I Love My Kid Even More

I took the boy to Hardees today to play in their jungle gym and ball pit after lunch. While we were there, there was this woman who spent 45 minutes trying to get her child to listen to her and come out of the play place. Not only that, but this woman was actually begging her child to obey her. I've never seen anything quite like it. I couldn't even keep track of how many times she said "please" to this bratty little kid who was blatantly disobeying her.

I started talking with this other mom that was sitting at the next table and we were both so tempted to go in there, grab the kid, and drag his butt out of there ourselves. At the end of the day though, it's simply not our business if this woman would rather beg her kid than discipline him. It would make her life so much easier if she would do the latter though; I can't even imagine how mortifying that experience must have been for her, not to mention that it took her 45 minutes longer than she planned to get out of there.

I left that place loving my own smiling, well-behaved little boy all the more. I tell him that he gets one last time down the slide and he says "Okay" and comes out to get his own shoes on with no fuss at all. I can't even say how grateful I am that I'm his mother rather than the mother of her kid.

I love that moment when your child witnesses another child throwing a bratty tantrum and they give you this look ~> because they can't believe that other kid would dare to do that.

Adults and kids alike were watching this scene unfold with that same expression today. I felt kind of bad for the woman, but hopefully it teaches her a lesson. Though, if she didn't catch on after 45 to the concept that you don't plead with children to listen to you, I doubt she ever will.

I feel ya. There's been a few times when I see parents like the one you mentioned and I want to ask them "What the hell is wrong with you?!?"


Little things like that can make you smile the most. He sounds like an awesome kid though, from the different things you have posted about him.



That has happened so many times at the different play areas we go to. My 7 and 4yr old will look at those kids and ask me "What's wrong with them? Why are they freaking out?"

Sometimes I feel like my daughter thinks she's going to get in trouble by proxy. Like "Oh wow, they're being bad and I noticed. I wonder if I'm doing anything wrong."

I still can't get my head around it. Seriously, how can a person beg their child that way? This woman sounded close to tears by the end of the scene, still begging her child to listen to her. It was truly horrible. I just don't understand her.

I'm certainly no great disciplinarian, and it is very likely that my own kid simply mellow by nature more than parenting, but... I don't know. It was all just so... embarrassing to witness.

No kidding. After asking maybe 2 times, I'd issue the "If I have to come up there and get you, you're going to be in trouble" warning. If I had to come up/in and get her, she would know good and well by the time we left that she was never coming back.

It was all very saddening.

my wife and i have argued over this.
disciplinig makes for a better adult.
not disciplining can create a selfish monster.

She's probably on a different forum making a post - "I was out with my kid and as I was trying to calm him down this other hag kept shooting me dirty looks." lol

Lol. The kid certainly wasn't upset. He scored himself an extra hour of playtime.

And I'm not a hag, jerkwad.