Disclaimer: If you are a parent of a child(ren) who acts out in public and you think that it's perfectly acceptable and the rest of the world should just put up with it because "they are just kids"..you will NOT like this post. Oh and just to be clear...I DON'T GIVE A SHIT!
In a restaurant, on a plane, while I'm shopping...it doesn't matter where I am it seems that I am always in close proximity to a crying, screaming, acting out child. And before all you parents out there get your panties in a bunch I GET that they are kids...I ALSO GET that you as parents should attempt to DO something about your child when he/she is acting like an obnoxious lunatic in public!
It NEVER fails...whenever my husband and I go out to dinner, a family with one of these children are sat right next to or behind us. It doesn't matter if we are the only people in the restaurant...inevitably they will be sat next to us.
Take last night for example. Joel and I had some shopping to do and afterwards we decided to stop for a quick bite to eat. The restaurant was pretty empty and we were sat down at a nice booth. We placed our order and then IT happens...two families with 5 kids were sat down directly behind us.
Look, I understand that children will occasionally yell or cry and that doesn't bother me in the least. Especially, when I can see that the parents are attending to whatever it is that the child needs. What irritates the HELL out of me is when a child continues to do this and the parents IGNORE it!! Look you MOFOs... parent your children!
And don't give me that crap about you have as much right as everyone else to go out with your children...I AGREE with you. It's when you disrespect MY rights, that I have a problem. You may be able to overlook your child crying and screaming and kicking the back of my seat, but I assure you... I CANNOT!
Soooo, to the man that continued with his adult conversation last night and ignored his little girl as she was SCREAMING at the top of her lungs, "DADDY...DADDY...DADDYYYYYYYY". You should know that I wanted to turn around and punch you in the junk! The only thing that saved you was that my husband talked me down off the ledge by offering me chocolate if I restrained myself...you should Thank Him!
I think the next time I am in this situation I will mimic the child's behavior and see how tolerant others will be of me. (and yes you don't have to point out that I am an adult and should know better) I'm guessing it won't take long before I am asked to change my behavior or leave the restaurant...Hmmmm...what a concept!!
Oh, sister, tell me about it. Children need to learn how to behave in a public place, because guess what? They don't learn it on their own. it's okay to stop what you're doing and say, "Please be patient and don't interrupt. It's unacceptable" to your child. Yes, kids will act out sometimes. But when it is repeated behavior, then it's not okay. It's rude to other people who every right to enjoy their experience. Aw, jeez... such a pet peeve. My husband and I have no problem telling parents, "Engage!" We don't care, we'll never see these people again.
ReplyDeleteI have to talk my husband off the same ledge quite frequently. . . He usually says something like. . ."if you would spank them, you wouldn't have those problems." (USUALLY LOUD!)
ReplyDeleteOh Cristina I am soooo going to use your "Engage" comment the next time (and there WILL be a next time)...and just to be clear I do NOT blame the children at all...it's the parents who allow the behavior to continue that I want to punch in the junk...lol!
ReplyDeleteLol Becka...I guess I am the one who has to be talked off the ledge most often in my marriage...lol My hubby has the patience of Jobe...Me? Not so much!
ReplyDeleteWell depending how ur children act.....spanking doesn't always work. Like I've said b4.....my child is THAT child and no matter how many times I tell him to settle down and sit still...he doesn't listen. For some reason inpublic he loses his head! And it doesn't matter HOW much medication I give him....he CANNOT control himself. So needless to say we don't go out much!
ReplyDeleteOh Danielle...I don't believe that spanking is the answer and I feel for those parents who DO try to correct their children and have little success. It is the parents who will completely ignore their child's behavior that drive me CRAZY!
ReplyDeleteI SO agree with you! Parents of our generation are mixed up. They intellectualize everything. They want to TALK about everything. REASON it out, if you will. They want to be their kid's best friend and they are DEATHLY afraid to PARENT. I am old school. I know damn well that I am NOT my children's best friend (umm, or friend). They will behave according to MY rules while under MY roof. They know this as well as they know their 'abc's. If any of my boys acted out in public they would have my Louboutin so far up their asses that I'd be able to see my little red bottom shoe by looking down their throats. My Mantra? Little but Mighty....Little but Mighty.
ReplyDeleteTonya, although we've chatted on Twitter numerous times, this is actually my first visit to your blog. I'm sorry for not making it over here sooner!
ReplyDeleteAnd wow, what a great post to kick off my comments with. I could write a 10-post series on this topic!
Like you said, it's hard not offend someone when you're talking about this topic. But, LOL, oh well...it happens.
My daughter is six years old and is always well behaved in public. But that's because we communicate and work with her. Sure, she's a kid, so there have been times when she's acted up and what not. But in our case, those are the extenuating circumstances - not the norm. You're 100% correct - to all the parents out there - parent your kids!
Kids misbehave yes. But normally I get irritated when I see it because the kid wants attention. For instance, it's always amazing to see a kid throwing a hissy fit, crying and screaming while the parent is sitting there texting. Sigh.
Oh Lori...I LOVE you...Little but Mighty INDEED! I Know I wouldn't fuck with you...LOL!
ReplyDeleteConstant Complainer...thanks so much for stopping by..hope you return ;-) I certainly agree that kids will be kids but that's EXACTLY why Parents need to be PARENTS! I know there are MANY parents that do this well...unfortunately I seem to come in contact with all of the ones that don't...lol I look forward to chatting with you more...thanks for the comments!
ReplyDeleteNow that we no longer have Smoking and Non-Smoking, it'd be nice if we could divide by Kid-friendly and Keep Your Evil Spawn Away from Me.
ReplyDeleteI love kids, but I definitely respect Adult Time.
Bahahahaha Poppy...that made me "literally" LOL...Table for two in the Keep Your Evil Spawn Away From Me Section Please ;-)
ReplyDeletei think....we were seperated at birth. this is very possible. I am NO fan of children and it seems that without fail whenever I am in public there will be a screaming crying little asshole disguised as a deceptively cute child within earshot. This makes the idea of never having children so so appealing. I totally would have been passive aggresive about that and asked the manager to speak to the parents haha.
ReplyDeleteOh Rach..I do believe you may have something with us being separated at birth..it NEVER fails that we are sat near the screaming child..Grrrr..
ReplyDelete