I am SO goddamn sick of your bratty, loud, fidgeting, crying, spoiled kids. Every day I encounter at least one. In the mall, on the bus, on a peaceful walk downtown, and my new personal FAVE: at my own goddamn office. Whatever happened to teaching your children to be quiet and respectful? They can still be kids. Just tolerable ones. Here’s an idea—don’t just medicate the little shits, PARENT them. My dog is well behaved because he respects me and in turn respects his surroundings and my lead. Kids = SAME thing. They act like monkeys because you let them. For god’s sake, teach them to behave or leave them the hell at home. —You Are My Birth Control
This article appears in Aug 16-22, 2012.
OB, I am beginning to believe that good behavior has been lost over the generations, instead of being passed down. These parents who choose not to parent, may not have been given the skills themselves. Sad. It will be even worse when these little shits grow up & procreate. How can their parents expect them to be a responsible, contributing member of society, when they don’t teach them how to behave?
yup.
lucky if it’s just a one brat day.
…hence the need for unsolicited parenting advice >; )
or a holster for a wooden spoon
and what the fuck exactly is wrong with monkeys?
judging from the ones i see when out in public (rarely, thank god) the parents are feeling sorry for themselves and somehow, expect to get it from bystanders.
simple rule for getting kids to behave in public, truly. tell them you’ll all go home if they act up, and then do it. no second warnings. do it. hump your butt and all the kiddies and snowsuits and strollers or whatever and get back on the bus and go home. no reprieves. no nattering at them either. no loud whining from the parent on the bus about how the kid has ruined your day. keep your own trap shut and pretend you feel like an adult. here’s a secret, i am 60 years old and still waiting to ‘feel like an adult’. we are all just faking it, but you have to start faking it with your kids because…wait for it…it’s your job to be an adult. it’s your responsibility. you can take a vacation from it when you go visit the grandparents. you always feel like a kid back at your parents’ house. mom can yell at you for drying the dishes wrong. there. feel better?
Time to break out Kenner’s My First Pepper Spray™
http://www.geekosystem.com/wp-content/uplo…
I often wonder how many little toxic cocktails are out there – products of selfish mothers who polluted their bodies during pregnancy – no wonder the little fuckers are batshit crazy.
Totally fake bitch. Since when was a mall, bus, or a walk downtown ‘peaceful?’
“Whatever happened to teaching your children to be quiet and respectful?”
You forget that was a myth. Parents just kicked their kids out into the street to play.
“Kids = SAME thing”
You have a well behaved dog, so now you think you are an expert with children? ROTFLMAO!!!
Btw, It is illegal to rub a child’s nose in do-do.
I agree wholeheartedly, Great Value. Thank you.
GV, what do you think was the result of parents ‘kicking their kids outside to play’ VS today’s ‘sit them in front of the TV or computer’ ? kids need to burn off energy, they are by nature energetic. they are not adhd or xybc or whatever. they are bored out of their minds! they are stifled and held back and told to be quiet until their insides are ready to explode, and they do. kids need decent food, a solid sleep, consistent love and to run around like fools til they drop. and gee whiz, it’s the same with dogs. OP is a sensible person. you are correct in that kids of yesterday are the same as kids today….biologically, and with the same physical and emotional needs. the difference is that they are not being met ‘today’. instead of potatoes, vegetables, a small portion of meat and the required ‘apple a day’ they get pop tarts, pizza pops, KD and dunkaroos and wash it down with ersatz juice in a squeezie box. this is the first generation that will NOT have the life expectancy of the previous. this is a crime against humanity – we are killing our kids.
People who don’t have kids are always the best fucking parents in the world. If you think that raising kids is the same as raising a dog then you are in for a big surprise if you can ever find someone willing to mate with you. Doubt it though.
^^ you weren’t referring to me? ^^ surely not…
I find some parents just lazy and dont give a crap about manners. I have a 13 year old boy and am proud to say he is very mannerly…LOL I drilled it in his head. As a parent you need to take the time and very much effort to teach them so much. Alot of parents I think are run down from working too much to make ends meet these days and dont have the strength at the end of the day to even bother maybe. My heart goes out to those parents.
