When I think about other people’s children, immediately I think of the children that are causing a ruckus in a restaurant, or acting inappropriately in a restaurant. Those kids, I don’t like. There I said it. I do not like other people’s children.
As a mother, I don’t feel that I have to like them either. I prefer children who behave in the same manner that mine does. I prefer children who are being parented in the same fashion that I parent The Boy. In our family, we have expectations of good behavior, particularly when we’re out in public. The Boy knows this. In fact, there was one occasion where he was escorted out of a restaurant by The Texan for acting inappropriately in a restaurant. He knows that we’re not joking, and is well behaved when we’re out.
Parents who are not actively present in the parenting process disgust me. Letting your child act like a wild animal is doing a disservice to the child and the public as a whole. It seems that there is less and less accountability when it comes to parenting. Parents worry their tween or teen will call the authorities if they try to discipline them. I have news for you – those tweens and teens can’t be parented now. You should have started at birth.
Parenting begins when your child takes their first breath. You are responsible for molding another human being into a thoughtful, loving, well-mannered, productive member of our society. You cannot expect to allow a four year old to run free in the grocery store, but obey a curfew when they’re fourteen. It doesn’t work that way.
To be a parent, you need to work hard and participate in your child’s daily activities. You need to train them before sending them off into the world. If you want other people to like your children, then do you job and be a parent. Teach your children please and thank you. Teach them that walking feet are for inside and running feet are for outside. Teach them to share, to think of others first, and to smile at the small things.
I know that parenting is tough. There are some days that I throw my hands in the air. And then I remind myself, the days are long but the years are short.
Maybe it isn’t the children that I don’t like…maybe it is the parents?
What is your take on other people’s children?
What what NaBloPoMo is all about? NaBloPoMo, created by the brilliant minds at BlogHer, is a month long blogging challenge to encourage you to write daily about a specific prompt. Today’s prompt was “On the whole, do you like other people’s kids?” Sign ups to participate in this month’s Blog Roll are now closed, but you may check out the participating bloggers here and the daily prompts are available here.
I agree that parents need to watch their kids and pay attention to them. I teach my children to respect others and to expect respect in return. I don’t like it when parents walk away from children in a store or ignore their behavior.
I agree. It’s not that I don’t like the kids..it’s not their fault..but I don’t like their behavior. I don’t like the laziness and/or ignorance of the parents, either. I simply choose to distance myself from those people.
We could be friends!
It really feels good to talk about this subject without worrying about offending someone! Loving these blog posts! Emily, we sure could!
I have a niece that is very very hyper and she hardly has any play dates due to her behavior and sometimes i feel the same way as you do. I mean of course I love her but it’s difficult to want to be near her due to her behavior however I’ve recently now that i’m going to be a mommy that I understand that’s it’s really not entirely her fault, she’s 5 now but she’s been spoiled since birth and hasn’t had discipline at all from her dad or mom, they are not very good at enforcing rules so I’ve separated that “not liking” her to “not liking” her parent’s parenting style
I think it’s definitely the parents and not the children that are the problem most of the time. Once when I was waiting in line at the pharmacy, there was a mother with two young children in front of me. Her kids went over to a display of big bouncy balls, and the older kid took one out and started running up and down the aisles bouncing it. After a few minutes (!) the mother asked him to stop, and it was really more of a suggestion. Of course the boy didn’t want to stop playing with the ball, he was bored. So he asked his mom to catch the ball and throw it back to him, and they starting playing catch, right there in line! With other people walking around and everything. I just stood there with my jaw open. She kept up the game of catch even while she was standing at the counter talking to the pharmacist. Some people just don’t know how to be parents.
Take the kids, but leave the parents.
I agree that you have to discipline and teach the children while they are little.
I like the kids that behave well to, however, I think we all have bad days and bad moments. I’ve had my kids screaming while I was doing my grocery shopping. But it had to be done. And I try really hard not to let the kids get their way. For example, it is not appropriate to run around the store and pull things off the shelves. So if they keep it up they end up locked in in the shopping cart. So what I’m trying to say is that sometimes I feel bad for both parents and kids. But I also agree that some parents do not discipline their kids or follow up with the set rules
As an adoptive parent, I have to say that parenting doesn’t always begin when the baby takes their first breath. For me, it was when we laid eyes on our -now- daughter. She was 14, breathing had been well established. As for the other kids thing, I love all children but sometimes there are some I want to choke. 😀 (not literally) However, I feel that it is my responsibility to raise my child appropriately as an example -I hope- !!!
There are definitely some kids who I am not fond of–but I agree that it is all about different parenting philosophies and how you raise them.
As a rule, I love the kid. Almost every child that spends time at my home without the parents is wonderful as soon as they realize they’re stuck with me (and my husband). The child is almost always an absolute delight unless there is something truly wrong like illness. Love the kids, tolerate the parents and their techniques.
You would have hated me the other day! Dd decided she wanted her ears pierced (she’s 4). After the 1st one, she was screaming and throwing a fit saying she wasn’t getting the 2nd one! I’m sure you could have heard her outside! We finally got the other one done after 30 minutes of calming her down and talking to her but we still had to hold her down! 2 minutes later, she was fine as if nothing happened! LOL She now LOVES her earrings and says she’s a big girl now! She even reminds me that we need to clean them! Sometimes the most well behaved kids have off days…but there aren’t very many kids of other people’s that I like either! 😉
Oh what a tough experience for her. Usually it is the SOUND of the “gun” that causes the child to cry, not the pain from the actual piercing. I’m surprised you were able to convince her to pierce the other one!
I like other people’s children, but I often don’t like the parent. Every child has something good to offer, but the parent’s don’t teach them how to be good, how to listen or how to behave. Some parents think that letting their child be “free” is teaching them something, when it really isn’t. There are boundaries and those boundaries need to be obeyed.