Why do parents do this at the mall??

[ChrisnSteph]

I'm glad my kids are older. Now I only have to worry about being judged for letting them play on no-scoring sports teams.

Why on earth would anyone judge you for that?!

Dont worry about it. It's easy to judge people when you haven't walked in their shoes. Most of the people that like to get on their pedestal either have no kids, or they only have one and have it easy. I know. I remember when I only had my dd and I thought I was the best parent in the world and my dd was the most behaved. Then came the other monsters. I'm counting the days until they're all in school and I can have a moments peace. But really, people can be so critical of parents these days, especially of those with unruly kids. But try to spank or discipline your child in public and those same people would probably turn you into CPS. Seriously, this happened to a friend of mine in Costco. She had her three kids with her, and they were all misbehaving. Her son kept climbing out of the cart, and she kept warning him. Finally she picked him up, spanked his bottom and sat him back down. Of course her adorable, angelic looking son started bawling hysterically. A few customers in the store gathered around this poor woman, got the store manager, who really didn't know what to do, someone called the cops and they showed up at the store! They accused her of abusing her child and verbal abuse (because supposedly she was yelling at the kids). The cops ended up leaving when they realized that there wasn't any harm done, and she has vowed never to shop in that store again. You're damned if you do, damned if you don't. It's no wonder there are so many children that are out of control. AHHHHH! That's a whole other rant I'll save for another day I guess!

 

[chobie]

Why on earth would anyone judge you for that?!

Dont worry about it. It's easy to judge people when you haven't walked in their shoes. Most of the people that like to get on their pedestal either have no kids, or they only have one and have it easy. I know. I remember when I only had my dd and I thought I was the best parent in the world and my dd was the most behaved. Then came the other monsters. I'm counting the days until they're all in school and I can have a moments peace. But really, people can be so critical of parents these days, especially of those with unruly kids. But try to spank or discipline your child in public and those same people would probably turn you into CPS. Seriously, this happened to a friend of mine in Costco. She had her three kids with her, and they were all misbehaving. Her son kept climbing out of the cart, and she kept warning him. Finally she picked him up, spanked his bottom and sat him back down. Of course her adorable, angelic looking son started bawling hysterically. A few customers in the store gathered around this poor woman, got the store manager, who really didn't know what to do, someone called the cops and they showed up at the store! They accused her of abusing her child and verbal abuse (because supposedly she was yelling at the kids). The cops ended up leaving when they realized that there wasn't any harm done, and she has vowed never to shop in that store again. You're damned if you do, damned if you don't. It's no wonder there are so many children that are out of control. AHHHHH! That's a whole other rant I'll save for another day I guess!

Good rant! Yes, I was once told I was "mistreating" my child because I held DD by the hand too firmly as I was leading her off the playground. I needed to pick my DH up from work and despite giving my then 4 y.o. the 10 and 5 minute warnings, when it was time to go she refused. I had a toddler in my arms and I took my DD's hand and started walking to wards the car, she of course screamed bloody murder. So, this woman rushed up to me and confronted me. My DD then screamed in the woman's face "Mommy it's a stranger aaaaah!" The woman took a few steps backward and said "I see you have a very powerful child. Perhaps you should try meditating". Then she fled. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. That's how I feel about parenting sometimes.

About the no-score sports. I have two very unathletic kids, one who has some delays in his motor skills. So, I put them in no-score sports for the exercise, team work and physical therapy aspects. Some people think that is horribly wrong because I'm not teaching them to be competitive and to be good losers. Whatever. I don't think all kids sports should be no-score, but I like having the option for my kids. YMMV

 

[ChrisnSteph]

Getting ready for the flames.....


I personally would never use a "kid leash". I think they're degrading and just plain lazy. If they want to get out of the stroller and walk, fine. But I can't put a leash on someone.