There is a serious lack of parental guidance and discipline in recent generations. To say that there is not is complete denial, and anyone who disagrees is a product of a free-for-all, consequence-free childhood themselves. I had to eat at the table with the family. I had to go outside to get fresh air and actually develop a normal social life, outside of cell phones, video games and computers. When my parents had company, I knew to leave the room, as it was inappropriate for young people to sit around grown folks. If I ever even THOUGHT about raising my voice, or being disrespectful to my elders, it was my ass on a platter. I sure as hell knew better than to act a fool in public. We think the young people today are ignorant, self-centered, disrespectful little pricks? Imagine the generation that is to come…
very true Jupiter, it’s an exhausting job (which is why it should be only for the young!) I cringe thinking of what i used to do when mine were little. i was a single parent for several years, working full time with 3 little ones under 7, getting them up, breakfasted, myself done up for work, walk a long block to the bus stop, one transfer, daycare, back on the bus to my work, then do the reverse at night. no spare money so we did everything that could be done for free. one of the fun things on the weekend was to go into the legislature building (the one with the golden boy on top hint hint) and see the stuffed buffaloes. aslo a very good place to practise QUIET as we sneaked past the mounted animal heads on the walls. then outside to the grounds to let off that pent-up steam by racing thru the trees. a bus ride is also a fun cheap activity. take different buses around town and see the sights. get off at parks and run around. pack a little lunch and picnic. the provincial art gallery was free, and again, a good place to practise QUIET, but they always got to race around, outside, afterwards. if adult friends came over they were allowed to sit in the same room if they wanted to, but were not allowed to take part in any conversation. one boy loved to sit and listen, the other two always elected to go to their rooms to play. they were good kids, and are incredible adults and parents themselves. and not one day of church between us in case anyone was speculating. and then over the years worked with dogs, socializing and gentling the unadoptable for a small shelter. and found the two species to be quite similar in needs. LOL.
Another advantage of having Dogs over children….when Dogs become teenagers, they die.
yeah, there were times when they were teenagers when i wished i could just cryo-vate them until their hormones settled down…and i am sure my mom felt the same about me. that sure doesn’t change. funny, i ironed my hair straight as a board (60’s) , and my daughter (80’s) fluffed her bangs so high she needed clearance from DOT. don’t talk about dogs dying, i’ll snuffle and embarass you all to hell.
Too many parent’s(moms) feel guilty about working outside the home so they spoil the kids.
The only difference between children and dogs is it’s soooooo much harder to find a babysitter for your dog, and good luck taking your dog on an out of country adventure.
The problem with parents today is they actually think that reading books about parenting, is actually parenting. You all act like fucking martyrs, claiming YOUR failure as some mental difficiency in your child, acting like your hands are tied cause you’ve somehow you’ve been dealt a bad hand. But, and a really big BUT!!!! People who don’t like children, you don’t have the right to put unrealistic expectations on children and stand in judgement of parents who don’t live up to your ridiculous standard. You are in public, you don’t have a RIGHT to not be bothered or inconvenienced by someone or something. You, as a non entightled adult, have to be able to bob and weave with lifes little punches and realize that once you leave your space, you are in someone elses space.
My son is in his early 20’s, very intelligent and everyone tells me how mannerly he is,not towards me though.Unfortunately he started smoking pot at 12 and by 18 he was an intravenous drug user and still is.It was difficult while he was growing up, I did what I could with no supports to help.His dad was of no use.
I see parents making some of the same mistakes I made and want to shake some sense into them.
PLEASE PEOPLE DO YOUR CHILDREN A FAVOUR,DISCIPLINE THEM AND FOR CHRIST SAKES BE CONSISTANT.
harper, no i can’t call you that without wanting to behead you, how about devil instead?
confused a bit by your comments (except the dogs parts) however i disagree with the ‘someone elses space’ . public space is common use, would be different if you went to someone’s home. keep your yap shut or leave. yes. public space should be subject to the rules of civilized behaviour that we have to follow, or collapse into mayhem with us all clobbering each other with handy objects, like salamis, umbrellas and hand grenades. so it behooves all participants in that common area to behave with minimal disruption to other citizens. child haters should not dine at chucky cheese. there are gradiations of space, no? personal abode is, or should be, pretty much under your control. someone elses space is not under your control at all. but common use space has to have accomodation for everyone within reason. an extreme would be an intolerant person who demands that children not be allowed on the bus. ridiculous. but at the other end is a person with child who lets them inflict ear splitting noise on other travellers, or the dreaded back of the seat kicking.
Steve
“You all act like fucking martyrs, claiming YOUR failure as some mental difficiency in your child”
Thats not always the case.Some parent’s are all too aware of their shortcommings as parents.There are no “bad children” just “badly behaved children”.But lots of bad parents.
