Police your gosh darn kids. [Archive]

TomotheCat

02-26-2008, 02:41 PM

I posted this to my other forum and not five minutes later I got a response from someone telling me that psychologists today encourage more freedom, and the odds of a child being snatched are "astronomically low." But I'm going to say it anyway because I think this is valid.

First of all, I would like to say that I do really like kids. I have a four-year-old cousin who calls me Auntie. When I know I'm going to see her that day, I put fun cute stuff in my purse so she's not bored with all the adults, and we build blanket forts and play with plah-doh together. My other cousins--two year old twins--have pulled my hair and thrown up on me, and I love them very much.

And hey, if the little boy in his mother's grocery cart is staring at my necklace because he wants it, I'll let him touch it. I'll smile at the little girl who turns around in the booth and stares at me with deadpan eyes while I'm trying to eat my wendy's sandwich. It's all good.

What I DON'T understand is the parents who literally do not seem to CARE what their children do in public. When I worked retail, we had women would would come in with a small herd of kids under the age of ten, and they would just let them run throughout the store unsupervised. Once, I remember having to hold the door closed so that a toddler (who I think wasn't even old enough to talk) wouldn't LEAVE. No mother in sight.

Do you want your kids to end up on the news?

Today, I went to the post office. Now granted, it was 8 AM and I was cranky, and anxious about mailing off some queries. There was a little girl, maybe five or six, running the length of the PO boxes saying "I win, mommy, I win." And her mother, thumbing absently through mail, said "don't run in the store, baby." Like, once, she said this.

So fast foward, I'm in line. This girl and her mother are behind me, and I notice the little girl is INCHING UP to me. And when I say inching up, I mean she was literally touching me. And she was standing behind me so I couldn't see her, but I could freaking feel her coat swishing against my jeans. And the mother is just STANDING THERE not even saying anything.

I could say "little girl, I am not a mother koala, lay off," but why should I? She's not my kid. I didn't give birth to her. I didn't raise her. I don't cut her hot dogs into little circle-shaped chunks and serve it with broccoli so she gets a well-balanced dinner. This child is in no way my responsibility.

And clearly, she was testing her mother's limits by doing this. As I moved away, looking to the mother to give an all-too-clear hint, the girl followed me, snickering. Literally touching me, and behind me so I couldn't see her.

What the hell?

Crabbiness aside, how does this mother know I'm not some derranged lunatic who steals little girls when their mothers are thumbing through their mail? Would it have hurt to say "Dearest heart, come stand by mommy?" Or my own mother's much more effective "Get over here now." No option at all.

Am I too old to say I miss the days when parents watched their children? If I'd done something like that, my mother would have punished me severly because she didn't want me to misbehave or, worse, get snatched up by some lunatic. She was kinda insane that way.

mar

02-26-2008, 03:24 PM

i have seen this befor there were 2 little girls runnning around walmart andthey were prolly 6 and 8 or so and im like WHATS WRONG with the parents??
just because there together doesnt mean there safe!!
my mom wouldnt let me and my bro go off TOGETHER till i was 10 and my bro was 12 and that was just go around the corner to the last row because she forgot something!!
when i was 12 me and my bro could go the whole store if we stayed together. he was alowed of by himself , but mostly he got stuck
with me.
by the time i was 14 i was alowed off by myself most of the time but she still wanted to know exactly where i went. i was alowed to walk to the store or theater but we live on a milatary base so it was alot safer.

at 16 i was pretty much free mom still wanted to know were i was going to be though! its just smart to know were your kid is!! not exacty were but still some idea so if she needs to find me she can.

and i mean if you let your 15 and olders do what ever its not that bad but 10 and 12 year olds? expecaily girls!! not only are girls automaticly in more danger the way people let ther little girls dress thease days make it worse!

any way ranting and totaly agreeing

i still use cution because ive been taught to do so! if your not taght to be sensibly carefull then your just gonnaget into trouble till you figure it out!

i know 12-15 year olds who are all around town and their parents have no idea where they are!! it like going in and out of ppls houses!

ladyjanewriter

02-26-2008, 03:54 PM

Honestly? And I'm being dead honest.

