Parenting Or Lack Thereof

[FuzzyCottonsocks]

I walk almost every day with my child.  Today we were walking and some kids started shouting obscene things at us from their house. Being a toddler, my kid didn't understand a word of it but naturally I left. They shouted at us until we were out of sight.  Had I been by myself I wouldn't have cared, but shouting obscenities at a small child? This sort of thing never ceases to amaze me. I shouldn't expect too much as these are most likely, the same children who amuse themselves by picking on a handicapped resident. One can only imagine the rock star parents that produced such little angels.

[ppv2]

How sad, I'm sorry.

[amyrouse]

Its a hard thing, when you do your best to raise your kids in the manner you think is best, when you see other parents that fall short of your mark.  It disappoints me that I see my nephew, who is 19 months old, still taking a bottle to go to sleep, waking in the middle of the night for a bottle multiple times, still needing his milk heated, and not able to eat or drink anything cold...but he's a happy healthy baby.  He's not overweight, he's meeting all his development milestones.  Then, I see a friend whose daughter is less than a month younger than mine that doesn't speak at all, and my daughter is forming sentences.  Its hard as a parent to not see that and say "oh the parents must be doing something wrong" in those circumstances, even though you logically know that every child is different and every parent is different.  Just because parenting styles differ doesn't mean the parent is bad or wrong.

But these kids on your walk seemed to be showing blatant disrespect...that is something every parent should attempt to instill in their child.

[FuzzyCottonsocks]

Its a hard thing, when you do your best to raise your kids in the manner you think is best, when you see other parents that fall short of your mark.  It disappoints me that I see my nephew, who is 19 months old, still taking a bottle to go to sleep, waking in the middle of the night for a bottle multiple times, still needing his milk heated, and not able to eat or drink anything cold...but he's a happy healthy baby.  He's not overweight, he's meeting all his development milestones.  Then, I see a friend whose daughter is less than a month younger than mine that doesn't speak at all, and my daughter is forming sentences.  Its hard as a parent to not see that and say "oh the parents must be doing something wrong" in those circumstances, even though you logically know that every child is different and every parent is different.  Just because parenting styles differ doesn't mean the parent is bad or wrong.

But these kids on your walk seemed to be showing blatant disrespect...that is something every parent should attempt to instill in their child.

I try not to judge others for doing things differently, but it's the disrespect as you mentioned that gets me along with the cruelty they display.  People have spoken with the parents multiple times, so it's not like they're unaware.  Yet the kids continue with this behavior and it makes me wonder what is going on.  I could be wrong. Maybe mom and dad are working 2 or 3 jobs to make ends meet and don't have time to deal with this effectively.  It is admittedly hard not to judge people when their children are calling you and your two year old names.  lol 

[sgluckadoo]

I walk almost every day with my child.  Today we were walking and some kids started shouting obscene things at us from their house. Being a toddler, my kid didn't understand a word of it but naturally I left. They shouted at us until we were out of sight.  Had I been by myself I wouldn't have cared, but shouting obscenities at a small child? This sort of thing never ceases to amaze me. I shouldn't expect too much as these are most likely, the same children who amuse themselves by picking on a handicapped resident. One can only imagine the rock star parents that produced such little angels.

it is so complicated it is not easily explained. there are so many considerations. parenting is a verb, and many parents dont understand that they need to take action. kids today are exposed to lots of questionable, inappropriate media... the list goes on and on.

[tzs]

I blame the parents. It always starts with them and the foundations that they lay down for their children.  Kids tend to mimic people that they care about or idolize, especially if the child has an outgoing personality already. If you shout obscene things to eachother as parents, your children will learn the same behavior. If you do the opposite, and become involved in your childs life positively, teach them patience and how to handle social situations, it makes all the difference in the world. 

Of course, I am not counting the terrible 2's, because obviously nothing really phases your child during this time, except for what they want~IMMEDIATELY!

I used to live in South Austin, Texas, and I saw this little boy with a stick hitting a street sign for about 30 minutes, all by himself.....
Kinda strange to me that he was doing this, out of pure boredom.  Where were his parents, who should have been teaching him how to ride a bike, or read a book, or draw??? Where were his friends to socialize with??? 

It never ceases to amaze me when I see a parent walk outside to call their child into the house, and instead of just calling their name loudly, they yell and scream like a banshee, and turn around and wonder why their child is talking back to them, and screaming and yelling at them and others when they get mad.......Here's your sign!!!

[TVALLO]

Agreed.