I believe each generation have had the feeling that the younger generation is signalling the end of the world. However, that said, I do believe there are some real challenges facing today’s parent. The biggest problem is that both parents work so the kids have to be shuffled around between school, Nanny’s, daycare until one or both parents are home. There’s no consistent authority figure and no consistent home base, this is a very common occurrence. Mom and Dad, or just Mom or just Dad are often quite tired from working all day and are not quite as sharp or as energetic as they could be. So, the electronic babysitter steps in and the kid is more detached from the parent’s authority.
Add to this that so many parents treat their kids as their equals, big mistake. Children need boundaries, rules. They need to know that the parent is strong, in charge so they feel safer, more protected. That sense doesn’t come seeing Dad as your buddy like Matthew in the fourth grade.
It’s a new world in many ways, parents are competing for their kids attention. The media is capturing the child’s imagination and attention as never before, it takes a fair bit of vigilance on the parents’ part to counter this.
That is why my wife and I got a cat. My only regret in life is not having a child of my own. My wife insisted she couldn’t handle two of me. Really, I’m not that bad. We joke around a lot.
It’s always the charming and well-mannered deviant you really have to watch out for.
With all due respect to the old timers who were raised in the ’50’s and ’60’s and raised their kids in the ’70s and ’80s, thank your lucky stars you’re not raising a kid in our current times. It’s a very different playing field.
The term ‘little shits’ doesn’t project a very respectful attitude either, OB. Maybe if the adults practiced what they preached we’d start to see some improvements. Until then….
The last 2 times I was in a resturant it wasn’t a kid who was being loud it was mid aged adults.The same with the last couple of people who annoyed me on the bus, grown adults being loud. I am not a fan of bratty kids either but there is just as many rude,loud adults but somehow people seem more tolerant when an adult acts like a brat then when a child does.
Steve – “…it’s soooooo much harder to find a babysitter for your dog…”
Lolz, can you guess what my new job is?
You know, I would agree with the sentiment that “kids will be kids” if I didn’t see so many WELL BEHAVED children out and about.
There’s a little girl who goes on my morning bus with her grandmother — she has lots of energy as most kids do, but she’s polite, sweet and well behaved.
So the whole “well kids are kids and will be rowdy and misbehave!” is a crock of shit.
ivan, how did you make out with the search for those books i emailed you about. there are now 10 in the series. interesting read i’ll say that.
lou, each generation gets a different playing field, the 50’s and 60’s introduced TV, the 30’s and 40’s introduced urban living as farm folks fled the dustbowls, etc etc. all changing the playing field for parenting. however, what i said before holds true, the essential NEEDS of children have not changed in thousands of years. and yes, some of the older generation rhapsodize about the ‘good old days’. i am not one of them, it wasn’t all father knows best and ozzie and harriet. however, the OP introduced the topic of children’s behaviour in public places. one can have well behaved children in public, follow my earlier suggestions. they WORK. i had 2 boys and a girl, and i hate to say it, being yes, a FEMINIST, but the two boys were capable of more rowdiness than my girl. so thry ran around screaming more, climbed more, got dirtier, punched each other more, but they behaved in public. they got to be rowdy where kids should get rowdy, in the yard, in the park, in the basement when we had wrestlemania matches while i was doing laundry. you are the parent, you determine their behaviour, and please, please STOP WHINING about how hard it is. that does not excuse shirking your responsibility to your children. the fallout for parental cowardice is NOT the great public out there who get annoyed because the brat is throwing ketchup all over the restaurant while you sigh and say there is nothing to be done with kids ‘nowadays’ because of other influences, it is your child himself who will suffer. who will be unhappy and unfulfilled all his life because he has no goal other than immediate gratification, no impediment to his urges, no self control, no self respect for ‘a job well done’ . no inner strength. despite what you may think is a child’s need for ‘things’ to love you, what a child is most desperate for is your good regard, your love, your praise. reward good behaviour with a hug. discourage bad behaviour with disappointment on your face. babies of 3 months react to parents’ facial expression for gawds sake, so it’s there for you to work with.
Hay Suckster – I’m in the bookstore tomorrow. I’ll let you know what I find.
