I’m still crabby about yesterday afternoon’s basketball experience, so I probably shouldn’t be posting, but I need to rant.
When my boys were younger and we’d be in public, I was often reminded that even though they were driving ME crazy, most everyone else thought they were being cute — like when they’d talk in church or something.
And now that I’m older, most of the time I do find other people’s kids cute as opposed to obnoxious, but wow, I was not impressed with the people I was forced to sit with at the basketball game yesterday.
I’m talking about little kids (2 to 4 year olds) who were all over my personal space. Some of it was cute, the little guy with freckles that kept peeking at me and looking into my knitting bag. But the one that was behind that kept bashing into me? And standing on my stuff? Or the one that grabbed the boys’ basketball and wandered off to play with it?
Or the ones climbing up and down and up and down???
TELLING your kid to “Knock it off” and then ignoring them does NOT get them to stop what they are doing. They are ignoring YOU. And they are completely and totally bored with having to sit in those hard bleachers for 2 hours with nothing to do but stand on top of me. OH, and all of the sugar you are feeding them from the concession stand isn’t helping anything, either.
I guess I’ve never had to deal with younger siblings being dragged to the older kids’ sporting events, but I’m pretty sure that if we had other kids, they would NOT be allowed to act they way all of these youngsters were acting.
Or maybe I’m just turning to a wicked old witch who should just stay home and knit.
This is totally why I never leave me house/have children. I was in K-mart the other day getting essentials for my trip home and this woman had two of her kids with her. Apparently the daughter was allergic to peanuts and son really wanted some cookies with peanut butter in them. He was screaming his head off about it and the mom mentioned the allergy and never said anything else. He seriously screamed for the entire twenty minutes I was in the store and she never said another word. I suggest backhanding him, but she ignore me too.
I totally bought myself a jar of peanut butter though, it was awesome.
Amen! This seems to be a rampant problem anymore.
Oh I am soooo with you! If you are turning into the Wicked Witch I’m right there with you. Nothing drives me more bonkers than parents who have no control of their young children. If the little kids can’t behave in public they should have to stay home! Call me a grouch, but I never let my child act that way, and if she ever did act up in public the next time she would have to stay home.
Wanna come down and help me teach these useless parents?? So many parents are SO CLUELESS these days on raising their children. Someone ought to line these parents up and just slap some sense into them.
Suzanne, I too, am an old fuddy duddy. I can’t stand bad behaviour in other children. I never put up with it from my own , so why would I subject other people to my childrens bad behaviour. Sadly, so many are not that considerate.
I have resorted to outright telling other children that they should not touch my stuff/talk that way/behave that way. Always in a positive tone, mind you, so llittly Johnny doesn’t even realise he is being told. I don’t understand how there are so many absent minded (ie not noticing what their children are doing) parents these days. Last week I was doing the grocery shopping and this Mum with 3 loud children who were complaining all the way through the store. The whined all through the checkouts. As soon as she paid, she handed them all treat. WTF??? Talk about reinforcing all of that negative behaviour!
Nope, you’re cool. Some people don’t want to or don’t know how to parent. Parenting means sometimes being the meanie and giving your kids limits. Unfortunately, discipline and punishment have come to mean the same thing……… and some take it to the extreme.
Then parents wonder why teachers and other adults that work with their kids can’t get the kid to do anything …….. they’ve learned to ignore adults.
Hang in there hon………… just know you are raising yours right!!!
I got into a line at the grocery store yesterday behind a big tank of a guy and his almost 3 yr old son (guessing). The boy was lifting his leg to get out of the seat in the grocery basket. Dad told him “No, sit down” and kept unloading the cart onto the conveyor belt. As soon as he turned his back, the kid had one leg almost out. I said “Sit down in that cart”.
The father heard me. And I said to him “I don’t mind playing the bad guy if it keeps him in the cart”. The boy started to cry. The Dad grinned and said thanks.
I think sometimes parents forget that it only takes an instant for kids to get hurt or lost or worse. “I was only on the phone for a second….” or “I thought he was in his room” don’t cut it with me. They are YOUR kids, YOU take care of them. When kids are that young, if they are not practically under your feet, then they are too far away. JMHO
In your case, Suzanne, those kids had a baby-sitter at the game…it was you. LOL
Yep…I feel the same way. I know if I would have misbehaved in public, I would have got my fanny beat and it would have been worse if Mom or Dad hadn’t been there and they heard about it later from someone else. I do believe that to many people have taken Dr. Spock’s book to heart when a child needs to be disciplined. I think that is why there is so much padding on the behind…for spankings when needed! 🙂