Girl, 13, Publicly Humiliated over Her Weight by Waterpark Worker, Her Father Speaks Out

A young teenager who went to the waterpark with her parents was shocked when she had to step up on a scale and get turned away because she was overweight. They won’t be returning to the park anytime soon.

It doesn’t take a lot to ruin a person’s day, but it takes a lot to fix it. In this story, a young girl who just wanted to have fun with the newest ride in a waterpark receives harsh treatment.

Even worse, the altercation happened in front of her parents, and they took up their daughter’s cause, defending her and demanding repentance from the company that wreaked such damage on her mental health.

Andrew Batton speaking in an interview | Source: Youtube/KMOV St. Louis

THEY WANTED A NEW EXPERIENCE

Andrew Batton took his family to the popular waterpark known as Raging Rivers Waterpark in Grafton because they wanted to try out the latest installation — the Mississippi Monster.

When they arrived, a worker took one look at the teenage girl and told her to hop on a scale right there in front of people she didn’t know.

A view from the Raging Rivers Waterpark | Source: Youtube/KMOV St. Louis

Apparently, the ride had a weight limit of 200 pounds, but Batton’s daughter was 205. According to a spokesperson for Raging Rivers, the decision was made 200 pounds to avoid any accidents that could harm the guests.

Batton acknowledged that it was a valid point, but he wondered why there were no signs expressing this; that would have helped them avoid such an embarrassment. He said:

“I was like, ‘There’s nothing on the media about that. Was this posted anywhere? He was like, ‘No. We’ve had some people getting hurt so we’re limiting the weight on the ride.”

A view from the Raging Rivers Waterpark | Source: Youtube/KMOV St. Louis

A FRUSTRATED FATHER

Incensed by what had happened to his daughter at the park, Batton took to Facebook to pout out his heart in a post that quickly started circulating through the different channels on the giant networking app.

In his post, Batton narrated all that happened and expressed how disappointed he was in the park. He and his daughter had been season ticket holders for most of her life.

Batton wanted to know why there were no announcements of the weight in any media or signs that there was a weight restriction in place.

The angry father ended the write-up by claiming that the psychological damage the park, which had been a source of joy to his daughter for so long, did to his daughter would be treated for years to come.

A view from the Raging Rivers Waterpark | Source: Youtube/KMOV St. Louis

RAGING RIVERS RESPONDS

Regarding the incident, Raging Rivers shared a statement with News 4, and in it, they claimed that there was a sign of the weight limit at the base of the slide warning guests of it.

They also said that the scale was there to weigh everyone planning to use the new Monster ride and that it was per the safety requirements of the ride.

A view from the Raging Rivers Waterpark | Source: Youtube/KMOV St. Louis

Batton and his daughter may have decided to dump their season tickets; however, Raging Rivers has made moves to ensure such a thing doesn’t happen again.

Representatives of the park told News 4 that new water tubes for the Monster water slide would arrive later that week. The equipment was ordered to reinforce the ride for higher weight capacity.

A view from the Raging Rivers Waterpark | Source: Youtube/KMOV St. Louis

HOW ONLINE USERS RESPONDED

Batton’s post was met with mixed reactions from online users. Here are a few examples that cover the range of responses his post received.

“Who was going to pay if that girl got on the ride and tore the whole thing down?”

— (@Antoine M Moddieo) July 20, 2022

“May have been embarrassing but better than her falling out and dying.”

—(@Virginia England Israel) July 14, 2022

A view from the Raging Rivers Waterpark | Source: Youtube/KMOV St. Louis

“But if they let her on the ride and an accident happened, they would be blaming the waterpark for negligence and would sue them!”

— (@Kathy MK) July 14, 2022

“I see how this is embarrassing, however I imagine a lot of theme parks right now are being extra cautious with size/weight limits on this ride due to the recent tragedy of the young boy losing his life on a ride where weight limit was a factor.”

— (@Lori Michelle Emerson) July 14, 2022.

“Sad that his daughter weighs that much at such a young age and extremely sad that this father’s complaint is about the ride attendant doing his job to keep his daughter safe!!! The family of the fourteen–year old boy here in FL probably wish his attendant had done his job!! There had to be sign listing limits of ride, height, age, weight limits, the dad should have removed her from the embarrassment by leaving the line before it got to that point!!!”

— (@Linda Mercer) July 14, 2022.

Question to Ponder:

• What should the waterpark worker have done differently?

The Waterpark attendant had simply been doing his job because he was most likely aware of the risk, and if he had heard about the boy who died because he wasn’t fit to ride, he might have been trying to do what he thought was right. But could he have found any way to soften the blow?

• What would you do if you were the girl’s parents?

The girl’s father made an intelligent decision by airing his opinions on the Internet, and he also chose to stand with his daughter by boycotting the park. The park apologized after the incident and even ordered new pipes. Should the father try to make his daughter feel better and convince her to try the slide again? Or is it better to forever boycott the place where they have made so many happy memories?

Anomama