I will happily admit that children are cute. They even add a certain kind of joy to my life. I get a kick out ankle biters and they provide me with no end of mirth, even when they are going through a crisis I have a good chuckle. Kids are great, and I think those adults who are relatively well adjusted should have LOTS of kids.
Where I draw the line on children is at restaurants, supermarkets, clothing stores and movie theatres (many various public places, except parks and lakes and play land type places). Here is my line...I feel if a child is properly reared they can be brought out into public, however, if their little lungs and touchy feely fingers and free running chubby legs cannot be kept in check, the little buggers should be locked up!! Okay, so I got a little carried away there, although in the end it is the way I feel. I have heard the argument that parents need to be out and about, do errands, enjoy food not cooked at home and see the latest blockbuster...that they shouldn't be punished for having children. I agree 100%, come on out and have some chicken a la king, and see superman returns, and get those bananas. However, if junior is a screamer, a toucher, a runner...junior stays home, or gets heavily sedated before you leave the premises.
I know parents have the capacity to teach their children to use their normal voice, to sit still, to keep the hands to thy self. I have witnessed it numerous times and even applauded it because that has to be a hard task to figure out how to bring the child out into public, maintain respectibility and still have it so the child also will enjoy thee outing.
This I know. Children should be fed...not chips, not chocolate bars...but proper veggies and whole grains and meats...because when kids get hungry or lack proper nutrition, they show it...READILY. In addition, parents should come armed with crayons and mini puzzles or books. Just some things I know.
I recently went to a movie...and inside I died a little when I saw two groups of parents come in with children who were under the age of five. I sunk in my seat and wondered how much of the movie would be wasted on the sounds of screaming, incessant LOUD questioning, running up and down the aisle. And here is what I saw...One family, pulled out carrots and celery and sat with a magazine with their kid until the movie started...they leaned in and whispered talking, long before the movie started!! How wonderful and delightful. The other parents got a high seat for their child and had a book and crayons...OMG I was so delighted. Although, I knew the movie was going to be long and kids are short on patience...rightly so...but to my amazement the kids sat, they whispered and when they needed to get up and walk, they leaned into their parent and both members queitly exited and re-entered. I got to enjoy the movie wholeheartedly and my experience was enhanced knowing that there are still responsible parents in the universe!!
Of course everytime I see a child in public I inwardly think he/she is giving the middle finger to those of us who wish not to hear a tantrum or see snot on our bananas...and once and a while a parent proves me wrong and presents a kid who can still enjoy the world with his/her young senses and not disturb my aging senses.
Okay you can now persecute me for being cantankerous!
2 comments:
So now you're advocating the sedation of children? Seriously, I also see a large lack of parental preparation for children in the public eye--my sister's kids are the perfect example of this--however, doping them up on so-called wonder drugs like Ritalin seems to be a convenient solution that benefits the pocketbooks of pharmaceutical moguls rather than the kids who just need to blow off a little steam. I also think that these "hyperactive" kids are probably the same ones who need a unique approach to education and other social systems because, to put it metaphorically, they are the square pegs of the bunch and rather than developing individual programs and/or systems for them, we keep trying to force them into the pre-determined, legitimized, "one size fits all" round holes.
Drugs are not the answer... although maybe someone should look into that whole carrot and celery thing, it seems to have worked for my mom.
Wait, I would never ask for kids to be sedate unless it is with a shot of whisky...ya whisky.
I have always been skeptical of this whole knee-jerk response to sedate children with Ritalin or any other drug.
All I was getting at is if you do have a hyperactive child, own it and don't inflict the child on the public. Find out what appeals and engages the child and work on that rather than trying to pent up the child by taking them to a fancy restaurant or a public movie where codes of conduct are required...codes the kid cannot work with yet...or you haven't been intuitive enough to engage.
Parents I have seen with hyper children have found ways to engage the child so that when they are in a space where quiet is required or tantrums are frowned on the parent has tasks the child can engage constructively...rather then yelling or smacking or medicating or in the parents case being ostracized from his or her own peers in a public setting.
I DO NOT BELIEVE or ADVOCATE knee jerk medicate the child because the adults don't want to spend the time kicking a soccer ball or engaging alternative learning or the teacher is overworked so why would a parent be bothered to pressure the school system and goverment to spend more to get more teachers and less students...blah blah blah
When did I say sedation? Dammit! LOL...booze yes, ritalin no...bad She!
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