what would you do??

[vhdos]

Originally Posted by dell

Let me tell you my parents own a restaurant and I have to tell children to STOP all the time. It KILLS me when they stand on the tables, throw food, scream and yell.... Parents do not discipline their children, and it is NOT fair that my other customers have to put up with that crap! I don't want to go into a store and purchase a ball for my daughter that your son has been bouncing all over the store! At that point the item is USED, and that isn't fair to me. These poor people that work in these stores pick crap up all day long that children, and adults, leave every where. So if you don't want them to yell at your children then teach them NOT TO TOUCH what isn't theirs.

LOL! I think you are taking about my job as a mother of two! I wouldn't exactly call them "poor people" for having a job that requires them to keep their place of employment neat and orderly. Now if only I could figure out how to get paid for picking up crap all day long in my own home...

[nataliam1976]

Originally Posted by omgsweet

I think this thread is going to attract those who do not like or do not want children. So, beware of that when posting a thread of this nature.

OMG those horrible not liking kids creatures, BEWARE.

Guess what, by the looks of who posted here, crushing majority of posters in this thread are parents themselves. And I concidentally, even though I dont have kids of my own, have a lovely 10 year old stepson and somehow we dont have any, especially repeated, incidents of this kind with him.

There is a difference between not liking kids and thinking there is a right place and time for everything, and not all behaviours are tolerable just because they are kids.

And anyway even if something unacceptable happens, I blame the parents, not the kids. They dont know any better. But a laid back parent usually with sense of entitlement does not necessarily mean a good one.

[nataliam1976]

Originally Posted by HauteMama

After reading all the responses and thinking on this, I think the situation with BALLS is different from pushing a "Try ME!" button on a toy in a box on a shelf. The reason I feel that way is because I was actually in a WalMart the other day that had a big display of large blue and aqua bouncy balls in a bin in the middle of a large aisle. The bin had movable ropes for the sides so that the balls could be removed, as it was too tall to reach into it. The store was not busy, and I told my daughter she could choose one; I would purchase it. She went over and took the ball she wanted and I asked her to pplease put it into the cart. She brought it over and as she was reaching to put it into the cart, she didn't reach quite high enough and it fell off the side instead. Out of nowhere there was an older lady pushing a cart near us. Like I said, the store was not busy, and I had not seen her because I was focusing on making sure my children were behaving. The ball went directly in front of her cart, and could easily have become caught between the cart and an aisle display. That could easily have caused her cart to stop suddenly and she could have lost her balance. As it was, I retrieved the ball immediately and apologized profusely to the lady. She smiled, as she had seen and heard what had happened and knew my child had not been playing and it was not intentional. My point in this long, drawn-out story (there is one, really!) is that it is too easy for accidents to happen with balls. The smaller ones can get caught under the edge of a cart, causing harm to the ball or the person pushing the other cart. Larger ones can easliy bounce away from small hands and hit other displays, knocking things over, or they can get caught between a cart and a display like I was afraid ours would. These things are not intentional and they can happen in a second - you never know when another cart will round a corner or when a child might lose a grip or miss the ball he or a sibling tossed or bounced. Balls are an inherently different situation than are other toys in boxes on shelves, and they can easily present hazzards to others in the store. While this does not excuse an employee's rude behaviour, they have probably seen situations that didn't end as well as mine over and over again. Balls are a hazzard to be played with inside the store, just as they usually are inside a house (at least they are in my house). Children should not be playing with them, regardless of whether they are supervised by a parent or not.

Great post, HauteMama.

Once again, it doesnt matter if they played for a minute or for five and how hight he ball bounced. The employees see the kids playing, they see parents being there and not reacting, so they react themselves. They should of course do it politely but after reading all the posts of the OP Im not really sure if it would change anything if they were polite as it seems not to be the main issue here.

[merika]

Originally Posted by HauteMama

....While this does not excuse an employee's rude behaviour, they have probably seen situations that didn't end as well as mine over and over again. Balls are a hazzard to be played with inside the store, just as they usually are inside a house (at least they are in my house). Children should not be playing with them, regardless of whether they are supervised by a parent or not.

True... how could I have forgotten my own household rule? "If you want to play with the ball, go OUTSIDE!!!!!"

[vhdos]

Originally Posted by nataliam1976

OMG those horrible not liking kids creatures, BEWARE. Guess what, by the looks of who posted here, crushing majority of posters in this thread are parents themselves. And I concidentally, even though I dont have kids of my own, have a lovely 10 year old stepson and somehow we dont have any, especially repeated, incidents of this kind with him. There is a difference between not liking kids and thinking there is a right place and time for everything, and not all behaviours are tolerable just because they are kids. And anyway even if something unacceptable happens, I blame the parents, not the kids. They dont know any better. But a laid back parent usually with sense of entitlement does not necessarily mean a good one.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with not liking kids. However, you must admit that preferences can shape opinions. If I don't prefer italian food, I'm probably not going to have a very high opinion of Maggiano's restaurant. All of our opinions have made a valuable contribution to this thread, whether we like and/or have kids or not. I certainly don't think that an opinion is invalid in this thread just because someone doesn't like kids. Everyone in this forum should feel welcome to post where ever they want to.

