Clingy Kids, How do I deal with them?

[MermaidDelani]

I'm not a professional, though I'd like to be someday, and I'm very new to the public mermaiding stuff. I'd love to go on gigs and all that jazz, but I'm worried about the children. Some can be nice and sweet, I know, but I'm focusing on the mean and clingy.

So here's my experience:

Unfortunately my first major outing had a few problems that arose throughout the time I had been at the beach. I don't much like children, I'll admit, but I'll tolerate them for a long while. This particular child, however, was very touchy and grabby. She would continuously pester me and touch me; even if her grandmother took her away, she'd just come swimming back. Now, this wouldn't bother me so much, I mean it's great that mermaiding brought a smile to her face, but what she did made me uncomfortable (and a wee bit scared). I was diving and swimming with older kids when she came up and grabbed my diving mask that was resting on the very top of my head and began shoving me down with all her might shouting "DIVE, MERMAID, DIVE AND TELL ME WHAT YOU SEE!" I didn't want to push her away in case someone thought I was assaulting her, and I couldn't move without my tail bumping her, she was just that close. She just kept shoving my head beneath the surface and I was running out of breath. So I got her to stop and told her that I would if she'd give me a second. After I dove and told her I saw sand, she seemed pleased and her grandmother took her away once again.

How on earth do you deal with children like this?
I'm also a fursuiter and live by the rule that you NEVER touch the child, so how do I get them to listen? ;A;

[AniaR]

when kids get too clingy with me , and hey I like kids but even I get ones like that, I find the best thing to do is dive under fast and swim away somewhere deep that they can't follow. At parties and stuff I usually go to the deep end of the pool for a breather. It's perfectly okay for you to be direct with the child and say "I don't like it when you do that" and it's perfectly fine to say "I'm going to take a rest over here now" etc. Be direct. If the kids tantrums or something, it's not your fault. Their parents or guardians shouldn't allow them to do that to you. If there is a lifeguard near by you can even point to the life guard and say they don't like it when children do that etc. When in doubt just continue to be direct and call them out on the behaviour as politely as you can muster. This is going to sound lame, but you'll read it a lot in books that deal with negative behaviour in kids, that they're kinda like dogs being trained. You have to be consistent, direct, and keep your own emotions in check. If you've been direct with a kid and they're not listening and trying to continue getting your attention you actually ignore them. you can actually say, "I'm sorry, you're not listening to me right now so I can't listen to you." I know it probably sounds overly simple, but it really does work. Good luck

[-Annwyn-]

This is the very reason why I will not let children grab or 'ride' me (ride on my back). It's a safety issue regarding drowning and potential spinal injury. Plus, in my opinion it's degrading to me.

That's probably why I prefer to appear when there are less likely to be children around.

The little angels.....

[Mermaid Cascada]

Lol. As a merling I have to say that younger children have very fragile feelings.If you are to harsh when telling them to stop what they are doing that bothers you they will probably think the world is ending lol. When telling them to stop be forceful but polite. Some children just don't like to listen, so if that's the case you're probably better off swimming away like Raina said. I love kids but dealing with them can be very awkward so it's always good to have some consequences in place. When I say consequences I definitely do not mean physical, I mean like if the child is pushing your head underwater you should tell them "Please don't push my head underwater." If they continue you should tell them a consequence like, "If you don't stop pushing my head under water I'm going to have to swim away." Then if they still continue swim away.

[Odette]

I had this problem yesterday. After the main storytelling and tour of the park, the kids ran back to my pond and swarmed me.they touched my tail,asked a million questions,and came into the pond area when i moved into the pond for some shade, but i simply said "you should stay outside of the pond area, its very dangerous",they listened but when they don't, i get my mertender or another staff member to help me.I try to make sure someone is always near me on gigs. bring someone with you next time you swim in public.

[AniaR]

yes having someone else is paramount. Not just for kids, but for safety. My mertender has first aid and cpr, and he knows how to get that tail off me in 2 seconds if the need ever came up. He's protecting me from swarming kids, and drunk adults! It's really just good to always have someone with you.

[MermaidDelani]

Thanks for all the advice.
And I did have my father with me, it was really a family outing and my grandma wanted to see my tail, but he didn't do anything. (Thanks, dad. -_-)
I'll keep all these tips in mind incase I'm faced with another clingy child. Hopefully I won't, but if it happens atleast I'll have some ideas on what to do.

[Odette]

good to hear! i hope you have more pleasant swims <3

[MerEmma]

yes having someone else is paramount. Not just for kids, but for safety. My mertender has first aid and cpr, and he knows how to get that tail off me in 2 seconds if the need ever came up. He's protecting me from swarming kids, and drunk adults! It's really just good to always have someone with you.

Wow, I'm impressed. Seriously. That's pretty dang cool.

[Lotus]

It is. Wish I had a tender.

[Mermaid Danielle]

I'm not a professional, though I'd like to be someday, and I'm very new to the public mermaiding stuff. I'd love to go on gigs and all that jazz, but I'm worried about the children. Some can be nice and sweet, I know, but I'm focusing on the mean and clingy.

So here's my experience:

Unfortunately my first major outing had a few problems that arose throughout the time I had been at the beach. I don't much like children, I'll admit, but I'll tolerate them for a long while. This particular child, however, was very touchy and grabby. She would continuously pester me and touch me; even if her grandmother took her away, she'd just come swimming back. Now, this wouldn't bother me so much, I mean it's great that mermaiding brought a smile to her face, but what she did made me uncomfortable (and a wee bit scared). I was diving and swimming with older kids when she came up and grabbed my diving mask that was resting on the very top of my head and began shoving me down with all her might shouting "DIVE, MERMAID, DIVE AND TELL ME WHAT YOU SEE!" I didn't want to push her away in case someone thought I was assaulting her, and I couldn't move without my tail bumping her, she was just that close. She just kept shoving my head beneath the surface and I was running out of breath. So I got her to stop and told her that I would if she'd give me a second. After I dove and told her I saw sand, she seemed pleased and her grandmother took her away once again.

How on earth do you deal with children like this?
I'm also a fursuiter and live by the rule that you NEVER touch the child, so how do I get them to listen? ;A;

While keeping to your 'never touch the child' policy is important, if you are in danger (due to an action resulting from a child being in contact with you, like you said above) you may need to disregard it. Your safety must come first. I don't know if this is still the case, but in my school district, if an adult needed to come into physical contact with a child, such as to restrain them, they would hold the elbows of the child. Whatever my district's code was, deemed the elbows an appropriate place for such a situation. If this ever happens again, try holding the child at arms length, by the elbows. If your core and arms are strong enough, you may be able to restrain the child enough to say 'stop that' or 'hold on a minute', rather than waiting for the child to decide when enough is enough.

Always keep your safety first. After all, if something were to happen to you, the child could end up in danger as well.

Hope this helps! Best wishes!

[Elle]

I don't have a tail to swim in yet, but with my stepson, and god children I do know a bit about grabby kids.
Another option is to challenge them to a race or if the can't swim across the pool get the to time you to see how fast you can go. Re-direction can work really well.
So things like racing or floating, getting pool toys or something like that can give you enough time that they consider something else and you can get a bit of space.