When we went to an indoor playground this weekend I felt the urge to take several parents over my knee (mostly dads – my apologies to competent fathers everywhere for these were not glowing models of your species) and scream at them, “Bad parent. You’re on a time-out until you learn to teach your children how to act like human beings.”
Silly me. When I saw the sign that said, “This playground is intended for children 6 and under”, I assumed that an 8 year-old behemoth wouldn’t be stealing toys from toddlers. More importantly, I thought the sign, “All children must be supervised by an adult”, implied that parents would be doing something other than sitting around like a lump of skin while their children ran rampant. How foolish of me to think that everyone had an understanding of the definition of “supervise”. If you looked it up in the dictionary, it would actually read: 1. oversee people – to be in charge of a group of people engaged in some activity and to keep order or ensure they carry out a task adequately. Clearly, some of us were confused about the meaning of this word as this did not resemble the situation at all.
I suppose I have overly high expectations of people who are born with less than the optimal number of brain cells. I should really be more accepting of others when their child physically harms other children or destroys public property.
Some highlights of the delightful outing included:
-Watching a homicidal maniac who was clearly over the age of 6 (I think I saw him flash someone his driver’s license), throw gigantic pieces of plastic playground equipment near small children, while his father stared intently at what I can only assume was the most interesting spot on a wall ever.
-A dramatic car-jacking which left Elliot in tears. There was naturally no reaction from Super Dad. Wait. I lie. To prove he was paying full attention to his hooligan, the dad did laugh and remark to the child’s mother later on, “Look at him driving that car full-speed with his eyes closed.” He was right! It was hysterically funny when Fun Boy the Car Thief ran over a large speed bump that just happened to be my daughter and a baby playing peacefully on the floor.
And yes, I am fully aware that I’m not a perfect parent (nor would I ever claim that my kid is always a perfect angel) and I do believe in letting kids solve some of their minor disputes so that they can be independent and learn the fine art of negotiation. Sometimes, though a little effort on behalf of some parents would be nice. I’m not asking for miracles, just a little bit of common sense to know when to step in. Here’s a hint – if your child is responsible for intentionally spilling the blood of others or is picking on someone way, way younger than him, maybe it’s time to act like an adult and take control of the situation.
And now, my pissy rant is over. I feel much better.
You are SO right! My thing lately is people walking through the store with their children who are competely out of control and they just walk along like they don’t even hear the child! I have been in the store twice lately when a kid was screaming and throwing a fit so loudly that you could hear him throughout the store! They ended up in the same isle with me at one point and I wanted SO badly to go up and tell that kid I was going to bust his butt (yes, I believe in spanking!) if he didn’t shut up! Of course, I didn’t. I just walked calmly along like it wasn’t bothering me at all.
Andi, I hated those playgrounds when Fynn was little. I remember taking Fynn out of one when she was about 5 because there was a teenage boy there. It was obvious that the boy was developmentally challenged, but his guardian had no business letting him play in that area.
At Home Mom, I wish there were more moms like you around! When my daughter was little if she threw a tantrum, I’d pick her up/drag her kicking and screaming out of the store. People always looked at me like they were going to call the police because I wasn’t handling my child like a Faberge.
Yeah, Molly, I don’t know why parents won’t discipline their kids! My kids and I were in the store not to long ago and we saw a kid throwing a tantrum and my daughter (14 right now) actually turned to me and thanked me for disciplining her. She was very thankful she was taught not to act that way and that she hadn’t embarrassed herself like that!
Kids are so much more enjoyable to be around when they’re taught how to behave.
I say send the Raging Grannies after those poor parents. The Grannies have gone after the Government of Alberta .
Thanks for the comments, ladies. Glad to see I’m not alone in my utter rage. Although I’m not really into the whole spanking thing, that’s cool if that worked for you. It would be nice to see some parents take any approach to disciplining their kids…
Wow you got me worked up too by the end of the post. GRRR! Gotta love the hands-off parents.
Couldn’t agree with you more. Naughty kids are one thing but parents turning a blind eye really piss me off. I have a rather volitile nature and have no problem in telling off the kids or their parents!! There was a little boy with a radio-controlled car in the shopping mall the other day – I nearly fell over when his little 4×4 came whizzing past my toes. I told him and his father …..
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