A routine afternoon at West View Park in Richmond turned into a heated neighborhood dispute after a local mom, Melinda Bussen, shared her experience on the Facebook group “Speak Out Richmond.”
Her post quickly drew hundreds of reactions and comments, with most residents siding firmly with her and her children.
Bussen explained that she took her kids to the park and was minding her own business when a woman approached and began yelling at her children to stop putting rocks on the slide.
According to Bussen, she was already aware of what her kids were doing and handling the situation herself.
Despite that, the woman walked over a second time and yelled at the children again, which led to a verbal exchange between the two before Bussen decided to pack up and leave with her kids.
She also noted that this was not the first time something like this had happened at that location.
The post struck a nerve with Richmond residents, and the comment section flooded with people who felt the woman had no business intervening in the first place.
Elisa Baker defended the children’s behavior outright, calling it “fully developmentally appropriate” and adding that putting rocks on slides and climbing up them helps kids with learning, experimenting, and cause and effect, as long as it is not bothering other children trying to use the slide.
Don Coppock took a more nostalgic approach, asking what kid never sent rocks down a slide, along with toy cars, dolls, pets, and whatever else they had available.
Eugenius Mattityahu echoed that sentiment, saying his own kids race down the slide to see if they can beat them to the bottom. He added that as long as children are not hurling rocks at someone, people should let kids be kids.
Krystyl Wilson pointed out that the woman had walked all the way across the street, climbed the steps, and physically blocked the slide over the situation, calling it “clinically concerning” and warning that neighbors like that can end up hurting someone over nothing. She told Bussen she had handled it well.
Jackelyn Goddard said she would have told her own kids to climb up the slide out of spite, and also suggested calling the police on the woman for disturbing the peace and being a nuisance, arguing the children were not breaking any laws, but the woman was.
The post also inspired some lighthearted organizing among residents. Jennifer Carpenter called on neighbors to pick a day, bring as many kids as possible, and have them put rocks down the slide one by one.
Joseph Glover said he wanted to visit the park just to put rocks on the slide himself, with Ryan Cook and Wade Opaczewski both jumping in and offering to join him.
TurquoiseMouse9159 noted that the last day of school is the 21st and floated the idea of a park meetup the following day.
The 21st is the last day of school. Anyone want to meet up on the 22nd? I’d love to see how many rocks I can swing on a swing
Rosalie Wombold summed up the community’s overall mood simply, saying everyone should take their kids to West View Park and let them put rocks down the slide like normal children.
As of the time of writing, the post continues to gain traction across Richmond with no signs of the conversation slowing down.
