Mother asks if children should be ‘forced to share’ after son is ‘pushed’ for not sharing on splash pad

‘I 100 per cent agree with you on the sharing! No one should be forced to share!’ one viewer says

A mother has questioned whether children should be “forced” to share after revealing an incident in which her son was allegedly “pushed” by another child on a splash pad for not sharing.

Skye Amundsen, a mother from Maryland who goes by the username @hopeandplum on TikTok, reflected on the incident in a video posted earlier this month.

According to Amundsen, who noted that the video was a “message to the mom that had the audacity to tell me that my son should have to share at the splash pad,” she and her two-year-old son had been playing at a local park with an outdoor sprinkler when the confrontation occurred.

“Now, hear me out before you judge me. My son is two. He’s playing. He likes to step on the little things on the splash pad and stop them from splashing up,” the TikToker said. “This splash pad has tons of these, so he’s not hurting anyone.”

In the video, the TikToker said that a little girl, who was “unhappy” with her son’s behaviour, then walked up to the two year old and “pushes him”.

“She’s bigger than him and she pushes him. And my son’s like: ‘No’ and he steps back on it,” Amundsen recalled. “And she pushes him again.”

According to Amundsen, she was “sitting there watching” and “waiting” for the mother of the other child to intervene. “I was like, well, you know, I’m going to give her a chance,” the TikToker said.

Amundsen said that the other mother didn’t intervene despite the woman’s daughter allegedly pushing her two year old for a third time. However, after the third time, the TikToker said her son got “mad” and pushed the other child back.

“So I intervene, because I’m his mother and I’m not going to let him push people,” Amundsen continued, adding that, as she was talking to her son, the other mother approached her to confront her about her son’s behaviour.

“As I’m talking to my son, this woman has the audacity to say to me: ‘You should really teach your son to learn how to share, it would be better for him,’” the TikToker said. “I’m sorry, my son should learn how to share? Your daughter walked up and shoved my son three times, so my child should allow your child to push him and that’s acceptable and he should share with that human?”

In the video, Amundsen then acknowledged that “everyone has different opinions on sharing,” and that she “likes” sharing and “thinks it’s nice,” but also doesn’t believe “you have to force your child to share, especially when another child is getting physical with them”.

According to Amundsen, she ultimately told the other mother that they could “agree to disagree” when it came to their respective opinions about sharing.

As of 25 July, the TikToker’s video, which she captioned: “What do you think? We don’t force sharing and find our kids do it naturally most of the time. But why would anyone share with someone being mean?” has been viewed more than 609,000 times, prompting other parents to weigh in in the comments.

In response, the majority of viewers said they agreed with Amundsen on the basis that sharing shouldn’t be expected after “pushing”.

“I totally agree with you. Definitely not sharing after pushing. Oh heck no,” one person wrote.

Another said: “Absolutely agree. Also what is he supposed to share? I don’t understand, she wants him to let her use the single water spout that he was playing with?”

“Wowww, the nerve of that other mom. In all fairness, you have better control than me,” someone else wrote, prompting Amundsen to reveal that she was “too stunned to speak” during the confrontation.

In response to another comment, she said she was in “true shock” but that she was later “kicking” herself for “not saying more”.

Speaking to The Independent, Amundsen said the other mother did not respond after she suggested they “agree to disagree”.

She also said she did not make any comments about the pushing, as she was “speechless” by the other mother’s response to the situation.

“When I made the comment to the other mother she did not respond, and I walked away to get my toddler and newborn into the shade,” she recalled. “I did not make any comments about the pushing as I was speechless at the mother’s response and pivoted my focus to my toddler who was upset at the interaction.”

As for the viral response to the video, the TikToker said it has been “interesting” to see the ways the online community has reacted to a conversation about the “expectations” placed on children.

“It has been an interesting conversation with other parents online about the expectations we place on young children when we do not expect the same from adults,” she said.