Posted on 02/27/2006 10:48:23 AM PST by presidio9
I disagree. I have two girls. One is an absolute angel in public, and at home. Never made a peep, not even as a newborn. The other was an absolute terror, in public and at home. I rarely took her anywhere until she was about three years old, because I did not want to disturb everyone around us.
However, I guess I am not that ill-mannered, because I had enough sense to leave her home with a sitter or her father until she could behave in public.
This thread is about misbehaving children but I can't stand "adults" who refuse to be more socially sophisticated than say, a 5-year-old. Who wants to be around people who force a situation where one must either a) sternly rebuke immature behavior, or b) put up with perpetual manipulative BS?
Thank you for your understanding.
Oh, that's no fun.
Whips are for kids 35 and older. :-)
"Do you think this mother removed this monster from the restaurant ... no. I guess she figured it was alright for her child to disrupt everyone's dinner. People started asking for take out boxes to get away from this brat. Sure ruined our dinner."
That is a horrible story but thankfully rare. I don't know a single parent who wouldn't take a kid like that out of the restaurant, of course I don't know a single 7 year old who would act like that in one. A 2 year old maybe, but all of my kids have known from an early age that if they act up they're leaving. The problem is some parents threaten but aren't willing to follow through. It only takes once or twice of hauling your kid out of the restaurant, or actually NOT giving them dessert while every one else gets it, to teach them the lesson. Sure, you miss one or two dinners or have to listen to them whine but you get many, many more pleasant ones in return.
I was parented by fear and though it kept me from misbehaving I don't want my children to fear me-I have few if any pleasant childhood memories. We try to teach our kids that good behavior is rewarded and bad behavior creates its own consequences-not that they should behave well out of fear. That won't serve them well when they are grown and no longer need to fear us.
I certainly will say there are exceptions to every rule, and there are kids that are just bad without the parents' doings, but the general rule is that bad parenting gives rise to bad kids, and therefore, the parents' fault.
I had never before and haven't since witnessed such an incident. I must relay a story.
For a while I was single with 2 young children and we had been invited to a restaurant by my mother. I was really looking forward as it had been a long time since I had been out. Well, both kids proceeded to act up. They would not heed my warnings and I had to leave my meal and escort them out to the car. I was so mad that I was giving both of them swats on their behinds as we made our way to the car. A guy in an apartment building opened up his window and screamed at me to stop spanking my kids. Needless to say I ignored the guy.
Although I thought the kids were acting up because of the recent divorce I could not let them get away with their bad behavior and ruin everyones' meal. They never did that again in a restaurant.
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