My mom would have pulled my hair for that one.

I know it's technically a form of abuse, but damn if I didn't know what my boundaries were.

klc1168

02-26-2008, 04:38 PM

My kids are always within sight when we are out in public. I do let my 14 year old daughter wander from time to time (she is 5'7" weighs 160 and looks 17). We live in a small town. There is no way on this planet that I would allow her to wander at someplace big and crowded like a zoo, amusement park, or the state fair. I rarely even let my 6 year old go to the restroom alone in a small restaraunt.

I have also taught my kids how to behave in public, however; the little one can't sit still to save her life. My kids have 2 rules at a restraunt and they are
1. stay in your seat
2. eat what you order and only order what you will eat.
I was a waitress for 20 years and I can't tell you the number of times I have nearly tripped over kids running amok and how many times I've thrown away full plates of food because the kid didn't eat it. At one place I worked another server dropped a pot of coffee on a little boy who was running around in the tables and not paying attention around him. Kid wasn't badly burned and it could have been much worse.

Miss_Gagarin

02-26-2008, 08:01 PM

saintlike_ontheoutside

02-26-2008, 09:26 PM

I wasn't allowed to misbehave like this, I would have had the same treatment as LadyJane!!!...

But my older sister is litterally over run by her daughters (10 & 12) and while I stayed at her place (during my internship) she went out one night and I got stuck with my nieces (which I adore and who usually obey me, i don't let them overrun me!!). Well the older one asked for a friend to sleep over (thursday night, but friday was off at school), saying her mom agreed when she called her. I asked when she had called her mom, and she admitted having lied to me. I know it's a small lie, and that her mom would have agreed for the friend, but I can't accept someone lying so blatantly in my face like that.

I said no for the sleepover. She complained to her mom, and I was told to 'mind my own business' and that I was not the one who raises the girls... Well fine, next time you're going out and you want adult supervision, get a babysitter!!!

Another night, the younger one hid a friend in her room, we discovered it around 11 pm. There was no disciplinary sanction for my niece after that.

If it wasn't my sister, I would have probally smacked her!

I really do not like it when parents let them do what ever they want, then when the kids are being rude to you and you say something, then they want to get all defensive.

This is quite funny, because I just put this as a pet peeve of mine on another thread.

The thing I really cannot stand is when the children refuse to cooperate and the parents don't do anything but say, "Come on little Eula-May, or I'll leave you!"
Or my absolute most favorite is when they say, "I'll count to 10 and when I'm finished, I want you over here."
I hear that one in the store all to often.

Rainshadow

02-26-2008, 10:04 PM

One kid was doing that to me. The darn kid was so close, I backed up a couple of inches to let someone through, and I knocked him over. Then he started crying, and his mom gave me the watch-where-you're-going-you-psycho look. Another time, there was a little girl about seven running around Micheals with her friend. She was running backwards and talking to her friend, and she actually ran into me. I almost fell over, because I was on my tiptoes to try and see a packet of charms on the top shelf. But it's so annoying when they do that! And the mother doesn't even stop them, or scold them. I would have been grounded for days if I did that. And the friend would have been sent home.

