I made a small child cry

[lostcarpark]

I feel so bad about this.

I was walking throught the hall of the Hinckley Island Hotel carrying a number of large boxes of Lego to load into the car.

"Where are you taking the Lego?" asked a small child (I'd guess about 3), with father in tow.
"I have to take it home," I said.
"The Lego room is finished," added the father.
"But I wanted to play with them again," a tear welling in his eye.
"You can't play with them today," explained the father, "we have to go home."

The was too much for the poor fellow, who loudly burst into tears. I apologised profusely, and hurried away feeling very guilty. I expect the father may have had to go shopping.

Comments

[ang-grrr.livejournal.com]

If it was the small child I saw then I wouldn't feel too guilty. He seemed to be able to cry for all sorts of reasons including, at one point, people sitting at the wrong table in the bar.

[lostcarpark.livejournal.com]

I don't know. He'd spent a good bit of time in the Lego room on Saturday, and generally had been a well behaved child.

[alexmc.livejournal.com]

I got told about a kid in the Lego room being a pain, but I didn't see him myself and don't know.

You should have said. "NO, ITS MINE, I BOUGHT IT, GO AND FIND YOUR OWN LEGO".

[lostcarpark.livejournal.com]

There was a kid who kept running around and wanting to play with things, but can you balme the kid? I think the parent was told to supervise him properly.

There was easily two grands worth of Lego in the room, most of it the personal property of people at the con, some of whom weren't able to be there to watch it the whole time, so a certain amount of paranoia was understandable. I had three large sets that people were building, so I wanted to keep an eye on them!

But you can understand a small child being disappointed.

[alexmc.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah, I know, kids will be kids. And that is why some of us try not to have them :-)

If I had brought Lego along it would have to be lego I didn't mind giving away to kids who had become attached to whatever they had built themselves...

I'm embarassed now that I didn't bring my K'Nex.

[hawkida.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't worry about it. And I rather hope the father didn't go shopping for Lego cos kids have to learn to handle this stuff because otherwise they turn into brats and stay that way until they learn *really* hard lessons of similar nature.

[lostcarpark.livejournal.com]

I was kidding about the shopping part. I suspect the child was fine. The break from the usual routine, coupled with a couple of lateish nights may have caused the child to be tirder and more easily upset than usual.

Or he could just be a brat.

[ang-grrr.livejournal.com]

I don't think he was a brat. I just think he found a lot of things very challenging.

[crazysoph.livejournal.com]

My thought, too, though I wasn't even there, and so don't know the individual kid. But it's a tough job, learning to moderate one's own wishes. As a kid, seems like everything just comes down like a ton of bricks (and not little Lego ones).

Crazy(and sometimes still learning... *wry look*)Soph

PS lostcarpark, I've also been in the boat, of possessing an item - buying it, even! - in front of a child, who then proceeded to have a temper tantrum. *ouch* I followed the general guide of the parent, in the car with us, but boy, that wasn't really a feel-good moment. So, sympathies.

[lostcarpark.livejournal.com]

Ooh - a ton of lego bricks. Want!

[whotheheckami.livejournal.com]

Don't worry about it. The crying child count for me was a follows:

1. Child at breakfast when we were zombies
2. Little girl who lost her Kite
3. Michelle when Ivan clocked her one with a light sabre

Stand strong young sir!

[66steve.livejournal.com]

You've already got the experience of seeing how immature minds wheedle, you well know what to do when, let's see some self-belief!

Guilt is for those who've erred.