Boy Was Asked to Leave a Public Park

One mom wanted to reserve the playground for a girls' playdate.

Finding places to meet with other moms and children can be challenging, but a public park in a safe area is one of the least stressful options. However, one mom hit a road bump when she tried to organize a girls-only playdate at a park, and a mom with a young boy showed up.

She tried to ask the little boy's mom to leave, explaining that this was girls' time. But the other mom refused. This mom of a young daughter reached out to Carolyn Hax, a Washington Post columnist, asking for advice if the boy's mom should return.

Hax responded forcefully, saying that "shooing off the mom and her boy was terrible." She believed that instead of being treated as a boy's mom, she should just be treated like another mom - not segregated by her child's gender.

Aside from Hax's opinion on gender, the park is public, which means everyone is welcome. The playground cannot be reserved just because a parent wants to use it for a particular playdate. Click here for more details on Hax's conversation with this mom.

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Jenna Phipps

Jenna Phipps

Jenna Phipps is a writer, editor, and dancer based in Nashville, Tennessee. She enjoys working with other people to improve their writing, taking long road trips, experimenting with choreography, and reading many novels.


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