[metmom]

I just can't believe how I hear kids talk to their parents these days. I was shopping the other day and some 2 or 3 year old was pitching a fit and then I heard him yell, "BAD MOMMY!" twice. There didn't seem to be any reaction on her part although I saw the father gently talking with the son. But kids that do this in public aren't usually doing it for the first time. You just can't reason good behavior into a toddler. They perceive this "gentle", controlled response as weakness.

[moog]

I just can't believe how I hear kids talk to their parents these days. I was shopping the other day and some 2 or 3 year old was pitching a fit and then I heard him yell, "BAD MOMMY!" twice. There didn't seem to be any reaction on her part although I saw the father gently talking with the son. But kids that do this in public aren't usually doing it for the first time. You just can't reason good behavior into a toddler. They perceive this "gentle", controlled response as weakness.

You hit that nail on the head. One of my students' moms said to me, "She acts that way because she knows she can manipulate me." There was no manipulating my dad at all (unless I washed the car first and promised to get gas). My mom was a little more lenient, but not much. If we got in trouble with her, it was "oh cr--, now I'm in double trouble."