When did I move to Hamlin?

I have no idea what it is about my husband and me, but kids are drawn to us. If we are at a park with J, at least one kid will wander over to us and want us to watch or help them. Every single time!


Today at the park it happened to each of us:

• one little boy (3-4 year old) kept asking me to watch him go down the slide even while his Daddy was 5 feet away. I watched and cheered politely.
• a girl (5-6 year old) wanted M to help her slide down the pole while her Daddy sat on a bench with his phone on the other side of the park.M wisely refused to touch a strange little girl and instead directed her to her father

We tried to be nice and then we moved to the other play equipment - they followed. Ugh!


The last time J and I went swimming a 7-8 year old girl kept trying to get me to watch her while her parents sat pool side and occasionally told her they were leaving in 5 minutes every 10 minutes or so. I politely tried to explain to her that J can't swim yet so I had to watch him. Finally, when M joined us 45 minutes later, the parents told her to leave us alone.


Occasionally, the kids will attempt to interact with J, but most of the time they just ignore him and want our attention too. I guess we should be honored that we look so trustworthy to both the kids and the parents. But, honestly, sometimes when I go to the park, I just want to play with J and not babysit some strangers kid while they sit and chat or play with their phone.