. I have shivers up my spine, I can NOT imagine how you feel.

Children are capable of serious damage. It is sad, but I see the way many parents treat these "bad" kids and I can see where they get the violence from.



Poor little guy. {{Hugs}}

Hentob

 

[Mishetta]

I'm so sorry that happened you your DS! I would have not thought of calling the police either, but after all the posts, I don't see why you wouldn't! That would certainly send a message to the irresponsible parent who left her (capable of murder) children there to (terrorize) play, not to mention, sending a clear message to the manager to enforce the 'no unsupervised children' rule for the play area.

I have NEVER let my children play in those play areas. Twice I took my oldest to Chuck E. Cheese's (once for his own b-day party & once for a relative's b-day party) & both times he got really sick. The time after his b-day party he got hand/foot/mouth disease & it spread to my DH & then to me. We both lost a week of work & my DH had the blisters so bad on the bottom of his feet that he had to crawl on his hands & knees around the house! So that was it. NEVER AGAIN. We decline party invitations when they are at indoor playscape places. Too many germs, not to mention, too many (obviously in your case) terrorists!

As a Mother, I would file a complaint with the police dept. This parent may decide to bring her children again & the next time, the innocent child may not be as fortunate as yours. Just imagine, spinal cord injuries, etc....

 

[my3kids]

I would still call the police. McDonald's knows exactly which children were involved. I would probably also call my local news or mother's group, or at the very least tell everyone I knew about what happened. If the manager allows such a practice in his store, he shouldn't be the manager. Public outrage and people not going in there any more would certainly let him know his store is not up to standards.

I am very sorry your child had to go through that. Hopefully extra hugs and kisses will help him get over the incident. Some parents might not have been a quick to react as your mother was, just thinking it was normal loud play. Even children can cause a tragedy. I'm so very glad your child is home and safe with you.

 

[ckr]

You NEED to call the police and/or DSS. From what you've described, you cannot dismiss the predator theory posed in one of the replies above. Those children need to be checked out before they are able to do more damage than what they've already done.

 

[isyne4u]

I got a call this afternoon from the manager of the McD's. She had been contacted by the owner of her restaurant and she wanted to find out what had happened. I explained the situation and she was horrified! Then when I told her that the parents were employee's she was MAD! She knew exactly who I was talking about and she couldn't believe that they had left their kids in the playland without supervision! She asked what the manager on duty's response was and when I told her virtually nothing she was furious!!! She told me that if they were on the clock (they are a couple) when this happened they will be immediately terminated. She said she would also deal with the manager.

Then she asked me what she could do for me to keep me as a customer. I thought for a minute and thought about saying a lifetime supply of Happy Meals but decided against it!!!! lol! Instead I said, "You know many people have suggested that I should have or that I should still call the police because this was technically an assault on your property." Dead silence. "However, I am not going to do that." I swear I could feel the rush of air as she let her breath out! I told her that I wanted to know that they were going to enforce the supervision rule. I want to know that when I take my son in there he is not going to be subjected to abuse from other patrons ( I know that is not one she can control but it is worth a try) and that I want to know that someone is looking after those kids to make sure they are not left unsupervised in other places. Apparently the family is living in a motel behind the restaurant. The manager was very nice and was very concerned about Jarrod and his safety and promised to call me tomorrow to let me know what happened when she talked to the people involved. She has children and she said she won't even let her kids go to the play land if she is not there.

So we will see what happens when she talks to the others. She worked with all of them today and no one said a word to her about it! So she was pretty ticked.

Thank you for all the good thoughts and the suggestions. I'm glad to know I'm not just over reacting!!! Jarrod was good today, he has one small bruise on his cheek but as a rough and tumble boy it is hard to say if it is from the girl or not. He actually wanted to go back today, but we told him not today (don't think we could handle going in there just yet!)

thanks,
tara

 

[binny]

wow glad to know the manager is at leats on the ball.

