Thursday, August 16, 2007

Please Parent Your Children So That Others Don't Have To!

We went back to said coffee house today. As it is great. I love it. Minnow loves it. But please parent your children when you are out in public. Don't just shake your head and wonder why your kid is pushing, kicking, hitting, etc. And please don't offer excuses or psycho babble reasons why said child is aggressive. I don't care that he is the youngest of 3 boys. I want to see you do something about him hitting the girl. I want to see you watch your child, especially if you know he/she is aggressive. Yes, some of us moms can sit on the sidelines, drink our coffee and chat, because our kids aren't pushing, hitting, or ripping toys out of other kids' hands. I'm sorry that you want to sit with us, but you have a job to do--PARENT YOUR CHILD. That means that you need to sit in the play area with your aggressive, grossly misunderstood child and watch them and discipline them. By discipline I do not mean your quietly in nice mom voice say "No Hit" and then return to your seat--which is furthest away from the play area and keep talking. All of this is great until I see you watch as another mother has to wrench her child away from the blows from your child. And not until then do you get up, move, or say anything to your child.

If that is your idea of what a parent is, please don't bring your child to play with mine. As, I have my hands full parenting my own child. I don't get paid to parent yours. If you would like me too--I charge $20 an hour.

4 comments:

D said...

Here, here!

I'd like to add 2 addendums to your post, though.

1. If kids are running around crazy and screaming in a park, it's OK. That's what parks are for. Don't give me the dirty look for letting them scream.

2. If the kids are running around crazy and screaming in the supermarket/restaurant/library, it's not OK. Don't give me the dirty look for correcting their behavior and don't say stuff like

They are so cute. I don't mind. (Cuteness does not mean bad manners are acceptable...maybe celebrity does, but-)

Just enjoy them; they are only young once. (Oh, I do enjoy them. But, when they are teenagers and they spent the previous 12 years refining their unacceptable behavior, will you still think they are so enjoyable?)

Boys will be boys. (Yes, that's true. They should be allowed to play rough and tumble and work out disagreements on their own when appropriate. But just because they have the Y chromosome, they don't get a free-pass in life.)

They are much better behaved than a lot kids I've seen. (BECAUSE I STOP THE BEHAVIOR BEFORE IT BECOMES THAT BAD!!!)

Anonymous said...

Yikes... angry much?

Dawn said...

Not angry. Just tired of children who physically abuse smaller or more mild mannered children while the parents watch and do nothing. We are responsible for how our children behave when they are 2, 3, 4, 5. I am not responsible for your child and I don't want you to feel like you have to be responsible for mine. But you do need to be responsible for your own.

Lisa said...

AMEN sister!

If my child is acting up in a store (means he's tired) I take him home. Why should the rest of the public suffer because my child didn't sleep well?