BrightSocks

02-26-2008, 10:06 PM

I can't stand kids that have no respect like that.
My cousin is 10 and she has no respect for what anyone says. She is such a brat sometimes. She has started swearing and her mom and older sister don't do anything about it. My sister and I tell her all the time you should swear or that's not a nice word. And she'll just go I don't care.
It like kids get ruder and ruder now and days.

bones

02-27-2008, 04:22 AM

Okay, my parents did let my brother and me walk around the store at really young ages. When I was about seven I was allowed to roam the store by myself, but for some reason my brother still isn't really allowed to go any where by himself and he's 14 now. (I'm 18 now.) I work in a grocery store as a cashier so I don't see what goes on out in the actual store because i'm always at my register, but it's kind of weird when a seven-twelve year old comes through and buys something and there isn't a parent around. I was allowed to buy things for myself at those ages, but my parents were always behind me watching. kids don't count there change, I could totally rip them off and they wouldn't know it!!!!! Of course, I don't do that because the office people would find out and i'd lose my job. I've never seen kids inching up on people, but it sounds really annoying. I also hate it when mothers give YOU ugly looks when their kids get hurt when it is clearly the kids' fault. the mother doesn't know that it's the kids fault, of course, because she's not watching them. My GOODNESS, kids can be such a pain in public. By the way, the media makes it seem like there are a lot of lunatics out there and our parents try to scare us, but there aren't that many out there that would actually steal someone's kid. Of course, you should always watch your kids because you never know who might be one of those lunatics who will kidnap kids in broad daylight. I've even heard that kidnappers will actually dye a kids hair or change the kid's clothes before they leave a store with the kid.
THE MORAL IS: WATCH YOUR KIDS!!!!!!!!!!

mar

02-27-2008, 04:50 AM

I was allowed to buy things for myself at those ages, but my parents were always behind me watching. kids don't count there change, I could totally rip them off and they wouldn't know it!!!!! Of course, I don't do that because the office people would find out and i'd lose my job.

i allways count my change always have and most of the time i got ugly looks from the check out people! its like it my change if oyu dind short change me what do you care if i count!! two time i realy got mad:

1. i stod there and started to count my change and the lady goes lok kid its all there now get going i gave here a death glare and finished counting AND THEN as i walked away the lady said D*mn kid probly cant count right anyway!!!!! (i was 13? i think? i prolly looked 11)

2. i counted and was short $6 and ?? cents. so i said excuse me mam you short changed me (i was polite). She looks at me and says (quite rudely) NO i didnt i CAN count!! i said (still calm) yes well so can i and im short more than $6. she says well maybe YOU put it in YOUR pocket! i said i dont steal check your cameras if you want! well another lady working called the manager. then she came over gave me my change and then i left (not after being called a little brat!)...next time i went in there that lady wasnt working there any longer. i was 14?

ladyjanewriter

02-27-2008, 12:38 PM

I think that if that happened to me, now that I re-read what happened, I'd "accidentally" step on the kid's foot a bit.

Not stomp, just enough to cause a bit of shock and pain and being ashamed in public.

A kid like that won't understand adult lectures anymore b/c it hasn't been reinforced. But they might understand the consequences if something "accidentally" happens to them.

and now you all know I'm evil.

Oh! Can I also say that I hate being whacked in the ankle with people's strollers? It HURTS. And it's always the parent's fault.

saintlike_ontheoutside

02-27-2008, 07:13 PM

Okay, so I used to go to the only walkable converince store when I was about 10. The people there were so cheap, they never took down exp. stuff, they never re-stocker execpt when it was absolutely necessary. They used to short change me almost everytime I went in there. Keep in mind that tax is only 5 cents to the dollar here. I'd buy something for a dollar and they would try to charge me $1.50 Then they would follow us around and keep rushing us like, "Hurry up or get out of my store!"