You were very restrained! Im proud of you lol

 

[momof3disneyholics]

I get so sick to my stomach when I read about this. If those people were a couple and didn't have a baby sitter then they should be working different shifts.
I remember when my oldest son was 3 we were in a Mcdonalds and he was playing in the ball pit with some other small children then 3 big kids (over 10 years) came in and jumped in it. They were playing really rough so I got my son out and went to complain to the manager. I got the blank stare and then he said he would check it out, but I left and never went back to that one anyway ( there were like 5 of them in our city). It really amazes me because it states on the equipment that you have to be below a certain height and that Mcdonalds doesn't enforce that.

 

[CaliforniaDreaming]

Glad the manager (I assume store or first assistant manager) contacted you. It's such a shame that this happened, I feel sorry for your son. Let us know how the situation ends.

 

[CEDmom]

I'm glad the manager called you and she is taking the incident seriously. I'm also really glad the incident doesn't seem to have had a lingering effect on your son.

 

[Lanshark]

What a horrible incident. I too would be absolutely furious.

Of course they are taking this seriously. They are afraid of a lawsuit. These weren't just other patrons children. They were the unsupervised kids of an employee who was on the clock.

 

[vald1977]

This post makes me livid and sad at the same time! Your poor little ds. I'm really happy to hear that he is okay now. These kinds of incidents are the reason why I HATE this type of place (indoor Mc D's playlands, Chuck E. Cheese)!!! It makes me absolutely sick to think that people can't control and supervize their own children and they are set loose to assault others.

If Mc. Ds is going to have these types of playlands, there needs to be a full time attendant assigned to that area at all times enforcing the rules and kicking out the kids who break them.

 

[Briar Rose 7457]

Originally posted by mudnuri
I would have called the cops- assalt on my child even if by another child- will be dealt with by the proper authorities...and then after they are done dealing with the assalt, they will deal with the employee/parents who left there children unsupervised for who knows how long....

Also- in every McDonalds I've ever been in, they have the contact info for the franchise owner on the same wall they have all the "super mcdonalds awards"....

Good luck but I would have called the cops....and you can bet your ****, they would have been taking pictures of it!!!

Brandy

what would you expect the police to actually do? the children involved are far too young to be legally responsible for their ations.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Wow, I am so glad that you received an approriate response from the Owner of the McDonalds! You were right to pursue this as far as you have!

I do have one other thought... I know that everyone is horrified about the 'terrorist' children. And rightfully so. and have focused on your DS and your response to this awful incident!! But, I am also concerned about these poor children, living in a motel room, parents on the clock at work leaving little preschool aged unsupervised, etc... (No wonder they seem to have these problems!!!)

I would go to your Department of Childrens Services immediately and relay ALL the information that you have learned about these girls. (Document EVERYTHING.... names of children, parents, date, time, etc.....) If this family is already being handled by Childrens Services, then Childrens Services would need to know about this situation with these girls!!! They would need to either confront these parents, or if there is a 'history' then this would be added evidence if needed for DCS to put these poor children into protective custody and to get them the real help that they might need.

 

[Briar Rose 7457]

Originally posted by isyne4u
I got a call this afternoon from the manager of the McD's. She had been contacted by the owner of her restaurant and she wanted to find out what had happened. I explained the situation and she was horrified! Then when I told her that the parents were employee's she was MAD! She knew exactly who I was talking about and she couldn't believe that they had left their kids in the playland without supervision! She asked what the manager on duty's response was and when I told her virtually nothing she was furious!!! She told me that if they were on the clock (they are a couple) when this happened they will be immediately terminated. She said she would also deal with the manager.

