Witnessing a playground argument or two is all part of the parcel of being a parent and is typically a good way to teach children about appropriate conflict resolution.
But one parent was left stunned when another parent decided to escalate a playground argument by calling the police on their autistic child.
The parent took Reddit's parenting forum to vent about the situation, explaining that they had tried and failed to even write the post because they are 'still in disbelief'.
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Explaining what went down, they wrote: "Long story short, other child (2) went to touch my autistic five-year-old’s son’s toy, and my son retaliated by pulling their hair.
"I and the other parent got the kids apart and from start to finish the incident was over in ten seconds.
"The other parents starts screaming 'What the f**k is wrong with you?!' at my son and I, starts recording us without my permission, demands our names, and says she's calling the cops."
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The parent then explained that as the girl's parent was shouting, she herself completely calmed down, and they did their best to deescalate the situation by repeatedly apologising.
But this wasn't enough to stop the other parent from calling the police.
They explained that when the police officer turned up, they were 'baffled' and left 'wondering why he was even called.'
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"[The officer] talked to her first and basically talked her down before coming to talk to me," the parent wrote. "He openly expressed that he didn't understand what she was trying to accomplish.
"He made a note of the incident, but told me that was the end of it and I was free to go."
The parent concluded the post by explaining that they were left 'tired' and 'hurt' by the incident.
"Parenting can be so rough sometimes, and parenting a neurodivergent child can feel so alienating as it is," they wrote. "I didn't think I had to worry about another parent calling the COPS."
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Reddit users felt this parent's pain after reading their post and agreed that the police should have never been called to the playground argument.
One wrote: "You should have told the police the 2 year old was attempting burglary. Wtf is wrong with people. I'm sorry you and your son had to experience this [sic]."
"Just remember that all that she achieved was creating a paper trail for herself saying that she's the type of person to do shit like this," added a second.
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"A lot of parents are batsh*t crazy," wrote a third Reddit user. "That is all. I'm sorry you had to go through that. Clearly she needs to bubble wrap her kid and call it a day. She probably should never let them leave the house in fact."
"That parent was looking for trouble," remarked a fourth. "I feel bad for her kid who has a long 16 years left with a nut case of a mother before they can move out! I'm sorry you had to deal with all that."
Topics: Parenting, Sex and Relationships
Emma Guinness