LadyJane, you know what I hate!
When you are in the line and the person behind you with 18 kids is trying to scoot all the way up into the line to get all 26 of their kids into the line. In the process they are banging their cart into your back and all 34 of their kids are rubbing against you and picking up stuff and putting it into people's basket. The moral of this rant it, don't bring all 53 1/2 of your kids to the store and expect people to move to accomodate you.

qapla47

02-27-2008, 07:29 PM

LadyJane I totally feel for you. I just short of broke my ankle not too long ago, and was still wearing a brace when some kid ran into me with the metal grocery store cart. And I was like I'm gonna die!!
Ugh. I'm the eldest of 6 in a blended family, and the youngest three (9,8,5)
are some of the most well behaved in public kids I've ever met (and not just because they're related) We're talking "Yes Ma'am, No Ma'am, Please and Thank You."
But then there's the kid in the middle of the store who's freaking out cause they've gotten separated from Mom who wasn't paying attention. Or the kid throwing a tantrum cause Mom finally worked up the courage to say no.
I'm tellin ya, parents aren't your friends for a reason. So that they can teach you to be a civilized, productive member of society. And what person is going to be civilized, or hold a job when they never had rules?

Punk-freak

02-27-2008, 07:40 PM

oh i know i hate it when little kids are runnin around runnin into you and one little kid even kicked me in front of their father!!! and i was like OW! and they didn't say anything!!! but what really makes me made is when the elderly (men and women) freakin run over you in a store isle i mean ill just be standing as out of the way as i can be and they hit me with thier cart or stand over me and it just really pisses me off. im thinkin hey its only going to take me a minute to get what i want be patient!

saintlike_ontheoutside

02-27-2008, 07:46 PM

You know what I really hate too?

When you are looking at products and then somebody comes and stands right in front of you and just stands there.

OR

When people pull their carts into tight aisles and then leave them to look at something. Then when you walk by and cannot get through then they look at you like you were the rude one.

Coffee

02-27-2008, 08:44 PM

Kids can be okay.

But I was walking down the street once on my way to the yarn store, and a little kid almost runs into me, and I say, y'know, "Careful! Mind, or youll hurt yourself."

The kid was fine. But the adults with him started trying to cut me down for having torn up jeans. Smurfs!

saintlike_ontheoutside

02-27-2008, 08:51 PM

Coffee, what do you mean?
Like they literally started yelling at you for haing torn up jeans.

Way2crazy

02-27-2008, 09:33 PM

I am only 13, and I can tell you, I WAS never like that. My sister and my cousins on the other hand...Whenever we go out to eat or something, they always act like such idiots, and ofcourse they try to drag me into it, but I never let them.

Coffee

02-27-2008, 09:58 PM

Coffee, what do you mean?
Like they literally started yelling at you for haing torn up jeans.

Nah, much more passive-aggressive.

I mean, seriously, why would you say to anyone "Oh, can you only afford the jeans with holes in them?"

jennalduffy

02-27-2008, 11:13 PM

I was DEATHLY affraid of my mother growing up... and I am now a better person because of it, and when I have kids, they will be DEATHLY affriad of me!

anomalie

02-28-2008, 03:48 AM

I agree that the kid was testing limits. It's ignorant of the parent to not notice things like this. This isn't bad as the oh-my-god-everything-is-a-threat sheltering parents, but still pretty bad if it's carried over to more situations.

And aside from the whole scenario of the kid getting hurt or snatched up... it's annoying. Why would you let your child continue to annoy people? Do you go around poking people and giggling too? Also, if the child doesn't learn early that it's not polite to bother people, they'll grow up bratty like my cousins. :p

SIGH. You make good points, though.

kate

02-28-2008, 08:22 AM

Hmmm..... I have two little boys who are very well behaved, when we eat at restaurants they always stay at the table and they don't scream in the restaurant or throw food and we always clean up and leave a nice big tip and I never let them wander in the store - if I can't see them I'm touching them (if I turn my back to get something I put a hand on the baby's foot) but you know what? Kids (and adults, too!) have their off days. Sometimes it takes everything I have to get my 3 year old in and out of the store without him freaking out. So sometimes if he yells I let it go because if tell him not to yell he'll identify it as a "hot button" and yell until we get all the way home.

