Pet Peeves, Part 3

Okay, time for Pet Peeves...........

Here's my new number one Pet Peeve. Don't get me wrong, I love kids, had two of my own and teach them all day long.....but, here's where I draw the line. I would love to go to a nice restaurant, just once, and not have my meal disturbed by a fussy child. We were sitting in Mimi's tonight and the booth next to us had a young couple with a girl about 4 years of age, (she was fine) and a young boy about two years of age. All evening he kept saying "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy" only to be ignored by his "mommy" who was trying to have a glass of wine and a nice conversation with her hubby! Hello! Can you say "McDonald's"? If you can afford to go out to a nice restaurant, you can afford a baby-sitter for a few hours! When is a restaurant, any restaurant going to have the guts to post a sign that says "Children under three not allowed", or at least have a section of the restaurant, closed off, where parents can eat with their very young children? Am I off base or what? 42

OH, I can beat this....

I worked in the restaurant of a Holiday Inn about 10 years ago and one night this couple comes in with their son, who was about 7 or 8. The minute they got seated, the kid was OFF, wandering about the restaurant (which fortunately was not crowded), going up to various empty tables and doing things like rearranging the silverware and picking up the empty water glasses and putting them over his eyes like binoculars. Finally after about 10 minutes of this the couple calls him back to the table. Of course the kid can't sit still for one minute. This culminated in the kid standing up his chair, THEN WALKING ONTO THE LEG OF THE CHAIR (they were long and quite wide), WALKING ONTO THE TABLE ONTO THE LEG OF HIS MOTHER'S CHAIR, WALKING ACROSS THE BACK OF HIS MOTHER'S CHAIR THEN BACK UP THE OTHER LEG BACK ONTO THE TABLE THEN ACROSS THE TABLE to finally park it in the chair oppisite his mother. Did the couple say a word this entire time? NOT A PEEP!!

And I swear I am not making this up! It happened like 4 feet away from me and there were other witnesses!!!

My sister and brother-in-law won't eat in public with the kids (2 and 3 years old). They are good at first because they are eating, but once they get done, they are all over the place. You just can't stop a bored kid.

Okay...I have a giant pet peeve that involves children. I can't stand parents that let their children go out in public without shoes! Maybe it is because I am in TN, but if I see another toddler with a mullet and no shoes running around in Target I am going to SCREAM!

BronzeisGolden said:

Maybe it is because I am in TN, but if I see another toddler with a mullet and no shoes running around in Target I am going to SCREAM!

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LOL!!!

No, it's not just a TN thing; I've seen it in Oregon and California as well. Children with mullets PERIOD; I don't care if they have shoes on or not. As far as I am concerned it is a form of child abuse to allow small children to walk around with that kind of hair. Especially with the little tiny ponytail of whatever length hanging off the back of the dang thing!!

Well, the parents who won't discipline their kids will get what they deserve in the end. There was a student at the school where I teach who was just amazing in a particular sport. Won the state title, lots of colleges wanted him, etc. But mom had indulged him all his life, and he didn't even last a semester at college. He could not accept that he wasn't #1 anymore. He's had a series of minimum wage jobs, but since he can't handle authority, he doesn't keep them long. So now, three years after he graduated, he tries to hang out at the high school all the time. Oh, and he still lives at home.

So, yeah, my pet peeve would be parents who don't teach their kids responsibility.

Laura

Well, it would help if parents could spank their kids w/out fear of being arrested for child abuse! There is no reason to beat a child, but a spanking now & then is VERY helpful! I was spanked & it didn't do me any harm.

I have many pet peeves w/ parents/kids, but the 2 that bother me most are: 1. Parents letting their kids run loose & scream in any public place (other than playgrounds) 2. Parents giving their kids whatever they want just to keep them out of their hair - can we say spoiled obnoxious brats!!!

Wow, I feel better for getting that out

Parents who allow their children to scream "NO" at them when asked to do something by the parent........ARGHHHH!!!!

