Several years ago when I owned my own retail shoe store; a grandmother brought her grandson in to look for shoes. I was checking merchandise in on the computer, while my employee Jason was helping them. This little youngster was about three years old, and decided it would be fun to start kicking a mirror which was on the front of the counter where I was working.
After a few minutes of this, the kid literally kicking the mirror over and over, I leaned over the counter and said, “Young man, you need to stop that.” He looked up at me and then ran over to his grandmother. I stepped into the back room to put some shoes up, and this lady said to Jason, “He’s got a lot of nerve telling my grandson what to do.”
“Well mam, he wouldn’t stop kicking the mirror, I’m pretty sure Dave just didn’t want it to get broken.”
“We don’t have to put up with this kind of service, we’re leaving!” And she grabbed the boy and they left. When I came out of the back room, Jason told me what had happened, and I just laughed. I hated losing a sale, but this woman needed to learn how to control her kid.
One of my pet peeves is people who refuse to control their children. It’s your job as the parent to see to it your little ones aren’t causing disturbances and acting up in public. You’re the parent, so be the parent. Stop telling your kids that someone is going to “get them” if they don’t quit misbehaving, and discipline them.
Too many parents are trying to be friends with their children instead of teaching them how they should act when they are in public. And parents it is YOUR responsibility to do this; not teachers, grandparents, or Sunday school teachers.
If your kid acts up, get a small paddle and swat their behind with it. (Never use your hands to spank.) And I’m not talking about abusing your kids by hitting them so hard you bruise them. (This is actually a misdemeanor in Oklahoma.) What I’m talking about is behavior control through the use of corporal punishment.
If your child is acting up, tell them to stop it. If they don’t then explain to them if they don’t stop you will take them to the car and spank them. If they persist, then take them to the car and spank them. If you say you’re going to do something, then do it. The worst thing you can do when raising children is to not keep your word.
Most parents don’t want to discipline because it is inconvenient for them. I don’t know how many times my wife would leave a basket full of groceries in the store and march our kids out to the van to spank one of them. It isn’t easy to administer discipline, because it takes commitment on your part to see it through, every time.
I know your kid is probably the exception to the rule and never needs discipline (yeah right) but if you’re going to take them out in public, do the rest of us a favor and make them mind instead of letting them run all over you. Be the parent, grandparent or guardian your child actually needs, not the one you want to be.
Now you know what I think, what do you think?
All In A Knight's Work 