Skateparks are for skating. It sounds simple enough, but parents are now taking toddlers to skateparks as if they’re playgrounds.

To no one’s surprise, an accident happened when a toddler suddenly appeared in front of a skater.

The toddler’s mom yelled at the skater, but the skater put the mom in her place.

Now she is wondering if she was too harsh.

Let’s analyze this cautionary tale.

AITA for calling a woman a bad parent after she let her toddler run free at a skatepark?

So me (16, F) and my friends (16, F and 16, M) all do tricks. They skate and I do tricks with my bike at parks.

The thing is that recently, most skateparks have been “taken over” by mothers with young children, which would be fine if the kids were also there to skate, but they’re not.

They just run around and use the ramps as slides while the mothers talk to each other and don’t watch them.

That’s so not what skateparks are for.

So that’s why we moved to a small local skatepark a couple of weeks ago, because it was one of the little parks where we didn’t see any mothers with kids (guessing that’s because there’s a sign that says no people under 12).

So yeah, earlier today we went to that skatepark after school because it’s nearby.

The whole park was empty, so we were free to try out new things (including the large ramp, it’s a really high one where you jump off, before landing onto a smaller one).

It was perfect. But then it got invaded as well.

I’ve had my eye on that ramp for a while, so I decided to try it out (it’s right beside the entrance so that’s why I haven’t done it until now, even though all the people who come here know not to get directly on the ramp).

Mid-jump (as in high in the air) suddenly a toddler (2/3 years old) comes running onto the small ramp I’m supposed to land off.

It didn’t end well.

But the thing is, I can’t really do anything except yell at the kid and its mother to move which I understand for the kid, but the mother didn’t even make an effort to try and push it away.

So I fell on top of the kid (which was thankfully okay) but at the same time I also hurt myself (hitting the kid ended up putting me off balance while I was in the air and I ended up scraping my upper body, bike and face).

She was caught off guard, and she is a kid as well, but that didn’t seem to matter.

The mother immediately started screaming at me (she didn’t even check up on the child which I DID for HER) how I should be more careful around children.

Then she threatened to call the police if the kid was injured even though I made sure it was okay, aside from a small bruise but it wasn’t even crying.

What baffled me is that I couldn’t have predicted that a kid would run in front of me.

Even if I saw it I couldn’t possibly stop, yet she had the audacity to yell at me for endangering her child which she NEGLECTED at an area that is FORBIDDEN for children.

She told the mom her honest thoughts.

So I snapped at her and told her to shut it and that if she cared for the child at all she wouldn’t be bringing it to a skatepark.

Then I went on to tell her she’s a bad parent and that she’s lucky I’m on the lighter side because the child could’ve gotten seriously injured and that it would be her responsibility.

And then out of nowhere she started demanding my parents’ numbers because she wanted to speak to them???

Her friends backed her up.

Thankfully my friends yelled at her to back off at that point and she got frustrated and stormed off.

Honestly I don’t know how to feel about this whole situation.

I feel a bit bad because as an older sister, I know VERY WELL that kids can run off somewhere in seconds.

But that’s why you keep a close eye on them.

It could’ve easily been prevented and even if it couldn’t have been, I feel like she had no right to go off at me like that.

AITA?

How embarrassing when a 16-year-old is more mature and responsible than an adult who should be protecting them.

Let’s see what Reddit has to say about this situation.

A reader shares their thoughts.

Exactly!

This commenter shares their point of view.

Yup.

Another reader chimes in.

Someone shares some advice.

That mom was in dire need to be called out.

If you enjoyed that story, read this one about a mom who was forced to bring her three kids with her to apply for government benefits, but ended up getting the job of her dreams.