Kasey

Kasey said:

Parents who allow their children to scream "NO" at them when asked to do something by the parent........ARGHHHH!!!!

Kasey

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Along these lines, but taking it one step further, how about parents who say "would you like to ....?", or "could you do this, please?", when they should really be taking charge and *telling* the child to do whatever it is. I'm referring to situations where the parent is not just trying to be polite (i.e. teaching the child good manners), but is really offering the kid the chance to say "no".

I must be cursed this weekend! We took our son and his girlfriend out for Japanese food Saturday (my son's pick because it was his birthday). We had late reservations and were seated around the grill when a baby at the next table starts screaming! Poor little one, smoke was in her eyes from the grill, it was late, and her parents had no business being there with her. This was a pricey restaurant, so (here I go again) if you can afford steak and lobster, you can afford a babysitter!!! 42

Oooh! Another one that came to my mind! I can't stand when parents bring infants to movies. I'm sorry, I realize not everyone can afford childcare....but that is ridiculous. Another one that is sort of related is parents bringing small children (1-8) to movies they should never be allowed to see. I remember going to see "Red Dragon" with some friends and these parents brought their two children (who were both definitely under 7-8 years old). Inexcusable! Maybe they'll realize how bad that is for a child when the house pets start disappearing one by one!

I once saw a kid running amock by pushing a stroller around a nice restaurant while mommy did nothing. Several wait staff almost tripped over this tyke, and you know darn well had they done so and hurt the child mommy would've sued.

I saw a post at snopes.com about a much worse child running on a rampage through a restaurant. Maybe I can copy and past it on here.

Another one: People who try to force everyone to worship their child. A gal at my church brought her kid around to every table and all but held him up like Simba in the Lion King during Circle of Life. Not everyone is into cooing over babies. Or wants to hold a baby.

Good topic!! This one even I can contribute to, LOL. I do my laudry at a public laundramat. There are these huge signs posted regarding not allowing children to play with or ride in the laudry carts. Lately there has been a rash of parents with kids in tow using the laundramat at the same times I do, and the mothers are always oblivious as to what their children are doing. This past week I was ramroded by a little boy, about five years old, pushing his little sister around in the laundry cart. I was nearly knocked over. Luckily I wasn't hurt. The mother was completely unaware that her son had done something he should not have. I talked to her, and she looked at me like I was from Mars. While I was asking her nicely if she could keep an eye on them so that wouldn't happen again, her daughter, approximately three years old, knocked over the trash bin and crawled inside spreading the contents all over the aisle way between the washers. All the mother said to the child was, "Now, sweetie, don't do that." At that point I notified the manager on duty who had a long, serious talk with the mother. During their *talk* the mother shot me arrows of evil with her eyes, LOL. Thankfully there were no more incidents from that point on.

LOL! Good for you, Blue Bead. I like the "arrows of evil" description. Most people would not do what you did, but you and I must be b&#@hes! Kids will be kids....but there is a definite line that should not be crossed (trash burrowing and indoor buggy derbies are far past the line!).

Imo, we are seeing the results of children being raised by people, who were raised by tvs. [I hope that sentence made sense.]
People don't seem to have the family structure and skills for maintaining consistent discipline. There are many factors at work. The results are frightening.

I was raised as one of 10 children. My mother was always busy and often stressed. Yet, she kept us toeing the line. I can't imagine telling her no. [Well I can, but it's ugly to contemplate. ] My older brothers tried as hard as they could to be cool, but they would not have dared get disrespectful toward an adult. Now, kids in the Jr high think nothing of throwing things and shouting foul language at passing adults.

I am not trying to say parenthood is easy or that I have all the answers. Honestly, I am not the woman I was before hormones took over my babies. I just see so many parents without a clue that they are supposed to be in control, let alone how to go about it.

It's sad to see a toddler throwing a tantrum, while the parent stands by helplessly. It's like they are thinking, ''How am I supposed to stop him?'' Um....how about picking him up and taking him home? Repeat that until the child realizes, bad behavior makes life really boring. I know it's inconvenient, but good parenting often is. If you want convenience, I recommend goldfish.

