Why Can't It Just Be Easier with Kids?

Sounds like the little girl was driving her nuts! She is tattling and grabbing her arm, I certainly wouldn't make my kid play with her. I would probably just say to my kid, "Look Sarah, I know that this little girl is driving you batty. You certainly do not have to play with her. But you can not be rude."
I think it's silly that we tell our kids they "have" to play with everyone. Personally I see some kids that I am glad my children have chosen NOT to play with them. So, I have always told my children that they can say, "no thanks. I am playing with someone else"
I may get boo'd but, it works for us!
L.

Being polite to everyone is one thing but playing together is another. I don't socialize with every adult. I quietly back away from the super-needy ones or the talkative ones that aren't interested in anything but themselves. Why shouldn't kids be different? I wouldn't want to play with someone who was tattling on me every couple of minutes either.

Maybe you can help your daughter talk to the other girl and say 'hey - it's not fun to play when you tattle to the parents. If you have an issue, let's figure it out. For all we know, tattling is the only time the other girl gets attention from her parents. Not every kid has great parents.

Would you want to play with a little girl who was constantly tattling on you? It sounds to me like your daughter has good judgement!!

I think it depends on the individual kid and they will know when they don't want to go anymore. My 14 yo step dtr is spec needs, mentally she is 5-6ish, so she likes to play in the play yard, it's "fun" for her. However, she is 5'8 and weighs 135#. She would step on those little kids! So she isn't able to play anymore unfortunately. My almost 11 yo dtr just recently decided she was too "big" to play, but she does like the video games of course. My almost 8 yo son will still play in the play yard but since his sisters don't anymore, he likely is to play the video games as well. So it just may be that your daughter doesn't want to deal with the little ones and is moving on! Good luck!

i agree with la. this other little girl might get her only attention time when shes tattling. as for your daughter you need to tell her to say nicely if she doesnt want to play with someone. maybe she didnt tell this other little girl that she wasnt interested in playing. kids dont have to play with everyone if they dont want to but they should mind their manners. if she just lets this little girl know that she doesnt want to play with her right now that should settle things. and you might want to mention to the little girl that your daughter is old enough to make her own decisions and to please stop tattling because its not nice. as long as your daughter is not cutting you out of the picture your should be fine.

My son grew tall fast. A lot of those play areas have a height limit, and he hit the limit (about 42" - it varies from place to place) before he was out of first grade (about 6 yrs old). There were a few places where the limit was a bit taller, but he was too big for all of them by 7 yrs old. Next time a little tattler tries to be a reporter, just tell her "That's nice. Have you tried the (slide, bars, area, etc) over there (pointing some place away from where your daughter is)? That looks like fun!". When your girls are over the height limit, then it's time for them to stop. I've seen management come over and clear the area of everyone before only letting kids back in who were under the limit. It's a liability for them if anyone gets hurt and the rules were not being followed.

aw well my daughter just turned 10 yr. and she still loves mc d. and well she is starting too be the same way- it is that stage is what the dr told me she maybe starting to change moods b/c of that change in life- mood swings-mensroals and all will be comming soon. just try to relax even know it is hard to do.good luck with this.
from M.
ps sounds like the girl was driving her nuts - try to tell her to stay away from kids like that go somewhere else to play.

You do need to watch b/c some of those places have an age or height limit or both. They really are for the younger set.
As for the tattling...some little ones just are like that and unfortunately don't have parents to tell them that it is impolite to tattle. This little girl obviously was one of them. If it happens again, just have your daughter tell whomever is doing the tattling that it is rude to tattle and she'll tattle her her for tattling. That should shut them up for a while and make them think...lol. Too bad that little girl ruined her time. Good luck and God Bless.

Maybe your little girl is grown up faster then we all want. Her body might be changing and she does not know what is going on. I had a family member at the age of 9 started her womanly dues. With the hormones that are in the milk and the food we eat. Just ask her how she is feeling. Just think of all the products that we use in the house or on are body. I makes us all age faster.

One thing I remember from my girls when they were very young in pre-school was something the teacher said to me-about tattling--when a child tattles they are really watching everything around them and if we tell them to stop well what is to happen when they are older-like teens/young adults etc. and they see something really bad like a rapist or a person doing something seriously wrong then have we taken the "report" away from them as children? Will they walk away and ignore what is going on? Maybe we need to listen to them and if in fact as they are children they first want our attention and second they want to be commended for recognizing what is going on around them. So what this means is listen to the little children and then decide if it is something that needs to be taken care of/and then give them the praise for seeing things-that may be enough for now--but who knows what and who it might help someday in the future--like us in trouble! Little kids love to know they are heard-and that can be as simple as a hug or a pat on the shoulder just to say "you did good". Think about this Moms--could be our kids that save someone in the not so far away future!!!!!

My recently turned 10 granddaughter still likes to go to those places. One thing we've noticed in the last year is that she is much more aware of personal space and has developed modesty which she's quick to defend. Sometimes she sends me out of the room when she's changing clothes and using the toilet. Other times she begs me to stay with her. I figure this is part of getting older and more aware of one's body. She's trying to figure out what she's comfortable with.

I didn't read any of the other responses. In response to your what happened, describing the boy's lack of respect for boundaries and her inexperience with enforcing boundaries, I wonder if she has to use "that" tone of voice to get the boy to move. I learned in therapy that I felt much of my anger because I needed the energy of anger to enforce my newly aware of boundaries. Once I was comfortable with the boundary I could enforce it without anger.