Posted on 03/25/2009 7:26:37 AM PDT by Notoriously Conservative
I don't know the status of parenting in America. But I know a little about the status of education in America. Parents' growing inability to impose manners and limits on their kids when the kids are in school is reflected in record dropout rates, as well as teen drug and alcohol abuse, teen sex, and unwed pregnancies. Maybe it's parenting that's on the decline, more than the schools.
Exhibit A: My wife and I have just been seated for dinner when the maitre d' walks over and seats a young family at the table next to us and the kids start carrying on like orangutans on a leash.
The parents are going, "Timmy, that's not nice, don't throw your food, stop stuffing your mashed potatoes up your nose." Are mom and dad having fun yet, picking food up off the floor, apologizing to people like us, and wiping food flung across the table off their faces?
Some parents still have this attitude that their kids are too special to be burdened by discipline. And the rest of us are supposed to put up with their little mutants. That attitude really pisses me off.
I hate to break it to them, but the kids aren't special, and I don't have to put up with their behavior. If you can't control your obnoxious little brats, leave them home.
They don't belong out in public annoying other people, period. I don't remember a generation of kids ever so indulged and enabled to behave so badly. What's going on?
I remember as a kid I was expected to behave myself out in public or suffer the wrath of one very angry father. And of all the things that used to piss him off, those expectations didn't seem unreasonable. Something's gone terribly wrong here. My guess is it has to do...
(Excerpt) Read more at notoriouslyconservative.com ...
I don't think the author was saying that (Jack Cafferty is the author BTW come to find out which is kind of shocking), but the blog person commenting after the fact.
And I have had to do the Vulcan pinch on my kids in stores to get their attention. My husband did it one time to my oldest son in Wal-Mart to redirect his attention. He had a woman yell at him, "Hey, get your hands off that boy!" She followed him around the store too.
A few years ago my wife and I went to a restaurant and ended up seated next to a couple with a hellish five-year-old. They couldn’t control him; he sort-of listened to the mother on the rare occasions she could be bothered and absolutely refused to listen to the man at all (which makes me think he may have been a stepfather/boyfriend). Literally, at one point during the meal, the kid picked up a butter knife, brandished it at the adults while smiling broadly and impishly, and said, “I’m gonna cut yoooouuu!!”
Our daughter is currently three and she’s a double handful, let me tell you. Incredibly willful, and having trouble with the concept that she doesn’t run the house. Everything is a battle of wills with her right now; we win, but the fight itself sometimes feels like the Somme or Verdun. We know we’re doing the right thing, but man, it is hard work. We know we have to do it, though.
}:-)4
Some restaraunts have ‘kid sections’...We call them drive-throughs.
I thought the reference was terrific.
I don’t know why, buy god has blessed me with a basically good kid. She’s no angel, and I’m the first to admit that, thankfully she is bright enough to no longer act up in public, even though it means she has practically everyone we know totally snowed into believing she is some kind of angel :)
I knew a guy who told me that his dad only hit him twice. Knocked him out cold both times.
I thought the same thing--at least they are noticing that the behavior is wrong. I've heard kids belch and the parents don't say anything. One kid at a Cub Scout event, kept shouting out during a talk, "Is this over yet?" and the mother didn't say a thing.
I always appreciate when we are seated with other families or the restaurant is loud like a Red Robin :)
LOL that must be hardwired into our brains!
Our daughter was easy to raise, the son was all boy, nice but didn’t understand the word “whisper” or “I’ll explain later” - he’s an incredible young man and we never have problems with him either - but his twos and threes were a bit trying for me.... ;^)
These threads were made for single Dads like me.
Bookmarking.
I LOVE eating in Asian restaurants! Children and families everywhere, yet you can hear a freakin pin drop.
Got one of those 3 year old girls myself. Smart, cute, and innocent, but at the same time all too knowing, stubborn, and a smart aleck beast.
Yummmmm, whiskey river burger......
LOL :)
Wait til your father gets home is all I had to hear....
