Some People's Kids

Make me crazy.

I was at the high school band concert last week. We arrived early to get good seats near the front so I could take pictures.

An older woman came and sat in front of us. I didn't think much about it.
A woman and her 4? year old came and sat in front of her.
The little boy got up and went to sit with the older woman. He was bouncing in his seat. The concert hadn't started yet and he really wasn't bothering anyone at that point.
The mother told him to stop repeatedly. That little kid knew exactly how to push her buttons. He also knew she wouldn't do anything to him. He kept bouncing. The older woman did nothing to help.
I rolled my eyes at LLB. We knew it was going to get worse.

A woman and her husband showed up and sat in the same row as the older woman and little boy. They left a few seats between them and the kid. (Smart!!)

Throughout the first half of the performance, the kid did everything he could to irritate his mother and older woman. The people in the same row were irritated. We were irritated. But, the fault lies with the mother for not taking his sorry butt right out of there in the first place. Why didn't she move to the back of the auditorium? The place seats 1200 people. The place was no where near full!!

During the short intermission, she hauled him out and gave him a cookie. Oh - yeah - thanks... give him sugar!

When she came back in, he sat with the mother for about 30 seconds. Then he moved to sit with older woman. He was obnoxious. He tried to climb the seats, he chattered incessantly, he toyed with his mother. Finally about 3/4 of the way through the performance, the mother decided that maybe she'd had enough and tried to haul his sorry little butt out of there. He ran towards the couple in front of us. The older woman didn't try to help. I wanted to reach over the seats, grab the kid, and toss him to his mother. I didn't do that. It was way more fun to just watch the older woman get up so the mom could grab his arm and take him out.

Now, I don't blame the kid. I blame the mother.
She did not make him sit with her.
She did not make him behave.
She did not tell him that she was going to take him out if he misbehaved.
She did not discipline this kid at all.
She just kept telling him to stop.
Sorry, honey... that's not going to work - ever.
Children need consequences.

My children learned about consequences very early in life. They can tell you what happened the few times that they tested me. They have a saying they learned: Don't shame your mother.

They live by it.