Thursday, April 16, 2009

The Screaming Mee-mees...

While at Safeway the other day, my ears were assaulted with what I would consider a deadly weapon.

Allow me to explain...

At our Safeway, there are two shopping carts with the little kiddie car attached to the front. My kids both used to love riding in those things when we'd go shopping. Moose would always get in the police car when it was available (go figure that one, eh) and ride around making siren sounds. But I digress...

A dad was pushing one of these carts around the store with his kid "driving". Every time dad would start to push toward the front of the store, the kid would let out an ear piercing shriek, "NOOOOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

When dad rounded the next aisle and started toward the back of the store, the kid made the standard VROOM VROOM noises.

After a few cycles of "VROOM VROOM. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! VROOM VROOOM. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" you could say I was beginning to get a little fed up.

Dad either didn't care, or didn't think there was anything he could do about the shrieking little shit. Dad just kept on about his business, completely ignoring the child, and saying absolutely nothing to even ATTEMPT to get the kid to quit shrieking.

Kids like that drive me bat-shit crazy. Parents who stand there and allow it drive me doubly so.

My kids have always known that such ear piercing behavior is absolutely unacceptable. Mrs. Smith and I don't expect them to be absolutely quiet. They are kids after all. If they get upset and cry or raise their voice, they are usually allowed to do so within limits.

But when it gets to the point of annoying, or just downright pissing off other shoppers, it ends. They either end the behavior, or we go outside while their mom finishes shopping.

More and more I believe parents these days are severely lacking a clue...

16 comments:

Front Porch Society said...

Yep, that would have annoyed the piss out of me, too. It seems more and more these days that parents just do not care to actually BE parents. And if that is the case, why did they have kids in the first place? Carrying on their family name is so NOT an excuse either!

David Woycechowsky said...

Maybe he is worried that he will lose joint custody if he disciplines the child appropriately.

MTL said...

Since you are a LEO, you will appreciate this. My brother just told me that they were recently dispatched to a call. The reason?This lady's brat kid (maybe 8 or 9) was screaming a fuss. The mom could not control him and he refused to go to school. So, she called the police on her own kid for THIS and when they arrived tried to get them to go along with her crazy lie that if he didn't stop whining and go to school, they would arrest the kid. Can you believe that?! Talk about not taking responsibility for your own children.

Anonymous said...

At least you get to leave the store whenever you choose to if the screaming/whining gets bad enough that you just can't take it anymore! I've had so many kids come through my line freaking out and I just wanna yell at the kids for behaving that way and the parents for allowing it. But, alas, I'm not allowed to say anything.

mynoduesp said...

I don't know why people always assume kids that behave like that are brats or that the parents are irresponsible.

In this case, from Officer "Smith's" description, it sounds way more to me how an autistic kid would act and definitely how the parent of one would.

MTL said...

You know what’s funny, 10 people can see a situation one way, but then there will always be one who finds a way to twist that same thing to make an excuse for it and make that person a victim rather than an offender.

So I will play along. Maybe that child did have autism. And if that was the case (and from the limited description, it is NOT as obvious as you’d like to try to make us believe), then my heart goes out to both of them. But more than likely with so many kids having no respect today and even more parents being pansies and letting their kids walk all over them , I would be willing to be that autism was not the issue there.

anon said...

I gave my son a smack on the butt for some TERRIBLE behavior in a grocery store.
An older lady gave me hell for it. I asked her if she's like to see me dealing with his behavior now, or maybe later in life have him breaking into her home to steal her hard earned possessions? No answer.
I'm sure I've upset a number of people by mentioning the smack, but when I've said 'no' a couple of times, I move on, just like it happens in the real world.

Officer "Smith" said...

I highly doubt this kid was autistic. He was just a screaming little shit.

As for putting the smack down, it worked for us when we were kids, so why wouldn't it work for our kids now?

And don't give me that "It just teaches them that hitting is a way to solve problems" bullshit. It taught generations not to act like a jackass, so when did the meaning change?

This "let kids be kids" at the expense of everyone else crap that brings us the carefree criminals we have these days.

David Woycechowsky said...

I highly doubt this kid was autistic. He was just a screaming little shit.What clues do you look for to tell the difference?

*Goddess* said...

I've noticed that the older your own kids get, the less patience you have with the antics of small children.

Definition of 'brat'= other people's kids...LOL!

Anonymous said...

mynoduesp -- My son is on the autism spectrum and I seriously do not see how you can diagnose this kid with autism. #1 - YOU DON'T KNOW THE KID!! #2 - Even if you are a qualified doctor to diagnose, you'd need more than Mr Smith's story to do so.

Oh, and I mentioned that my kid is on the spectrum, he would NEVER DREAM of acting that way!!! Autism is not an excuse to let your kids do whatever they want! I wish people would get it through their stubborn heads that kids with autism can behave just like any one else! (granted, this depends on the level of function)

Lady (i assume) if you wanna get riled up about something, why don't you go to this link:
http://beckiyagh.com/index.php/2009/04/i-dig-jenny-but/

Sorry, Mr Smith, I just couldn't let it go.

mynoduesp said...

Had I known my innocuous comment would be met with such rudeness and hysteria, I wouldn't have made it.

In the future I'll be sure to avoid this section of an otherwise awesome blog.

Snigglefrits said...

Have you ever noticed that these kind of parents never just have one or two screaming Mimis, but have a drove of children all 9 months and 1 day apart from one another?

My son tried screaming in a store once. I quietly whispered in his ear that I'd give him something to scream about and he never tried that again.

I'd love to say to those types of parents "If you "enjoy" your kids noisy and climbing the walls & curtains, that's a-okay. Just keep them at home where the rest of us don't have to enjoy them.".

Officer "Smith" said...

mynoduesp:

Perhaps you wouldn't mind expanding a bit on the "rudeness and hysteria" you claim as a result of your "innocuous comment".

I've read and re-read the comments on this post and see nothing more than people expressing their opinions just as I did, and just as you did.

Nobody called you names, with the exception of "lady". Nobody made any comments to the effect of "you're so full of shit your eyes are brown". So I'm not sure how you feel anyone was rude or otherwise hysterical.

Also, how can you say that we do not "definitely" know this kid wasn't autistic, but that the parent was "definitely" acting like the parent of an autistic child. Just exactly what does the parent of an autistic child act like?

Rebecca said...

I am the parent of an Autistic child - I am the one TeriKathleen linked to. I do NOT act like that.

If that had been my kid I would have left everything in the cart, picked his little butt up and immediately left the store. Autism is NOT an excuse for acting out of control.

My son has had outbursts in public, horrific meltdowns even. I do not just ignore it, I deal with it.

The suggestion that this kid has autism just because of his behavior is outlandish to put it mildly. Further, screaming "no" when heading to the door and then "vroom vroom" when going the opposite way is pretty characteristic of what any bratty little non-parented kid will do.

Self-diagnosis by people who think they know what is going on is moronic.. yep, I guess I am the first one who called a name and it only applies if you are the self-diagnosing person.

It is assumptions like the one made by "mynoduesp" that serve to alienate children like mine more and more from the world that sees them as a "problem" and not as a gift. Educate yourself!

Becki
http://beckiyagh.com

Officer "Smith" said...

Thank you Becki.