Women, do you get anxious or try to stop it when you see little boys (or girls) rough-housing and wrestling?

Question

I was at a musical hippy type festival in the evening yesterday and a bunch of the hippy mommies were dancing down in front of the stage with their children. Terrific. I am a big fan of hippy mommies dancing with their children, or any mommies, really. It's a great time for all of them, or so it appears.

Two of the boys gradually evolved from dancing around in a circle to chasing, tackling and wrestling on the ground with each other. They were going at it pretty good, but were both roughly the same size, neither was getting the better of it and, most importantly, both were laughing like crazy and having a great time. One of the boys was wearing spider man pajamas, so honestly, what can you expect from a little boy like that? God bless the little b*****d.

Both mothers swooped right in to break it up. They were being good natured about it, but very persistent. They very clearly did not approve of rough house playing.

I want to point out, too, that there was plenty of room for them to run and roll around without bumping into anybody else. It is quite likely that one of the two boys might have ended up with a bump on the noggin or similar bruise, but so what? Getting banged up used to be a part of daily life for most boys, and plenty of high spirited girls, too. And wrestling and rough-housing are socially acceptable and beneficial play activities for the young of pretty much every mammal species.

Answer 1

My son is not even 1 yet, but I don't think it'd make me anxious. I'm gratified when I see my daughter playing uninhibitedly, and I'd be gratified to see my son roughhousing in a situation that was not competitive. By that I mean, not headed towards an end in ritual humiliation, as such things often do, according to the nature of our species as you say.

It seems likely to me that the moms in question weren't completely socially comfy themselves, and their anxiety came from concern that other adults would find the behavior annoying and would judge the moms for allowing it. I could imagine being anxious about that, especially if the company at the event were not all parents, and I was a guest not a host.

Answer 2

If they are play-fighting I don't mind. I would just advise my kid to be careful not to really hurt the other kid. I wouldn't step in unless they were wearing good clothes that were getting all grass-stained, or someone got hurt or it was obvious that one kid wasn't having fun anymore. Otherwise, go for it I guess. Little boys especially need a healthy outlet for all that energy and aggression, and play-fighting isn't hurting anyone, nor will it make them grow up to be violent wife-beaters or something.

I wouldn't likely step in if either of the kids were one of mine. The only time I'd interfere then is if they got too rough and a bystander got hurt. Hubby and I were at the park a couple weeks ago. Two older boys were running around and having a bit of a fight. Not too serious, it was mostly just bluff and bluster. But one of them ran right into our little girl and knocked her flying and made her cry. Needless to say hubs told them to knock it off. If he hadn't I would have.

Answer 3

It depends on what is actually happening. It can be world-class thrashing or just a play-fight. I wouldn't break up the latter unless it got ugly.

Answer 4

no when i was younger i climbed trees, played fighted, pretended me and my brother were WWE wrestlers etc and it didnt ever do anything to me

Answer 5

I have 6 children(5 sons and 1 daughter) and I am use to horseplay.

I think it is a natural part of childhood and I don't interfere unless it takes place at an inappropriate time or location,  safety is an issue, or if they are being malicious.

That being said, my heart still leaps to my throat at times. lol

Edit:  I'm afraid I don't understand your comment.  If you care to clarify, I would appreciate it very much.

Answer 6

Never hurted me, it's just horse play

Answer 7

I usually don't break up rough housing unless it is somewhere inappropriate.  If it's at my house I just tell them to go outside if they want to do that.  My motto is if there is no blood or no broken bones then there's no problem.  That goes for my son or my daughter.  They like to rough house together even though my daughter is 5 and my son is 9.  My brother and I would do more than just rough house.  We fought.

Answer 8

No.

I like my kids engaging in activity.

Also, they exhaust themselves. Nap time!

Answer 9

I start taking bets...

Answer 10

Little puppys fight playfully among theirselves all the time as part of growing up.