"Lazy" is letting your kids run around like wild animals and not doing anything about it. There isn't anything degrading about doing whatever it takes to keep your children safe and out of the way of other people (like the OP who complained about the stroller issue). Like I said before, I used to have a problem with people using child leashes. Now I have two very active (one with ADHD) 2 and 3 year old boys, a 9 year old, and a 5 month old baby that HAS to be pushed in a stroller. I can't push two strollers when I'm by myself (usually the case when I'm out and about because dh works and dd is at school). My boys will run off every chance they get. They are very active children, and I only have two hands. And yes, I do discipline my children. I also believe in spanking But kids will be kids, gotta control them somehow. I will probably buy leashes. Unless you have a better suggestion!

 

[Kristi1357]

I personally would never use a "kid leash". I think they're degrading and just plain lazy. If they want to get out of the stroller and walk, fine. But I can't put a leash on someone.

Just curious, how many, if any, kids do you have? I am really not trying to be mean. I find myself doing alot of things I said I wouldn't do once I had a child. Like anything else, it's a whole different ball game once you are in it and not a bystander.

I would rather leash on very active 20 mo. old in a crowded mall or WDW than have him abducted. I guess I am "just plain lazy" in WDW.

 

[luv2nascar]

I was complimented on Friday in Limited too in the mall because dd was so well behaved in her stroller. Older DD was taking a while to pick something out. Sales girl was helping entertain little one (20 mos). She indicated most of the kids aren't in there strollers and just destroy the store when they come in and parent just let them run. I don't agree with it and she is hard to control. She is very fast and wirey. We only go for short periods of time. Whatever she can handle. I love the mall in VA that has giant fake food for the kids to play on. It is all soft and they can run jump and climb in an enclosed area. It really wears them down for the stroller but a great area to stretch the kiddos legs.

 

[Beth76]

If my child can walk well, he's not going to be confined to the stroller the whole time, no matter where we are (unless he's sleeping). I don't want them to think they get a free ride everywhere they go. They need to be able to get out of their containers and explore their world. Now, this doesn't mean that I'm going to let my child run off from me through the mall. But, a little exercise never hurt anyone.

 

[Minnie824]

My oldest DD is 3 and she went thru a phase where she wouldnt always want to stay in the stroller. We told her though if she wanted to walk, she had to hold the stroller or hold our hands...that worked pretty well. Our 10 month old is a lot more active than older DD was, and I have a feeling that may be an issue with us once she's a little older. That being said...now, girls are almost always in stroller, or DD3 knows to stay with us. I would never let them run so far ahead...I don't trust people. Anyone, anywhere could just snatch them up and take off. We were at the mall here last week, and this woman let her child, maybe 4, run back across the food court to his grandma...now the woman did not even turn around to watch him (she was in line) and he just took off. I watched to see where he was going, and the grandma didnt know he was on his way there even. Its just not safe to me.

 

[tinksgirl]

I own a childrens boutique for my life i cant understand moms who go through the effort to bring the carriage in take the kid out to run around.
The worst is alot of these kids are under 1 learning to walk and moms just walk off while the kids find the stairs Destroy merchandise that later they will say oh this is damaged is it on sale Hello your kid just did it!.I sell baby gund do you know how many parents give these to babys to slob.another problem is parents who let the kids run and play in displays I am a store not a playground clothing racks are metal they have screws in them and when little tommy gets hurt is mommy going to sue you bet!.I do offer a toy box that i point out to parents sometimes it works most of the time it doesnt matter.
I know i got a bit off subject here but parents need to control their kids even if it means leaving,by the way i do have kids of my own 3 to be exact so i have been there.

 

[HappyMommy2]

Had to chuckle at this one!

I have two kids. The first one would happily ride in the stroller for hours at the mall and would contentedly ride in the shopping cart the whole time at the grocery store. When I saw other kids protesting the stroller or the cart I would congratulate myself that I was such a wonderful and effective parent!

Then came DS #2. Wow. What a wake-up call (the term "hell spawn" above applies well here, LOL!). We've done our best to train him to ride in the stroller but ever since he could walk, he wants to walk most of the time, and sometimes he does run ahead, which results in him being put (kicking and screaming sometimes, which gets us dirty looks from bystanders occasionally!) back into the stroller or cart for his own safety. This is a learning process (kind of reminds me of teaching a wild puppy to "heel"!) and we're seeing results, but though we do our very best, the process is slow!