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Boy, did you get that right. I knew then that there was no way I was going to avoid the belt. When my parents took us out to dinner and if we did not behave....and thinking I got away with being unruly, when we got home wow!
Ah, the good ole days.
They're no different at 10, just bigger :)
Last year I was in a restaurant with some friends. We all had our kids with us, they ranged in age from 8 to 13. We were having a fine time enjoying good food and drink and each other's company.
Midway through our meal the hostess seats a family of 6 next to us. Their kids immediately start acting out, throwing crackers, slapping each other and the littlest one (about 7) starts running around with a full glass of ice water.
The little brat with the ice water runs up to the 8 year old at our table and dumps the water on her, back at his table his brothers and sisters howl with laughter. The little girl he dumped the water on is startled and scared she starts to cry but her mom consoles her and wipes the water off her, I go grab a stack of cloth napkins to help dry her off.
The parents of the little brat never leave their seat and instead yell at the top of their lungs for him to return to his table. He does and we resume are meal.
The idiot parents sit clueless while their brats start up again, the waitress gives the littlest brat another large glass of water. he promptly runs right back to the little one at our table to dump the water on her, luckily her dad jumps up and gets in front of him. He spills the water down the front of the little girl's Dad who then grabs the kid by the arm, takes the glass away and tells him firmly "go back and sit down." He runs crying to his Mom who yells at the Dad to "never touch her kid again."
At this point I have had enough and summon the hostess and tell her "You can Move us to another room, or those people (pointing to the idiot's table) but one of the other happens now or we leave for good." (we go to this restaurant alot and are good tippers).
She tells me she will take care of it. The manager appears at the idiot's table and informs them they need to move to the other room, now. The idiot mom proclaims they will leave and never come back, the manager smiles and sez sweetly "Oh Thank you so very much." As the family marches out of the Restaurant the whole room breaks into very loud applause and cheering.
That is probably the worst I've seen but certainly such is not out of the ordinary any more. I have certain adult friends who I will not go to a restaurant with if they take their kids. They let them wander around the room and carry on constantly. I don't go out to dine to have people act a fool near me.
My daughter has went to restaurants with us since she was 3 months old, We taught her how to act and she was never rude or acted out (except when she was a toddler and then she would just drop stuff on the floor that we always cleaned up immediately).
We never took her with us and then ignored her, we included her and made sure she had something she could quietly amuse herself with. Usually one of her favorite books or a soft toy. We would ask for a glass of juice or water immediately and a pack of crackers. The juice would go in her sippy cup and the crackers would give her something to eat while we waited on our food.
Restaurant manners have went out the window these days, I have no problem with people having a good time or folks talking quietly on cell phones but some folks insist on really loud rude behavior replete with obscenities. Also lots of folks now want you all to know they have a cell phone that has the walkie talkie feature or use the speaker phone feature and loudly carry on a conversation with someone who is not there. If you want to do such do it quietly otherwise put the dang thing away or go outside.
Since we are all sharing our stories, one thing I’ve noticed in stores (Wal-Mart, thrift) among some families from South of the border, is they let their children get into everything and destroy it. I’ve seen one with a stuffed, white soccer ball in Wal-Mart kicking it all around the store on the dirty floor. I’ve seen them in the toy sections at thrift stores all by themselves taking apart games and puzzles and getting out all the toys. I’ve seen a whole family one Easter sampling the chocolate Cadbury Easter eggs. This Tazmanian devil/tornado effect is also something I’ve seen happen at garage sales.
I think you’re right. It takes a couple years for the discipline parents instill to really show.
We’ve had strangers come to our table and remark how well behaved our children are, but it took time. The first couple years were hit and miss.
It took a couple embarrassing screaming fits (by the kids, not me :) in Walmart where I refused to let them get something they wanted before they realized I wasn’t going to budge. Consistency is the most important.
My kids aren’t perfect, but I get awesome reports from teachers and so far, they haven’t gotten in any trouble. I’m already scared about the dreaded teenage years, but hopefully they’ve got enough values instilled in them to see them through. I have a feeling I’ll be praying a lot.
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