I was a preschool teacher and often the best way to deal with bad behavior (in YOUNG kids, like under 5) is to ignore it. They are looking for a reaction and if you give it to them they'll just keep doing it. So, the kid might have been standing too close to you, but so what? Maybe the kid was in a mood and if the mother had said something she would have fallen on the floor and thrown a tantrum. Now THAT would have been annoying. Now, I agree that it's obnoxious when kids are let to run free in stores and mine are always in a cart, but just today I was at the post office and let my one year old waddle around the mail boxes. We were inside and I was between him and the door and there was plenty of room for people to walk around him, but DAMN he was wiggly today and there wasn't anything I could do to make him sit still.

What I reallllly think is that until you have kids of your own and have that hellish day where your toddler was up all night puking and you had to get up early for a deadline and your husband didn't pick up dinner on his way home and you haven't slept in a week (or a year if you have a baby) but you have to haul the baby off to the grocery store and he starts to wail but damnit you just need some soup and some medicine for your toddler so you let him wail or stand too close to someone in line - well, you really aren't in a place to judge other parents.

That being said, yes, there are some parents who don't give their children boundaries and their kids grow up obnoxious and rude. But sometimes a bratty kid in a store might be a perfectly nice child with perfectly attentive parents but just be in a mood. And a kid in a mood is like a train off its tracks - you can't do much to stop it.

cabbagefairy

02-28-2008, 08:44 AM

I totally agree with Kate.

I'm a nanny and have worked at a preschool and there a definatly times where just letting things go is the best option. When kids are that small they don't understand when you explain things they shouldn't do, and if you get mad they just think it's funny or get even more worked up.

The type of parents I can't stand are the ones who think their kid is an angel and can do nothing wrong. Like one kid I looked after pushed another kid so they fell over, and I told him off. Then the mum comes along and tells me off saying "oh he just doesn't know what he's doing." He does so he's standing over there giggling!

Or on the subway the other day there was a little girl sitting on her mum calling her really loud and the mum just ignored her. Is it really so hard to say hi or whatever???

Just feel lucky you only have to put up with the screaming brats when you are out in public and not for hours at home too :P

Penny

02-28-2008, 04:01 PM

I really don't understand children today. I suppose it would be more accurate to say that I don't understand parents today, since they're really the root of their children's behavioral problems.

I don't understand why parenting seems to be radically changing. Maybe me and my siblings are the way we are because our father is two generations removed. He seems to have had parenting methods that are scarce today. My mother dealt with us when we were very young, and her motto was (since we weren't colicky) "A baby cries for a reason. Fulfill their needs, whether it be the need for food, sleep, a diaper change, health care, human contact, or entertainment, and they'll stop crying". I trust her on that one, since she had six children. As I got older and started taking care of kids, that method never failed me. Most babies don't cry for absolutely no reason at all, and ignoring them will only make it worse. I can't stand it when people ignore their crying babies.

My siblings and I were quickly cared for when we cried as babies and infants, and as we got older our mischievous, bratty ways were kept in rein. We were probably the quietest, most well behaved horde of children you'd ever see. People would compliment my parents all the time on how good we were, and that always seemed absurd to me. Would you compliment an adult on their ability to not run around in a store, pulling products off the shelves? I don't think children need to be any different. We were allowed to wander around together, given one of the older siblings was taking charge to make sure we weren't kidnapped or anything like that. We never messed with anything in the store, didn't touch people, stare at people, etc.

I'm starting to dislike children, even though I know I should direct my disdain towards their parents. I can recall this one time when I brought my younger brother and his friend to a roller rink (I'm only a year and a half older then him, so this is another example of how we could be trusted to mind ourselves in public). I let them skate off on their own and talk about whatever it is preteen boys talk about. It wasn't long before another boy, their age, wobbly skated up to them. It was pretty clear, even from a distance, that he was being annoying. My brother and his friend kept trying to skate away, but the kid kept following. Very closely. He was a bad skater, and eventually the kid got so close that his rollerblade intercepted my brother's, sending the child sprawling to the ground. His mother was watching, of course, and interpreted the event as my brother purposefully pushing her son onto the floor. She went and got one of the employees, and my brother and his friend were made to sit out for fifteen minuets.

