Did Anyone See "Dear Abby" Yesterday?
Dear Abby column of 9/11/11:
DEAR ABBY: How do you prevent damage in your home from children whose parents will not control them while they're visiting? I keep a box of toys and offer them to the children, but they often prefer to handle my personal objects, many of which are heirloom antiques.
One visitor allowed her child to jump on my sofa, then offered to replace a shattered ceramic bowl her son had thrown like a Frisbee. "It's not replaceable," I told her. "It belonged to my great-grandmother." Her response was that I should have put anything valuable out of reach.
It seems even the most polite suggestion to children angers their parents. My parents would never have allowed me to behave disrespectfully in someone's home. Must I show everyone the door because their children behave like animals? -- WHO'S MINDING THE MENAGERIE?
DEAR WHO'S: That's one intelligent option. Conscientious parents take the time to patiently teach their children, as yours did, that they can't touch everything they see. They also think ahead and bring toys they know the kids will enjoy in case they become bored. In cases like this, visit lazy parents only on their own turf or when they're child-free for an afternoon or evening.
I thought to myself WOW this is describing the modern day "free ranging" parent to a TEE. GG and the Behemoth are just such parents. They care not about the damage/destruction their kids cause.
At a national big box chain hardware/home improvement store, it became a running gag with me that every time we set foot into the store with GG's kids in tow, the announcement about how parents should watch after their children came on over the PA!! :jawdrop: They would race down the aisles, screaming and literally climbing the shelves or any unattended stock ladder nearby, practically slamming into several senior citizens during an impromptu game of tag.
GG would be absolutely BLIND to all this and never put a stop to it. I was never more embarrassed to be out in public with such hooligans!!
- Auteur's blog
- Log in or register to post comments
Comments
Wow!! I know what you mean,
Wow!! I know what you mean, my BF and his ex seemed to think that the world should be thankful to be blessed with the presence of the kids. I raised my kids to be respectful and not entitled.
The way BF allowed the BM to raise his kids as entitled to everything and everyone should just kiss their butt and be happy about it. It just makes me sick. SD12 has gotten a reality check about how the real world is and she is taking it well, better than I thought she would.
DH and I were floored one day
DH and I were floored one day when our BS1 was about 13 months old or so, we were at the mall and I was holding his hand and walking around one of the stores with him, while DH was looking at stuff and some random woman came up to us and said "can I just tell you how refreshing it is to see someone not letting their child just run around wild?"
We were like WOW! Isn't it ridiculous that well behaved PARENTS are such a rareity anymore???
I used to get those comments
I used to get those comments all the time with my bios. "My it's GOOD to see well behaved children!"
Oh yes, the one about the
Oh yes, the one about the incorrigible spawn of a friend who frisbee'd greatgrandma's bowl accross the room.
When the friend said "you should keep valuables out of reach" I would have fed her the shards of GGM's bowl then instructed her to keep her animal in a cage instead of exposing polite society to her walking failure as a parent.
Grrrr!!!!!
DH and I went to a local BBQ place on Sat night. We sat next to a family with two young children. Once boy and one girl. I estimate the kids awere 5 and 6. The kids were great. Well behaved, well spoken, they had my wife and I laughing for most of dinner.
We made it a point to complement the parents on their well behavaved, respectful and entertaining children.
When my SS was 5 he wouldn't
When my SS was 5 he wouldn't keep his hands to himself in a store, so I took him outside for a time out. He was so furious with me that he screamed and cried and tried not to stand where I told him to. I kept picking him up and putting him back which infuriated him further. Eventually he stood there and took his time out, and all was well.
About a dozen people passed me while we were having our time out. It was hilarious: about half the people glared at me because I was SO evil for punishing a child. The other half gave me appreciative nods.
Similarly, my DH had to take him out of a store for spitting on the floor (he has had a years long problem with spitting so there is a Zero Tolerance policy with that). He screamed and cried, etc. My DH actually had a stranger say "How could you be doing that to your child?" (meaning have him stand in time out?! We're not beating him here people!) My DH shot back "I suppose you just let your children spit on public floors?"
Some people, I swear!
Ahh so true. It's amazing.
Ahh so true. It's amazing. I'm "young" parent and it bothers me, so it's definitely not necessarily an age thing. I was just taught to be mindful of other people and other people's things.
Yesterday when we picked up SS4 and SD6 from BM's apartment, we were walking down the hallway. SS4 started acting like a ping pong against the walls. He was literally BANGING against each wall. I said to him, "SS, those are people's homes,a nd you're banging on their walls." He stopped immediately and I could see him looking curiously at all the doors and thinking about what I said...it's like he had never THOUGHT about that before. That's all he needed....he just needs an explanation. Do you think BM would ever do that? Hell no.
The skids step into her apartment and start SCREAMING and running around. I made a comment last night, "Wow you must be a fun neighbors to have!" in a joking way and she said, "Well the people across the hall have kids too." Ohhhhh, so that makes it okay.
That "anything goes" attitude
That "anything goes" attitude that allows children to scream, stomp, slam and destroy anything in their path is horrendous.
GG's kids do the same. Prince Hygiene, at the time stb 7 would just bang his hand over and over again against the wall b/c he was "bored" while watching TV. GG thought nothing of it!!!