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I have a problem with the word "control." It has been thrown around a lot this thread, and the numerous other threads on the same topic. A person can not "control" another person. If the kid is in a mood or has a melt down, or whatever, there is little or nothing the parent can do to fix it right at that moment. As for destroying multiple greeting cards, knocking down an elderly person, etc. I bet that happened once, and the OP is painting a picture of every single visit to the PO being full of such instances. I just simply don't believe it.
Discipline in an on-going thing for 18 years of a child's life. I don't understand why some posters think that a 5 minute snapshot of a child misbehaving = a lack of parenting.
tl
WHAT? I don't know about you honey, but when I was out in public with my kids, I controlled them. If they didn't want to hold my hand and they tried to stray away from my side, I just held onto their wrist or forearm. Little kids need to be controlled, for their own good and the good of others.
That uncontrolled kid could conceivably stop destroying things that don't belong to him and dart out the door into the parking lot. Or knock over a display onto himself or someone else. I can't believe there is even one person on this thread who disagrees that kids should be controlled in public. My pet peeve is people who let their kids roam around in a restaurant. When my kids were little, they were made to sit on the inside of the booth, with me and my husband on the outsides, to keep them in. Why do people think it is OK to let a toddler or walk around the aisles near their table, bothering other people and getting under foot of the wait staff? And what kind of lesson is this for the kid...No matter what other people think, it's ok to do whatever you want?
And these parents who don't hold tightly to small kids in a parking lot.....I can't stand to see it. If I back over the child, it is me who will be sued. All because I couldn't see a 2-foot tall toddler walking unattended behind the trunk of my car.
^ Kibbie specifically talked about meltdowns. A firm grip on a child's wrist has zero to do with a meltdown or temper tantrum. Sure, it may help you wrangle the smaller ones out of the place, but that's about it.
^ Kibbie specifically talked about meltdowns. A firm grip on a child's wrist has zero to do with a meltdown or temper tantrum. Sure, it may help you wrangle the smaller ones out of the place, but that's about it.
Again, not relevant, but if it makes you feel like it matters, i have more than one child. I also have four brothers and sisters, 28 cousins on my mothers side, nearly as many on my fathers side, numerous nieces and nephews too. I work in retail in a working class area with lots and lots of children, where I get to see all kinds of behavior from parents and kids. Do I win?
Call 1-800-PICK-UPS. They will even come to wherever you are and pick up your packages. And there will be no kids playing with greeting cards or shrieking against the marble floors
You must have an interesting post office because I would say my experiences with kids like that were rare.
Same with me. Sure on occasion I will encounter a bored, whining kid and every now and then an outright unruly one, but its far and few between. Most children are well behaved considering.
It takes a lot of skills, character, etc. to raise well behaved children. And the teaching got to start while they are still young and dependent on you for their "everything". Beyond a certain young age (varies with each child and environment and certainly before they are in mid school and beyond), the "die" has been cast. Not for all, but for most. So to be able to "control" the kids when they are out in the PO or restaurant, or anywhere, means the parents must have been able to control the kids when they are at home. Sadly, we see a lot of situations in public where the behavior of the kids reveals the type of parenting the kids got at home. Also, sometimes, we see how the kids behavior mirrors that of the parents when they are both creating a scene in public. It's funny if it was not pathetic. But then, we see a lot of parents that are just "kids". So the basic issue is not simply how to control the kids in public. More complicated than that.
People have an opinion on everything. I stopped caring years ago. I have a disabled child who wears diapers, noise-canceling headphones, and can't answer basic questions at age 5, and people STILL shake their head at the "brat". Can't win!! What I would give to just go buy a prescription without a stare or sneer...
Maybe I have a high tolerance, but I don't see brats. I see tiredness, hunger, boredom.
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