I learned, while we were sitting out, that the kid was trying to badger them into racing with him. Nothing pisses me off more then when people mess with my brother, and it's even more annoying when it's some adult demanding that their little baby get justice. If she had been doing her job as a parent she wouldn't have sat by and watched her son, who can hardly stand on his rollerblades, follow around other kids on the rink when his company was obviously not wanted.

cabbagefairy

02-28-2008, 08:27 PM

qapla47

02-28-2008, 09:22 PM

Kate- I mostly agree with you, that generally speaking, until you have kids of your own you can't say much on parenting. But thats not to discount those of us in extended families or with heaps of experience with children. As I said before I'm the eldest of 6. My youngest three siblings range from 16 to almost 20 years younger than I am (my parents needed a bit of a break).
Given that, I have often been the surrogate parent. I take my siblings out in public sans parental units, and was often left in charge of the closer two (2 and 6 years younger than myself). I am often in a position of power where punishment or reward is concerned, and when there's an owie it comes to me, not Mom or Dad. When there's a fight, half the time it falls under my purview.
I would have to say that we tend to take a fairly classic approach with regards to the younger kids. There are rules. When you break those rules, there are punishments. You are expected to do your chores, listen to those older than you, not lie, and basically just behave like a human being; slack given due to age.
If there is a melt down, it is generally related to stress and lack of sleep. And generally if its an out and out melt down, we let it run its course, unless we are in public. Then it becomes a matter of getting down on the kids eye level and a few stern but quiet words. Easy enough. If the kid is being rotten, they get a time out. If they've been truly heinous, privileges are taken away.
And I've been through that day. 8 of us total, during the holidays, all had the flu. I've been there; I feel ya'. And I agree, the bratty kid in the store, might just be having that melt down, give them some slack.
What I don't understand is the uncaring/unresponsive parent. The parent who doesn't care about their child's schooling, and who thinks their own life is more important than that of their child's.
And I don't understand the parent with more children than they can afford. Who am I to speak being one of six? We always had everything we needed and never needed state assistance.
And I really don't understand the excessively over-protective parent. The one who won't let their child eat this because they might be allergic. Won't let them play with that because it might be dangerous. Won't let their 16 year old son out after 7pm on a weekend in the middle of suburbia. I played on metal play sets embedded into cement, our house is almost 100yrs old and certainly contains lead paint. And I gotta tell you, I'm no worse for the wear.

Penny

02-29-2008, 12:22 AM

I read the rollerblade story. Why would the mother have to step in then though? Sure the kid was being a pain in the butt but can you remember what it was like when you were younger if your parents stuck their nose into things like that? Kids need to take care of themselves to an exent, and being able to tell other kids of a similar age they don't want to race and then getting help after if needed is all part of that.
The thing is that when I was younger, my parents wouldn't have blamed the other child for me falling. They'd have told me it was my fault for getting so close. If you're going to involve yourself so much with your spawn to the point of getting other kids in trouble for him tripping, then involve yourself more so he doesn't trip in the first place. Go all the way or not at all.

Eventually, if the kid had kept being a pain, they probably would have come to me and I'd have chased him off, but that didn't happen before the brat fell and his mother got all huffy.

tweetspie

02-29-2008, 02:02 AM

It's kinda funny that I just discovered this thread after the conversations I had with my friends this week.

One of my friends has two sons, 7 and 2, and while they whine sometimes and ask for things, they are no where NEAR as bad as some other kids I've seen. The 7 year old knows that if he does something bad around me or my other friend, he's going to get yelled at, which he hates more than being spanked. If he gets yelled at, or even spoken harshly to, he will go and sulk (NO talking back) until he feels that it would be a good time to apologize. The 2 year old is pretty much a perfect angel and an absolute HAM. They're awesome kids.

