I wouldn’t be surprised if some nanny is “bringing up” these kids. For one thing, the kids seemed to have an abusive attitude towards this lady not just for personal reasons, but because they regarded her as hired help whom they had some right to abuse.
I once lived behind a very expensive private school in Manhattan, attended mainly by the kids of wealthy media people, attorneys, etc., and they were so foul-mouthed and abusive in the playground that they made the gutter punks in Harlem look good. At least there was some excuse, their miserable environment, for the bad behavior of the latter group.
I’ve known some pretty nasty middle income level kids with fowl mouths along with upper and lower income level kids also. I do not think you can judge the kids these days strickly going by what income level backgrounds!
....the kids seemed to have an abusive attitude towards this lady not just for personal reasons, but because they regarded her as hired help whom they had some right to abuse.
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Perhaps. But I think that poor behavior goes on in far too many homes because children are often just not taught anymore about showing respect for adults and authority figures. There is very little “yes, sir” or “no, ma’am” heard these days. Children brush right past adults. I have had fairly big kids bump into me in stores without even batting an eye as they are making their way to whatever it is they want to get.
When a child does hold a door for me or step back to let this lady pass, I make it a point to praise their manners. It makes it even better if I can see a parent nearby so that I can compliment mom or dad on the child’s good form.
I taught my Gen-X boys to hold the door for me as soon as they were big enough to do so. They are, as adults, very polite and gentlemanly, and, before they were married, I often heard nice comments about them from their female friends and girlfriends.