Turn Down the Volume

Originally posted April 10, 2006

As I walked past Safeway the other day on my usual route home from work, I stumbled across something I've seen so often that it's really starting to piss me off: a guy fighting with his girlfriend? wife? anyway, yelling obscenities at her, right in front of the little girl they had with them. I don't remember what he said...something like "I don't give a fuck!"...and I probably couldn't help but twist my face into some sort of contorted "ew."

Right up there with this pet peeve are the moms who incessantly yell and swear at their children in public. Usually this goes hand-in-hand with giving their child a good yank on the arm too. I mean, I fully understand the frustration that can come with children...but c'mon...is swearing at them and demeaning them in public really the way to go about it? And I'm talking little kids, too...not 12- or 16-year-olds.

Nothing socks me in the stomach harder than seeing a mom out with her kids being nothing but crabby and unpleasant to them. Granted, everyone has their day, but there's just something about them that tells you this is probably the norm. What I want to know is...if you're not going to enjoy your children, or at least treat them well, why have them? And if you can't handle as many as you have, why did you decide to have that many? I mean, I guess this goes back to my argument that people are having kids before they're ready (although they probably think they're ready) and before they really know the person they're having them with. I guess that although patience is a virtue, it's hard to muster for some parents.

It just saddens me when I see a kid who wants attention, and their parent responds by telling them to "shut up" or "knock that shit off," etc. There's always a nicer way to say things. And people wonder why more kids are growing up so angry and depressed!

Sigh.

Dom commented: yah, tell me 'bout it- see it everyday. one time, i saw this lady sitting in her car while she left her daughter, who couldn't have been more than 2, in the cart between the cars. i guess the girl had been "bad." anyways, the mom was pretending like she was going to leave without her and the little girl was crying and screaming, "no! don't leave." when the mom saw me standing there watching, totally appalled, she got out and asked her, "now, are you going to do that again?" about three times, with the girl saying, "no mommy!" every time, and then she finally took her. that's MY story.

Kim commented: Barf...but then again, I guess it's one thing to pretend like that, and yet quite another to yank on your kid's arm and say "stop being a little shit!!" If parents want to know why their kids don't listen to and respect them, I'd say it starts right there.