A few nights ago, another one of my friends and I were talking about kids in public and she told me a story about a kid and his mom at the place where she works. The kid was taking jewelery off of a spinning rack and chucking it down the isle while his mother looked at jewelery in the case. Without saying anything to his mother, my friend started picking up the jewelery that he had been throwing and when the kid started complaining, his mother looked at my friend and said "what are you doing?"
"Um, I'm picking this up. It's my job"
"But it's upsetting him"
"It's my job to keep the store clean, and this is not clean"
"Can't you make an exception?"
"No"

And the woman and her son left.

WHY WOULD ANYONE LET THEIR KIDS DO THAT???

cabbagefairy

02-29-2008, 06:45 AM

What a terrible mother! People that think they are making better kids by always keeping them happy just have no idea inmy opinion.

I had one kid I was an aupair for and in the middle of dinner he would get up on the table and walk across it, stepping over the plates right in front of his parents and they would just bend to the side so they could keep talking around him. The mum would just say to me 'oh why is he on the table, can't you control him??' to me!!! And if he wouldn't listen to her she would ask me to talk to him instead. Gosh woman if he doesn't listen to his own mother he won't listen to anyone!

saintlike_ontheoutside

03-01-2008, 04:15 PM

I personally believe that until teenage years, children are a reflection of their parents.

If the parents are rude and curse, then the children will pick up on their habits thinking it is the right thing to do.

Until that age where peer pressure seriously kicks in, they are a reflection of their parents.

thehazelwood

03-01-2008, 05:44 PM

I used to work in a busy children's store and there were many an occasion when kids were screaming/crying running around the store because they couldn't find their parents and a lot of the time the parents didn't even realize their kid wasn't with them anymore!

And the general misbehaviour, yes, definitely. It was VERY rare that a parent would tell off their child for dropping something or touching/playing with something they shouldn't be. Also, it was almost never that a parent would make their child return something they took off a shelf to where it belonged.

To be honest, parents seem to be just as misbehaved as their children. This isn't to say there were not parents who were totally aware of their child's position and made sure they weren't doing anything they weren't supposed to, but the other side of the spectrum was much more present.

lunarjade

03-01-2008, 09:29 PM

I worked at Wal-Mart a few years ago... and I saw numerous parents let their children run around.. usually they let them wander around toys or electronics. We had all kinds of parents who did this and then when they were done in line they would go up to customer service and say their child was missing so we would have to go find them for them.

The saddest one I found was a little girl probably about five walking around by herself. I asked her where her mom was and she just told me me she had a mom and a dad and a cousin.. and several other relatives.
Well the aisle and the entire section of the store she was in was empty. I didn't think she came to the store with all of her relatives so I asked her if she knew her mom's name.
Of course her mom's name was Mom. So I took her to the front counter and we went over the intercom doing a reverse code Adam (missing child code). We paged it four times and no one showed up.
She was pretty happy just to sit there and tell us all about her different relatives. The parents eventually showed up and took her home but they were busy shopping which was why they didn't come to the front counter when we'd called for them.

And then another time when I worked in Zellers there was a huge commotion about a kid. Someone left him in the cab of a truck and the kid was throwing rocks at people and cars that passed by him.
There was a complaint about this but it was dropped because his mom supposedly had gone to get him. It wasn't his mom though. Another lady had taken him inside the store and given him to management.
He was filthy probably around four, had no shoes on and was very stinky like he'd wet himself a couple of times.
Management took him and called the police.
Then the parents showed up. They couldn't find their kid. The only reason we knew it was the same kid was because the mother was shouting about how people shouldn't take her kid out of the cab of her truck.
Management wouldn't bring out the child until the police arrived. There was a lot of screaming and hollering after that.

