Stores targeting tantrums

Carrie · 12-07-2005

It's not just restaurants. In our cub scout pack there are three kids who are *always* a problem. Two of them are 7yr old twins and the other is a 10yr old seriously overweight spoiled baby (and this kid is HUGE, not just overweight but tall and wide as well, if he'd exercise he'd be a force to reckon with).
They are constantly disrespecting the leader, talking over other people, disobeying, getting up and wandering around... the 10yr old won't do anything he's asked to do without a smartass "how much you gonna pay me?" remark.
I just became a den leader this weekend and this coming thursday is my first turn at handling the twins. The pack leader has suggested kicking them out if they don't straighten up, but I see it differently... these two are the ones who *need* the structure the most. They just need a firmer hand (which he doesn't have, he's too busy trying to be buddy-buddy with them).

The issue isn't the kids, it *is* the parents - and all of the adults in their lives. School teachers, bus drivers... all of 'em. If every adult is abdicating responsibility thinking that someone else is going to do it, then you've got a kid who is just plain wild.
Then again sometimes you have a kid who just does a complete about-face when you go out. They're nice and calm and sweet at home, get them out of the house and they go wild. My 5yr old is like that, so I've developed tactics like putting him in the big part of the cart the instant we enter the store, even if I know he's going to be covered in groceries by the time we leave. It's either that or have him drive me and everyone around us insane running around like a chicken with his head cut off.

I don't see that store's sign as being offensive at all. It's a good, non-confrontational reminder. I *do* take offense at one movie theatre here that has a sign saying "no kids 7 or under after 6pm for PG-13 or higher movies". 9pm, I could see... even 8pm. But 6? Most folks don't get off work until 5, get home just before 6... and to top it off, this theatre doesn't offer movies between 3:30pm and 6pm, so it's really no kids after 3:30pm.
There's a kid-friendly way to do it (like the store in the article) and a non-kid-friendly way to do it (move theatre)... but every privately owned business has the right to make whatever policy they want to. The public can vote with their wallets if they don't like it... getting into a mob and demanding that something be done by "someone" is just ridiculous.

Sin... when you're dealing with the kid nearly 24hrs a day and you're constantly getting the attitude/behavior it really is hard to not just start off at the uppermost level of being pissed off and tired of it, like the parents you mention. Are there other things they can do? Sure... but usually they need a break to calm down and think of those things; and having the kid non-stop means no breaks and no time to think about it objectively.

What gets me just as bad as the kid being out of control is the parents who act like the sky is falling because the kid is just acting like a normal, energetic kid. I see this all the time at the store. The kid is standing next to 10 feet of shelves of candy... of course they're going to get excited and want to touch it. These kids aren't going crazy or throwing a tantrum or screaming their heads off, they're just looking at the candy. Yet the parents are barking "I TOLD you to take your damn hands off of it! Touch it again and I'll knock your head off!" etc etc.
We had one woman who was so bad that I had to have another employee watch the register while I went and cooled off. This girl, probably about 11yrs old, was just browsing the movies. She never got more than 5 feet away from her mom and was always in sight. Yet her mother was literally yelling at her at least once every two minutes and threatening her because the girl wasn't standing RIGHT NEXT TO HER. She threatened to "hit" her, to "smack your face off", and worse until she finally threatened to "kill" the girl. The girl wasn't wandering off, either... she'd go stand next to her mother and start reading the back of a movie case and her mother would move away without saying anything. The girl would still be there reading the case and the mother would lash out at her because the girl wasn't glued to her hip.
By the time they left I was actually wishing she'd smack the girl so I could take the girl in the back and call the police, and it was all I could do to keep from going out to the bitch and saying "how about threatening ME, you fucking cunt?". I felt so sorry for that little girl.

Argh. Long enough rant.

Red · 12-07-2005

There is no excuse for parents not teaching their kids to behave in public.
My parents were always able to take my brother and I everywhere when we were little and I never had a problem with my step daughters. Even the older one (Satan's child) was extremely polite and beautifully behaved. (and she used that to her advantage to keep people from knowing that she was possessed with evil.)

Nickatilynx · 12-07-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red

There is no excuse for parents not teaching their kids to behave in public.
My parents were always able to take my brother and I everywhere when we were little and I never had a problem with my step daughters. Even the older one (Satan's child) was extremely polite and beautifully behaved. (and she used that to her advantage to keep people from knowing that she was possessed with evil.)

ahahahahahahahahahhahahahahaha

and I couldn't agree more with you

""There is no excuse for parents not teaching their kids to behave in public. ""

I take my kids everywhere with me. Top restaurants etc etc. They are always more than welcome and behave amazingly well ( if I say so myself). They are 12 11 and 7..OK , so the little one can get bored shitless after a little while (18mths old)...so as soon as he does start get a tad cunty..we exit...stage right...rapidly lol

MorganGrayson · 12-07-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nickatilynx

ahahahahahahahahahhahahahahaha

and I couldn't agree more with you

""There is no excuse for parents not teaching their kids to behave in public. ""

I take my kids everywhere with me. Top restaurants etc etc. They are always more than welcome and behave amazingly well ( if I say so myself). They are 12 11 and 7..OK , so the little one can get bored shitless after a little while (18mths old)...so as soon as he does start get a tad cunty..we exit...stage right...rapidly lol

Since this was one of my absolute favorite dinners ever, I can validate what Nick just said. Absolutely *lovely* restaurant, and his kids were much younger at the time. Not just perfect table manners, but dandly little conversationalists as well. (I adore that part!)
Made a certain other individual all that much harder to cope with.

