Overheard at the zoo last week:
Mom to tweenage son: “Knock it off, Caden! We’re not in a video game.”
Tweenage boy attempting to trip younger sibling: “You’re going down.”
Mom: “Caden! Knock! It! Off!”
Boy: “DOWN!”
And that’s exactly where the younger sibling went. Flat on his face, courtesy of the tweenage boy, right in front of the polar bear exhibit where my daughter and I happened to be standing.
Unfortunately, we had front row seats to the mama drama.
And the show was far from over.
In fact, it was just beginning.
Once the mom saw her younger child hit the pavement she lost it.
As in Amelia Earhart lost.
The woman ripped into that boy like there was no tomorrow. Cursing, swearing, yelling, screaming; I’m pretty sure even the polar bears were offended. I know I was.
While I can certainly sympathize with a parent losing his or her patience while dealing with a defiant child, no kid should be subjected to that level of verbal abuse.
C’mon, is ripping your kid a new one in the middle of the zoo–or any public place for that matter–really going to help the situation? What’s more, is calling your child an effing worm really going to act as an incentive for him to behave properly in the future?
I’m no saint and I certainly don’t know the back story of this particular mom and her offspring–she could have been tired or hungry or hot, or all three–still, how much of your brain do you really need to exercise to know that swearing at your kid like a drunken sailor in front of dozens of other families is not a good idea?
Then again, neither is losing your temper and nailing your three-year-old in the face during a family trip to Disney World.
Yet, that’s real too.
According to police in Orlando, Florida, a father allegedly kicked his toddler son in the face while at Epcot last week.
Investigators told news reporters the boy was sitting in his stroller, when his 41-year-old father kicked him at the Mexico exhibit in Epcot’s World Showcase following an argument with the boy’s mother.
Detectives say when they arrived on the scene the boy had a cut below his left eye, bruising above his eyebrow and his entire left eye was swollen. Law enforcement then arrested the boy’s father who happened to be visiting with his family from Italy.
And get this: The father is a doctor.
Apparently, a doctor who is in desperate need of anger management help.
Florida’s Department of Children and Families was called to investigate the incident; however, once the dad made bail he reportedly took off and authorities say he’s probably back in Italy by now.
I’ve never had the pleasure of visiting Italy, but I’m pretty sure the country doesn’t embrace parents who lose it in public when pushed to the edge.
Am I wrong?
What do you do to keep your anger in check when dealing with unruly kids in public places?
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