January 15, 2005

On How To Be A Crappy Parent...

I decided to take son for a little outing today to McDonald's. The one that's got a playground. He was quite excited! We get there, de-shoe and up he goes. Now, some 6 year old little heathen has planted himself at the top of the playground, at the entrance to the tubes and isn't letting anyone else thru. Not much I can do about it being on the ground. But I watched my son be perplexed at why this other little guy wouldn't move, even when asked nicely. Thank goodness he just found another tube, though secretly I was wishing he'd wail on the little punk, but that's just me and not something I actually encourage.

So I continue to watch, to make sure that if that punk lays a finger on my son, he gets an earful from me. His mother thought (apparently) it was ok to bring 3 6-year olds and not watch them. So these three kids were being a pain to all the other little children actually trying to play on the playground. Grrr. I hate parents that don't watch their children, please, is it really too much to ask? And what if someone took your child? Most of these parents would have no clue for at least 20 minutes.

Fastforward 10 minutes. A 2 1/2 year old looking child comes out of the tubes crying. Some kid "hit" him in the eye...I think it was more than a hit because his entire eye area already looked like he was getting a black eye. Apparently - the 6 year old did it ( I heard her say his age ).

His mother gave him a medium-stern talking to and made him sit for 5 minutes...Ooooh, he's motivated to not do that again. Another child, told the injured child's dad it was more like a slap/punch right in the eye than being poked, which is what the injured child was saying.
The mom apologized for her son. Note that she did not make her son apologize. Also note that playtime resumed after his little time out. She later bought him a happy meal.
WTF is wrong w/these people?

If my son was the aggressor (and it is possible, every now and then, but since I punish more appropriately, not very likely) his punishment would be more like
1. apologize, face to face, while looking the crying child in the face
2. no more playtime
3. no McDonald's food. We'd be leaving the restaurant.

and my son is 3, not SIX. A 6 year old is definitley old enough to behave better, and to know that we do not, for any reason at all, even if the other child hit first, hit a child that's younger than him.

THEN, my son and I are enjoying our burgers, when I hear "you little TURD" screamed behind me. The very young mother (maybe 19?) is screaming it her very young toddler (maybe 2 at the oldest - note he was also previously playing on the playground, unsupervised). Apparently, he wasn't saying thank-you to someone that gave him something. Nice way to talk to (excuse me, scream at) your child.

What is wrong with these people????

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

OOOOooo...the "turd" mother reminds me of a mom I saw yelling at an 18 month old in the middle of Target for chewing on something she handed to him. OK..18 month old...at the perfect age of teething, chewing and exploring everything in the mouth. Don't give the kid something you don't want chewed up! DUH!!! Sometimes I wonder if it's really a good idea to have these people breeding!
Annie
http://therriault.blogdrive.com

Unknown said...

OMG... that is awful. I worry about what type of adults those children will grow into, and if they will continue the cycle with their own mis-raised children (I'm sure the answer is yes). It's nice to hear that you are such a level-headed disciplinarian (not that I would have thought otherwise, but you know)