Police finally showed up and the kid was brought out. The mother took him and the police had said something about child care services and the parents took off from the store, got into their truck and sped away so quickly they almost hit the police car and another car on the way out.

bones

03-02-2008, 04:14 AM

And then another time when I worked in Zellers there was a huge commotion about a kid. Someone left him in the cab of a truck and the kid was throwing rocks at people and cars that passed by him.
There was a complaint about this but it was dropped because his mom supposedly had gone to get him. It wasn't his mom though. Another lady had taken him inside the store and given him to management.
He was filthy probably around four, had no shoes on and was very stinky like he'd wet himself a couple of times.
Management took him and called the police.
Then the parents showed up. They couldn't find their kid. The only reason we knew it was the same kid was because the mother was shouting about how people shouldn't take her kid out of the cab of her truck.
Management wouldn't bring out the child until the police arrived. There was a lot of screaming and hollering after that.

Police finally showed up and the kid was brought out. The mother took him and the police had said something about child care services and the parents took off from the store, got into their truck and sped away so quickly they almost hit the police car and another car on the way out.

Oy!!!!! I hope that kid is okay. His parents sound very suspicious like they have something to hide.

saintlike_ontheoutside

03-02-2008, 04:54 AM

People shouldn't take my kid out the cab of my truck...

If that wasn't a classy act, I don't know what is.

lunarjade

03-02-2008, 05:34 PM

People shouldn't take my kid out the cab of my truck...

If that wasn't a classy act, I don't know what is.

She made such a huge commotion that everyone was watching. I was helping customers at the jewelry counter and they kept turning to watch as well. Everyone in the area pretty much paused to watch.
What's really funny was the mother was also going on and on about what she would do to the person who dared to take her child from the cab of the truck. And the woman who had was standing right there. She however was smart enough not to say anything.

saintlike_ontheoutside

03-02-2008, 05:57 PM

They should be investigated to determine if they are even fit to be parents.

I don't think they are.

Rainshadow

03-03-2008, 12:26 AM

Wow. Shouldn't have the police looked into that to see if it was child neglect?

lunarjade

03-03-2008, 08:03 AM

Wow. Shouldn't have the police looked into that to see if it was child neglect?

They could have. I don't really know. I only get to know the parts I was around for and the stuff I heard about afterwards. The police went after them as far as I know, so chances are good it was all looked into.

Aurora199

03-07-2008, 03:19 AM

They could have. I don't really know. I only get to know the parts I was around for and the stuff I heard about afterwards. The police went after them as far as I know, so chances are good it was all looked into.

I think all the police can do is notify child welfare. When it comes to parents and children there really isn't a lot you can do. It all has to go through the right channels.

QuinnSparrow

03-08-2008, 12:56 PM

I've got a story :)

Last week I was at the train station. I was really early so I had nothing to do but people watch. This one guy came in with 3 or 4 toddlers it might have been been 5. I'm not sure if he was their father I wont make that assumption. Either way they were running around him screeching as children do. And then they did something that really horrified my. They dropped to the floor and started rolling around and the man they were with didn't even bother to look at them. Who would let a child do that? I know they try to keep the train station clean but it's a floor in a public place. Also it was snowy and people's shoes are bound to be muddy. Ugh it just grosses me out.

Grey Squirrel

03-08-2008, 01:26 PM

I used to work retail....
We had a lady once walk in, put her newborn (so wee, maybe a week old...)that was in a carrier on the cash desk, and walk away shopping. Just left him there by himself. Anyone could have just lifted it up and walked away...
We also had kids leave the store to run through the parking lot with the parents oblivious. More than once we did call the police when customers left kids in the car while they shopped....really, I could go on and on with examples....

As for kids running, what I found worked best is just saying loudly "oh sweetie, be careful running because if something breaks your mommy/daddy will have to use your allowance to pay for it" (which wasn't true, we didn't make people pay, but thinking they may have to fork out some money usually got their attention better than any other way...)
You would think...hope....that will all the news storied about kids getting taken people would open their eyes (and brains) and use some common sense!