STLSAHM

I will also say, in my own home, I am a bit of a stickler for toy treatment and organization, so I am typically the “patroller”. I have no problem excusing myself from an adult conversation to check on everyone in the playroom or basement, and intervene in conflicts before they become destructive. I am quick to investigate raised voices or crying, and if I’m the first one to the scene of a crime I will handle it in my own teaching/parenting style. If you want to have control over the outcome, you better beat me there!

As a former preschool teacher, I often find myself in group play date situations saying to the other parents “do you mind if I put my classroom hat on for this?” 10/10 times they are happy to pass the baton off to someone else.

I would take the offending child over to the broken toy, and ask them how it feels now that the toy is broken (sad, mad, happy, etc) and then direct those feelings to the owner of said toy and try to broker some sort of apology and peace treaty. Once I had refereed the children, I would return to the parent group and relay the state of the toy. “Well, I think that one is unsalvageable, someone might want to go confiscate anything similar” or “I hope that wasn’t valuable, it might need to be replaced.” Or even “I think it can be fixed with a little superglue.”

I am also a conflict avoider in my own relationships, so I agree it would be awkward and uncomfortable to feel like I needed to *ask* for replacements or repayment. I would be hoping for the offending family to take a hint, and unhelpfully maybe offer some passive aggressive commentary 🤣 I realize this is immature and unhelpful, thats why I was a preschool teacher and didn’t work with adults!