My husband and I used to love taking our girls out to dinner with us. I remember once somebody said "oh, you couldn't get a sitter?" We attempted to convey a new concept: we actually *enjoyed* the company of our children and took them out to dinner on purpose. I suppose saying "look, if you don't LIKE your little monster, what the hell did you have him for?" wasn't the nicest thing I could have said.

TheEnforcer · 12-07-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by MorganGrayson

I suppose saying "look, if you don't LIKE your little monster, what the hell did you have him for?" wasn't the nicest thing I could have said.

Ahgahahahahahaha... i could just imagine the look on the faces of those people. :>))

Nickatilynx · 12-07-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carrie

By the time they left I was actually wishing she'd smack the girl so I could take the girl in the back and call the police, and it was all I could do to keep from going out to the bitch and saying "how about threatening ME, you fucking cunt?". I felt so sorry for that little girl.

Argh. Long enough rant.

but you didn't....

12-07-2005	#1
Carrie Eternal Newbie Respin bullshit press Your Comments Are Welcomed Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Inside your monitor Posts: 2,850	Re: Stores targeting tantrums It's not just restaurants. In our cub scout pack there are three kids who are always a problem. Two of them are 7yr old twins and the other is a 10yr old seriously overweight spoiled baby (and this kid is HUGE, not just overweight but tall and wide as well, if he'd exercise he'd be a force to reckon with). They are constantly disrespecting the leader, talking over other people, disobeying, getting up and wandering around... the 10yr old won't do anything he's asked to do without a smartass "how much you gonna pay me?" remark. I just became a den leader this weekend and this coming thursday is my first turn at handling the twins. The pack leader has suggested kicking them out if they don't straighten up, but I see it differently... these two are the ones who need the structure the most. They just need a firmer hand (which he doesn't have, he's too busy trying to be buddy-buddy with them). The issue isn't the kids, it is the parents - and all of the adults in their lives. School teachers, bus drivers... all of 'em. If every adult is abdicating responsibility thinking that someone else is going to do it, then you've got a kid who is just plain wild. Then again sometimes you have a kid who just does a complete about-face when you go out. They're nice and calm and sweet at home, get them out of the house and they go wild. My 5yr old is like that, so I've developed tactics like putting him in the big part of the cart the instant we enter the store, even if I know he's going to be covered in groceries by the time we leave. It's either that or have him drive me and everyone around us insane running around like a chicken with his head cut off. I don't see that store's sign as being offensive at all. It's a good, non-confrontational reminder. I do take offense at one movie theatre here that has a sign saying "no kids 7 or under after 6pm for PG-13 or higher movies". 9pm, I could see... even 8pm. But 6? Most folks don't get off work until 5, get home just before 6... and to top it off, this theatre doesn't offer movies between 3:30pm and 6pm, so it's really no kids after 3:30pm. There's a kid-friendly way to do it (like the store in the article) and a non-kid-friendly way to do it (move theatre)... but every privately owned business has the right to make whatever policy they want to. The public can vote with their wallets if they don't like it... getting into a mob and demanding that something be done by "someone" is just ridiculous. Sin... when you're dealing with the kid nearly 24hrs a day and you're constantly getting the attitude/behavior it really is hard to not just start off at the uppermost level of being pissed off and tired of it, like the parents you mention. Are there other things they can do? Sure... but usually they need a break to calm down and think of those things; and having the kid non-stop means no breaks and no time to think about it objectively. What gets me just as bad as the kid being out of control is the parents who act like the sky is falling because the kid is just acting like a normal, energetic kid. I see this all the time at the store. The kid is standing next to 10 feet of shelves of candy... of course they're going to get excited and want to touch it. These kids aren't going crazy or throwing a tantrum or screaming their heads off, they're just looking at the candy. Yet the parents are barking "I TOLD you to take your damn hands off of it! Touch it again and I'll knock your head off!" etc etc. We had one woman who was so bad that I had to have another employee watch the register while I went and cooled off. This girl, probably about 11yrs old, was just browsing the movies. She never got more than 5 feet away from her mom and was always in sight. Yet her mother was literally yelling at her at least once every two minutes and threatening her because the girl wasn't standing RIGHT NEXT TO HER. She threatened to "hit" her, to "smack your face off", and worse until she finally threatened to "kill" the girl. The girl wasn't wandering off, either... she'd go stand next to her mother and start reading the back of a movie case and her mother would move away without saying anything. The girl would still be there reading the case and the mother would lash out at her because the girl wasn't glued to her hip. By the time they left I was actually wishing she'd smack the girl so I could take the girl in the back and call the police, and it was all I could do to keep from going out to the bitch and saying "how about threatening ME, you fucking cunt?". I felt so sorry for that little girl. Argh. Long enough rant.

12-07-2005	#2
Red Dreaming of a Cowboy Hat like Max Hardcore Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 1,812	Re: Stores targeting tantrums There is no excuse for parents not teaching their kids to behave in public. My parents were always able to take my brother and I everywhere when we were little and I never had a problem with my step daughters. Even the older one (Satan's child) was extremely polite and beautifully behaved. (and she used that to her advantage to keep people from knowing that she was possessed with evil.) __________________

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