I know that this might sound mean or bitchy, but seriously - I am sooo tired of parents bringing their children into the stores that I work at and not watching them. Not just ignoring them, but coddling them until they're screaming at the top of their lungs because you have the nerve to speak to someone else, and take attention away from them.
I am tired of trying to clean snot and food off the clothes on the floor so that we can sell them. I'm tired of telling kids to get off the step stool, get out of the window or stop pushing the mannequins because they'll fall over and break. And I'm tired of listening to the whining and fake crying that went on for half the day today.
Why can't parents tell when their two year is fake crying?! It's actually sounds like waaaah haaaaaa, waaaa haaaaaaaaa, and coupled with the mom (or the dad) going shhhhhhhh, it's okay, shhhhhhhhh it's okay, shhhhhhhhhhhh I just wanted to walk over and smack them all. It's FAKE for fuck's sake - and every time you fall for it you teach them that this is the way to act in public. Smarten up!
If you can't (or won't) look after your kids and keep them quiet, then they don't belong there.
Okay, now I feel better :)
indeed.
ReplyDeletenothing worse than a whiny,screaming brat..just as bad..Their parents aren't parents..they are glorified babysitters..but that's giving them too much credit.
I hate that...and I used to have a boss who would get upset with me when kids would run around knocking things over...my boss made it my responsibility to make sure the kids behaved...but that's an awkward position to be in because of course the kids' parents are the clients and think their children are perfect angels.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you 100%! I NEVER let my kids act like little brats/monsters... if they started, I would grab them and take them outside. The worse thing for me is for other people to be disturbed by MY kids so acting like monsters was strictly forbidden. I think a lot of that "permissive" upbringing has put the world in the shape it's in.... no discipline!
ReplyDeleteAgreed.
ReplyDeleteYup. Teaching your kids to behave properly in public is actually doing them a big favor in the long run. If they don't learn from parents that being bratty is bad, they'll end up learning it from the rest of the world when they're older.
ReplyDeleteKeep a box of morphine syrettes near to hand for such occasions. Wonderfully calming.
ReplyDeleteThat is one of my biggest complaints at work. Not as much the noise, but the complete lack of attention paid. ( I will also check for snot tommorrow, I never thought about that!) Our fabric store is more of a warehouse, and we have 100 yard bolts of fabric everywhere. Kids are pulling on things and trying to get in between the bolts, and no one is paying attention! If you get one sliding it can take a whole row down with it, and having been on the receiving end of a falling bolt of upholstery fabric, it would not be a good place for a 3 year old! Some parents are just using getting out of the house as a way to not be responsible for their kids. Our store is big with wide aisles...just like a playground right? grrrrrrrr
ReplyDeleteI'm like Dorrie in that my kids were taught early to behave in public. I was always complemented on their behaviour which actually made me a bit sad because it seemed to be such a relief to people! They obviously didn't see it much. It has definitely made life better for them as they grew.
sorry for the long comment...have a great Sunday, Kate!
Sing it! My sister in law was one of the "it's okay..." and it drove me up a tree.
ReplyDeleteI see a lot of this, being that I spend a lot of time amongst this age group. Even, shudder, occasionally out of my own perfect, little darlings!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was getting my extraordinarily useful Ancient Egyptian History degree, I remember reading a 4,000 year old passage about how each generation is progressively worse than the prior one. Each generation, you see, has a deterioration of values and discipline...
I often wonder if there is something wrong with those young ones. Maybe a mental problem going from the parent generation to the child.
ReplyDeleteIt is easy to solve for any parent when young children act this way. Take them home and leave them. Only take them out when they learn the proper way to behave.
That worked for my two.
Roz
Oh Man can I relate. I had an employee that once said to a Mother "Excuse me but could you control your children please?" she was sooo offended. I just laughed. I don't get it either. Frustrating as hell.. Happy Sunday Kate!
ReplyDeleteI agree.If I absolutely HAD to take Reece with me when I went shopping,he was strapped down in a stroller he couldnt get out of or reach anything.
ReplyDeleteI feel like if my kid breaks or dirtys anything in the store then I am responsible for the item and I dont want to be so I always kept him from messing up anything.Most people just dont care.They will let their kid run ramped in the stores cause its easier for them to shop if there kid is bothering someone else.
When I take Latimer shopping I make him sit inside the cart and not get out and if he does I am about 2 feet away from him at all times.Hes just too quick for me:)~ If a child is 5 and up they should have more sense than to act like that in public.
I had to keep Jamie inside a cart too. We always took a blanket so that she could sleep, and often had a book with her. If I let her out, she'd hide somewhere, so that was rare.
ReplyDeleteYou go !
ReplyDeleteLinda
Very poor parenting...and we wonder why we as a society are in such a mess.
ReplyDeletewildstorm - that is so true!
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ReplyDeletei'm glad you did that for me! the other day, i went to my favorite breakfast nook for a relaxing meal and was disturbed my kids having tantrums the whole time. that totally wouldn't have flown when i was a tot and i don't know why parents are so bad at disciplining these days!
ReplyDelete