“Kids these days” were raised by the old fart complainers of today, so shuddup. I got to listen to a loud-mouthed adult in a store yesterday go on about the “entitled” generation and how they can’t spell, while she used the word “ain’t” and said things like “don’t do nothing”. She then went on to say how her daughter is now 18 and she doesn’t have to tell her what to do anymore or discipline her, even though she lives in her house. Then she went on about how her daughter is lazy, then she went on to defend her laziness after bitching about it by saying they lived on a hill and it was harder to walk up and down hills…. so yeah. That’s why “kids these days” suck, it’s your fault, so deal with it.
so you have discovered the earth shaking news that there are morons and lazy asses in every age group??? crap, i had bf skinner advocates to deal with. so what? act as an individual, we ‘ain’t’ robots yet.
Hey Good Dog Molly. I don’t disagree with your general overview and I don’t need a lecture. I have a respectful and hard working kid of my own. The world has changed exponentially in the last 20 years and, while the basic requirements of proper parenting never change, the challenges parents face today are incomprehensible to those who aren’t faced with them on a daily basis. Maybe when your kids have grandchildren you’ll understand what I’m trying to convey.
I have no idea what your point was there Molly, if that was directed at me. I agree with you…
Lou, i do have grandchildren, 5 of them, range in age from 17 down to 6. i mentioned them in one of the comments. and my point is that every generation of parents face new challenges that would be ‘incomprehensible’ to the previous generation. good grief, it’s like every generation thinks they invented sex, or love or sneakin’ around. during the ‘war years’ kids were raised by single parent moms because dads were off at war. yeah. some got raised well, and some got raised badly. that doesn’t change. the outside world changes, rotates, technology changes, but the basic human being doesn’t. i have no more empathy for the ‘old fart’ who says his generation was better, than i have for the some of the most recent generation of adults who claim their generation has more difficulties to deal with. you are indeed a child of the universe, and unique in your individuality, but as a generation, you are no more hard done by than any previous. that attitude of ‘alas, alack poor me’ is not doing you any good. and please understand that the words ‘you’ and ‘your’ are used in the general sense.
my apologies depeche, i must have misunderstood
Training a dog IS like teaching a child. Look at the similarities: calm, controlled, consistent, praise, not too many treats, don’t abuse or yell excessively…. no? The difference between the obnoxious adults & bratty kids is the adults are responsible for their own actions, kids are not. I was raised by a smoking, drinking, single mom working shift work, living in a trailer and I still had manners & I wasn’t abused to get them. It can be done folks. I will absolutely judge poor parenting when it’s nothing more or less than that: poor parenting. And guess what. My well behaved dog will too.
hello there! and both are a treat, a joy to be around. a well behaved dog and a well behaved child. and both take hard work to achieve. hugs for the pooch from Molly and the Noofer pup.
Adults can be so much more annoying that the little chillens
The world today is much more unbalanced, unhealthy, and insane overall — over populated, over stimulated, desensitized, and disconnected, to say the least. Kids are not only poorly parented, as many have been since the dawn of time, they’re increasingly becoming more emotionally, psychologically, physically, and spiritually disturbed as result of the world they’re growing up in. That’s a serious challenge faced by a lot of parents, even if you don’t think so because it doesn’t hit close to your home. Don’t try to tell me that raising a dog and raising a human being requires the same effort and the same tools — or reaps the same rewards for that matter. And the glib attitude really pisses me off.
try to step outside of your own frame of reference, Lou. imagine the conditions under which parents raised their children during civil wars. plagues. pogroms. it does not change the need for individual parents to provide their children with the best damn weapons to survive and thrive. and since i have raised both children and dogs (cats don’t count as you can’t do a damn thing with them anyway except submit) i can speak to it. and yes, they do take the same tools, same effort? well that’s individual isn’t it? one gets out what one puts in. just having a dog is not nurturing a dog, same as giving birth is not guaranteed parenting. and what on earth does your being ‘pissed off’ have to do with anything?
with the advances in technology, it’s just so much easier for kids to
1. have access to shit they really shouldn’t be delving into…and
2. communicate with and piss off way more people than previous generations.
back in the day we used to have friends come over and try to get through battletoads or streets of rage or double dragon 2…
these days, you can’t play for 10 minutes on xbox live without some sniveling tween calling you every name in the book.
I guess social advances are also too inviting for social disease.
Just stand your ground. Never give in to them. No freakin’ cookies or crackers to shut them up and make them fat, just temporarily masking the problem. Be firm. When they see they don’t get rewarded for screaming or hanging from you, they will eventually stop. This should start very early.