Before I even begin to get into this, let me start by saying I have nothing against babies, toddlers, children, etc, and to most of my friends who are parents, please do not be offended, because you are great parents. I love googooing and gahgahing over babies and sweet little folks, if they truly are kind, sweet little folks, which generally means they have been brought up properly, well-behaved and polite, and taught that they are not the only beings on the planet and the world does not revolve around them outside of their parent's home.
As a matter-of-fact, I had a lovely conversation with the most adorable little girl (I'm guessing she is probably 2 years old) this evening at the grocery store. She was so unselfish and tender, and she babbled preciously with an "inside voice" and I could tell her parents were enlightened and imparted upon her the virtues of being respectful of others (I'm not sure how her parents did this, but I applaud them loudly); that the world does not revolve around her and she is but only one small cog in a huge wheel like the rest of us. I'm so serious: I applaud these parents (and they looked very young, early 20s).
What a contrast to the ridiculous little spawn, and more importantly, his mal apropos "mother" I encountered in a coffee shop this morning. I had my follow up appointment with my surgeon to check my healing process (had my gallbladder removed over a week ago), then decided to go to a coffee shop to do some writing for a change of scenery, and fortunately I left before cops had to be called...
While sipping my iced mocha (with the heat index today...it was near 101 degrees at this time, 9:30am, so anything I consumed had to have ice...except my bagel, it was toasted) and typing away on my laptop, I noticed a woman (I'm truly gonna now use that term lightly) and a toddler - he looked to be around 3ish - walk through the door. I went back to typing, and not 5 minutes later I heard a scream, which caused me to look up in fear because I thought a child was being murdered. The aforementioned toddler was screaming and kicking the counter because he demanded to be picked up and sat on the counter and the toddler-whipped pansy of a mother complied with his wishes, which made me want to vomit thinking of a poopy-filled diaper touching the counter where I had just picked up my bagel and mocha only minutes before.
I went back to typing, when the enfant terrible began running around the coffee shop, which I could ignore, but he ran up to my table and started pulling at my notebook, laughing and screaming. I pulled the notebook away, giving him a stern look, and then looking toward his mother for some sort of involvement, and she was totally oblivious (under the age of 30), then he ran away, bothering other patrons.
I again turned to my writing, and within 5 minutes he did it again. Sorry, not on my watch. If you can't parent your child, I'm going to step in and help you. I said loudly, "Excuse me, I'm working," and pulled the notebook from the future delinquent's hand, which got a look from his mother, and a "Jamison, let's go." No apology. Nothing. You rude, ignorant $%^&.
This story is apropos, because yesterday evening I was reading an NPR article about a restaurant in Pennsylvania called McDaine's that has chosen to ban children under the age of 6 from their establishment. Oddly enough (for an NPR article), the majority of the comments (a great deal many from those who ARE parents) are in favor of this. I have to quote one of the comments, that in my opinion, sums up the problem with a neat little bow...it's not the children, it's the parents...kids NEED boundaries, just like puppies:
"There was a time in our history where this wouldn't have ever been an issue. Children were expected to meet a certain standard of behavior, and would never be brought to certain venues (restaurants, theaters, etc.) if they couldn't be trusted to behave appropriately. Since many parents don't set this standard anymore, it is a really great idea to have these rules to protect the rights of the majority of patrons who wish to have an enjoyable time. There *are* some well-behaved children out there...but unfortunately there are also far too many who can be downright awful."
--Fortuitous Observer