[ilovepinkhearts]

i have read all the responses...and still i can't see how it's appropriate for the employees to think it's ok to talk so rudely to my children when i as their parent am standing right there. they all easily could have asked "where is your mommy or daddy" and then spoke to us about it. if i hadn't been there...then so be it. i want them to be safe and i want others in the store to be safe. so i do what it takes to make that the case. and im there telling them to put the balls back a rude employee that doesn't want to have to pick up a ball a few aisles over decides to speak rudely to them will never be ok with me. ask nicely and there would be no issue.

i would never speak to a child that is doing something wrong the way the employees talked to my children.

and as for letting a baby suck a pacifier and drooling and chewing all over a toy and putting it back...not the same thing. this is a ball. it has touched the floor who knows how many times prior to my sons touching/bouncing it.

again the reason i posted was basically asking when is it OK for a stranger to parent your child...no one has really answered that. it seems more like people think im a bad parent for letting them touch a toy.

[omgsweet]

Originally Posted by nataliam1976

OMG those horrible not liking kids creatures, BEWARE. Guess what, by the looks of who posted here, crushing majority of posters in this thread are parents themselves. And I concidentally, even though I dont have kids of my own, have a lovely 10 year old stepson and somehow we dont have any, especially repeated, incidents of this kind with him. There is a difference between not liking kids and thinking there is a right place and time for everything, and not all behaviours are tolerable just because they are kids. And anyway even if something unacceptable happens, I blame the parents, not the kids. They dont know any better. But a laid back parent usually with sense of entitlement does not necessarily mean a good one.

Sorry Nataliam, that sounded worse than I meant it. It was late and I meant to write "be aware", not "beware".

This is very much what I was getting at and couldn't find the words:

Quote:

There's absolutely nothing wrong with not liking kids. However, you must admit that preferences can shape opinions. If I don't prefer italian food, I'm probably not going to have a very high opinion of Maggiano's restaurant. All of our opinions have made a valuable contribution to this thread, whether we like and/or have kids or not. I certainly don't think that an opinion is invalid in this thread just because someone doesn't like kids. Everyone in this forum should feel welcome to post where ever they want to.

[DlkinVegas]

My daughter sits in the cart but I do allow her to play with toys. If she wasn't in a cart I wouldn't let her bounce balls but she would still be able to check out toys. If we are in Toysrus we try out everything.

Anyway, If a parent is there & the store employee has a problem with the child then it should be taken up with the parent. If I was the employee & no parent was around I'd ask the child to put it back & better yet if I didnt see an adult in the aisle I'd probably take the child to CS & announce mom & dad of xyz come & get your lost kid.

[DlkinVegas]

Pregnancy & parenting forum/thread is listed as the "Section for parents-to-be and those who already have kids"

& if you are a parent &/or sensitive stay out of the not keen on kids thread.

[canada's]

Originally Posted by ilovepinkhearts

again the reason i posted was basically asking when is it OK for a stranger to parent your child...no one has really answered that.

yes.

if you aren't doing it, and you are outside of your own home and in a public setting and the child is doing something they aren't supposed to, yes, it is perfectly fine for another adult to tell them to stop doing something that is potentially dangerous.

if you have a problem with how the stranger may approach the child, then nip it in the bud and be sure your child does not do things that may bring this on. it's as simple as that.

again, i wouldn't call what these people did trying to "parent" your child, they're just telling the kid to put something down that isn't theirs just as a teacher or camp counselor might. yes, it's just a ball, but it doesn't belong to them, nor are they in an appropriate setting for playing with a ball.

[nataliam1976]

Originally Posted by vhdos

There's absolutely nothing wrong with not liking kids. However, you must admit that preferences can shape opinions. If I don't prefer italian food, I'm probably not going to have a very high opinion of Maggiano's restaurant. All of our opinions have made a valuable contribution to this thread, whether we like and/or have kids or not. I certainly don't think that an opinion is invalid in this thread just because someone doesn't like kids. Everyone in this forum should feel welcome to post where ever they want to.

Oh, I agree with that. My comment was directed to the post I quoted, which made it sound like the negative opinions will only come from people who dont like kids. I was trying to make a point that a lot of parents disagree with OP´s point of view as well, so its not necessarily just the issue of preference here.

[nataliam1976]

Originally Posted by DlkinVegas

Pregnancy & parenting forum/thread is listed as the "Section for parents-to-be and those who already have kids" & if you are a parent &/or sensitive stay out of the not keen on kids thread.

Well I have a stepson ( a lovely, bright and well behaved boy) and I am involved in his upbringing, so I guess I meet the criteria I just happen not to want to have a biological one and I dont like misbehaving kids, or as I already said countless times, I dont like their parents for doing a crappy job.

[nataliam1976]

Originally Posted by omgsweet

Sorry Nataliam, that sounded worse than I meant it. It was late and I meant to write "be aware", not "beware". This is very much what I was getting at and couldn't find the words:

No worries, I was actually quite surprised when I saw it coming from you

Again, what I was trying to say is that you dont necessarily need not to have/like kids to disagree with OP, so I guess its not just a matter of preferences.

[DlkinVegas]

Originally Posted by nataliam1976

Well I have a stepson ( a lovely, bright and well behaved boy) and I am involved in his upbringing, so I guess I meet the criteria

Yes ma'am you parent.

[nataliam1976]

Originally Posted by DlkinVegas

Yes ma'am you parent.

I will not lower myself to your level and reply to this post the way you expect me to. If you have a problem with me posting here, please take it to PM. Or to the mod. For example Roo, who is a step parent herself.