We're Doomed
Now I'm one to generally believe there are no bad kids, and although I have seen many do absolutely zany and horrible things in my stores, I will always ask, "Where are the parents?" Admittedly, kids tend to err on the side of wacky, but usually there is an innocence about their behavior.One needs to remember that there are reasons why children don't have voting rights...why they cannot operate an auto until they are 16 (although I question that age!) We won't get into what stupid things I did as a kid, although I do recall something about tennis balls, gas and matches...
A great example would be my genius kid Brandon. A couple of years ago I was cooking in the kitchen. Out of nowhere appears Brandon exclaiming, "Look Neil, I'm a spaceman!!!" I look down and to my horror he has a clear plastic grocery bag over his head! You know, the type that warns that this bag is not a toy.
Now, actually, I do consider Brandon quite bright. He can figure things out quickly, yet here he was pulling that plastic bag tightly over his head. Oblivious of the consequences of his space exploration in our kitchen.
This is the nature of kids...this is one of their methodologies for learning. They do live experiments oblivious of the consequences, all to further kid science.
So let's zoom back to Neil's store...I am constantly asking children not to play on the escalator, not to stick their little fingers into the moving rails, not to climb onto mannequins and displays. Yet, it never ceases to amaze me when their parents look at me like I have offended little Johnny.
The most recent display of parents not understanding their role in child development is when I asked this little girl to stop pulling on the rails of the escalator. Now one would think how is this little game could be dangerous, however, those little digits have a magical way of wedging themselves into places that they should not be.
As I smiled at her and walked away, I heard her mother say to her daughter, "They don't want you playing on the escalators..."
THEY don't want you?!!! Hey lady! Ever hear about parental responsibility and correcting little Suzy right then and there?! How about, "You, my child, should not play on the escalators!"
I have a similar reaction when I hear parents trying to reason with their three-year-old who is screaming at the top of his lungs. Parents...please listen to me...there are reasons why there are no children invited to moderate presidential debates. Their reasoning skills are zero...nada...nil!!!
Children experiment, they play. These are methods for learning. It is up to the so-called adults to direct the children to act appropriately. Not only because in certain social situations, running up the escalator can be considered rude, but it can also be very dangerous.Yet so many times I have seen adults doing equally wacky and dangerous things. I cannot remember how many times I have asked adults not to take their children in their strollers on the escalator, only to be greeted with a sigh of disgust! Did I realize how much of an inconvenience it was to take the escalator? I have actually had customers yell at me when I ask them to take the elevator.
It is apparent they have never witnessed a stroller getting stuck at the top and while the parent struggles with it, he almost knocks over the senior citizen behind him. Or when it gets stuck at the bottom and the poor baby almost gets launched from his stroller.
The best part about all of this is that if any of them get hurt, little Bobby or his parents, I am sure they will take us to court stating that we presented an unsafe environment. The parents will take no personal responsibility.
I believe that the children are our future...however their teachers seem to be on shaky ground.
posted by LoneCactus @ 3:30 PM
Comments: 0