Sorry about the novel, I will now climb down from my soapbox.

I saw this on Snopes.com. Firsthand account of bad parenting:


In a restaurant last week (Golden Corral, a buffet style eatery), I watched a bratty child run around the restaurant - while his biological sires (I refuse to give a bad name to "parents") finished their meal. The kid raced around the tables, bumping into chairs while laughing and talking loudly. The parent were given several evil eyes from other patrons, then one big guy asked them to control their kid.

The parents were OUTRAGED that someone else would tell them how to parent, and let this guy know, screaming their displeasure across the restaurant.

As the manager approached to see what the ruckus was, the kid screams around the corner of a table and smacks into a waitress carrying a large tray of dirty dishes. The dishes went flying, and the waitress had the presence of mind to push the falling tray AWAY from the kid, so he wouldn't be skewered by falling knives.

The parent leapt to their feet screaming about suing and the horrible conditions at the restaurant, and the assault upon their beloved child.

The manager was very cool. He called the hostess over, who brought a Polariod camera. The manager took the outraged family's picture and loudly announced to the hostess to refund the price of their meal. He then asked her to add the picture to the "Wall of Shame" and instructed her, in the event that this couple EVER came back, to notify him and to call the police to have them removed from the premises.

As the jerks departed in QUITE a huff, we cheered the manager. He did't even react.

Now, are you telling me that the parents were NOT responsible?? I am just using this horrible memory as an anecdote to make my point. Some people cannot accept personal responsibility for the actions of their children.

Even MY kids were outraged at the actions of these parents, and my two eldest are eight and ten. You don't have to be an adult to see examples of poor parenting.

ITA with the person that said misbehaving children at laundromats. I don't do my laundry at a laundromat anymore (I go spy on my aging in-laws under the guise of doing my laundry there, just to be sure they're okay), but the *last* time I ever did my laundry at a public laundromat some little kid came up and----I kid you not-----bit me on the knee! And then his mother gave ME a dirty look. Go figure.
The other thing that made me decide that laundromats aren't for sane people around here was the 3 year old kid running around dressed in gang colors with the name of a street gang (which I won't mention here) stencilled on his T-shirt.

I think part of the problem is that parents need to put their kids first. Sure, parents can have a life, but not at the expense of their children's upbringing. Family vacations are a must. I see so many kids daily (I'm in the school system so I see a lot of them), farmed off to neighbors, grandparents, relatives, whoever so the parents can take a two week trip to Hawaii...........hello, you have kids, take them with you or plan big get-a-ways when your kids are grown............stay home and parent the kids you decided to have. 42

This thread is a little surprising to me. I have not had the same experiences with out of control children, although I do see examples of parenting decisions that concern me every now and then. I think that some of your statements have to do with your attitudes or perceptions of children (I'm not claiming that any of you are kiddie haters... just that perhaps you have a lower tolerance for their actions??) Adults can be just as rude or distracting as children in my opinion. Isnt it easier to just ignore other people and focus on the company youre with than to get your feathers ruffled about other peoples lives?

Longhornliz,...it's hard to ignore being nearly knocked off one's feet by an under-supervised child in a laundramat! It's also hard to ignore one or more out-of-control, shreiking children at the table next to yours in a restaurant. It's even harder to ignore the restaurant shenanigans if you're a server or a manager in that establishment. If another dining patron is injured because children are on the run in the aisles that restaurant could very well be facing a huge lawsuit. If someone is injured in a fall by a child horsing around in a laundry cart and that person is unable to work or take care of loved ones who depend on them, that is a serious problem. What has allowed such children to behave the way they do is being ingored by their parents, IMHO. Why should the rest of the populace have to suffer, maybe even be injured, because some set of parents can't or won't teach their children proper behavior in public? This goes way beyond a "lowered tolerance for their actions." Teaching young children acceptable manners in public prepares them for functioning in society later in life. Functioning in society is how we all get along with each other.