Then she asked me what she could do for me to keep me as a customer. I thought for a minute and thought about saying a lifetime supply of Happy Meals but decided against it!!!! lol! Instead I said, "You know many people have suggested that I should have or that I should still call the police because this was technically an assault on your property." Dead silence. "However, I am not going to do that." I swear I could feel the rush of air as she let her breath out! I told her that I wanted to know that they were going to enforce the supervision rule. I want to know that when I take my son in there he is not going to be subjected to abuse from other patrons ( I know that is not one she can control but it is worth a try) and that I want to know that someone is looking after those kids to make sure they are not left unsupervised in other places. Apparently the family is living in a motel behind the restaurant. The manager was very nice and was very concerned about Jarrod and his safety and promised to call me tomorrow to let me know what happened when she talked to the people involved. She has children and she said she won't even let her kids go to the play land if she is not there.

So we will see what happens when she talks to the others. She worked with all of them today and no one said a word to her about it! So she was pretty ticked.

Thank you for all the good thoughts and the suggestions. I'm glad to know I'm not just over reacting!!! Jarrod was good today, he has one small bruise on his cheek but as a rough and tumble boy it is hard to say if it is from the girl or not. He actually wanted to go back today, but we told him not today (don't think we could handle going in there just yet!)

thanks,
tara

sounds like this manager is on the ball.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Briar Rose,

Yep, you can bet your bottom dollar that if I EVER see little pre-school children left unsupervised I would be calling the cops and DCS IMMEDIATELY!!!

The children are not responsible... But the parents certainly are!



Also, in addition to my original post... If McDonalds is now put in the position where they feel that they must terminate these employees, then this is added HUGE problems for this family. If they are in a situation where they are living out of a hotel room, and feel that BOTH parents must work a minimum wage job at McDonalds, leaving tiny children unsupervised... (they certainly will not be free to bring these children to work with them any longer...) and now they lose their jobs, and therefore their hotel-room. I would definately want DCS to be informed right away.

 

[Yzma and Kronk]

What an awful story - glad to hear your DS is OK.

isnye4U - when reading your update I had a thought.

I remember going to a McD's a few years ago (in Canada) and was surprised to see they had a person who actually worked in the playland. She cleaned tables, put away trash, and generally supervised the children, and made sure they were playing by the rules. This was in the day they had ball pits, so she spend a majority of time putting the balls back once the kids threw them out (and telling the kids not to throw them out). She also went into the tunnels a couple of times to rescue little ones.
I think this was a Saturday, when that particular playland was extremely busy.

At the time I remember thinking what a good idea, because as we all know those playland eating area's can become a real mess.

They may not want to employ a person to specifically work the playland, but at least should assign someone to check it periodically.

Maybe you can suggest this to your local McD's.

 

[isyne4u]

The manager called me back this morning to let me know that the father was off the clock and was supposed to be watching the kids, he said he was getting food while the kids played. (He was sitting so far away from the window that he could not be seen from the play area and had no food in front of him...) So he was reprimanded and told that he could not leave the kids unattended while he waited for his girlfriend (the mother) to get off work. They work different shifts so that they can take turns taking care of the children.

I told the manager that my DS said this morning on the way to school as we passed the restaurant that he didn't want to go back there any more because the people are mean. The manager kept asking me what they could do to make things better. I had no answer other than to make sure the employees keep an eye on the play area and that those parents learned their lesson about leaving the kids alone.

the manager wanted to host my son's birthday party with as many friends as he wanted. She said she would pay for all the food and everything. But my son has his heart set on a Wiggles part . So she wants me to bring him in one day and she will make it a special treat for him with a goody bag and food for the whole family. I will take her up on the offer because I don't want him to be afraid to go back or to go to play areas where he doesn't know the kids.

As for the police, if I had called the police it would have been more against the McD for not enforcing their own rules. Because I know there is nothing they could do about the children and I wouldn't want them to do anything. I worry about their behavior from a special ed. perspective and wonder what has happened to make them mean like that. i expect someday we may see them in a program for kids with emotional / behavior disorders. I am glad the family didn't lose their job, that would make things more difficult. I just hope they have learned a lesson about leaving their children alone like that. Who know it could be their child the next time who gets beat up on!

thank you for eveyrone's concern!!!
tara

ps. I like the idea of having someone in there to monitor. Seems to me certainly a manager should have done some kind of check to make sure all kids were with parents!