I just read an article on the wire about a cafe owner in Chicago banning kids from his restaurant. Okay, I have kids. Am I outraged like a lot of parents out there? No! I admire him for having the cajones to stand up to those parents that allow their kids to throw things, break stuff and treat other people's property with absolute disdain.
Since when did it become the norm to not discipline your kids? I hate to make this comparison but I was reading a anecdote the other day where a vet was having a problem with a dog that was mean. He said the dog as a pup and young adult was spoiled. The owners never corrected it and lavished it with treats even when it misbehaved. He concluded the dog didn't have boundaries set and being a pack animal couldn't distinguish the leader of the pack, so it established itself as the dictator.
I think the same about children. There are parents that just don't care to discipline their children and I don't know if it is because it is other people's property they are destroying or they are just too lax. Either way, they stink. Maybe I am the other extreme, but I expect my kids to treat someone else's belongings the same way I want mine treated.
The same goes for screaming and tantrums in public places. Mine have done it and they get taken out, sometimes at the expense of my enjoyment.
We give a lot more leeway to our kids these days. They tend the run the household and because we are busy we give in to get some peace. If they are like little dictators at this young an age, what are they going to be like at 16 and bigger than you?
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