On Thu 20 Jan 2005 11:48:59a, Denise~* tittered and giggled, and giggled
and tittered, and finally blurted out...

>
>> No sillier than your assuming your child is "entertainment" for
>> everybody in public. Not everyone wants to be entertained by someone
>> elses kids. I'd rather pay for my entertainment and choose its venue.
>> Silly and giddy, possibly loud and boisterous, underfoot and in the
>> way, are not characteristics that I find appealing when I'm trying to
>> shop or eat in a rewtaurant. AFAIC, it's an unpleasant distraction.
>
> Actually, it wasn't an assumption. Just about every time we go out I
> get a compliment and/or a smiles toward my kid. the compliment is
> typically about how cute/well behaved he is. It's nice to hear, and
> also reinforces my belief that I must have a special child, because I
> don't think this is all learned behavior. I think my boy's personality
> is very different than the average child. I think the noisiest he gets
> is typically a boisterous giggle, because we would be probably making
> faces to each other or doing something silly while shopping or standing
> in line.

Denise, I hope you didn't take this personally. It wasn't meant so. Given
your description of your son's behavior, you are to be congratulated on
your attentiveness and your child-rearing skills. You and your son are
probably ones who I would compliment.

> One thing I never do is let him run around aimlessly either. He always
> sits in the cart, and if he ever got too old to do that, he would be
> taught to walk by my side & behave.

From my experience, this is not usually what I see.

> I think a lot that might have to do with this is that I am a work at
> home mom & he has never had to spend any time in daycare. We also
> "talk" to him and treat him with a level of respect that I don't believe
> some parents do. We also hold the belief that most "popular" and PC
> child rearing practices are bull.

You are probably right about the popular and PC child rearing techniques.

>> You are absolutely correct. When a parent IS a good mentor, then a
>> child should certainly be with them in public. All too often, however,
>> parents act as though their child isn't even there and exert absolutely
>> no authority over them in controlling their behaviour. What really
>> ****es me off are the parents that think their child's misbehavior is
>> "cute". It clearly is not. Just last week I encountered a couple in
>> the supermarket with three children who were probably under the age of
>> five. They were near the end of an aisle I was trying to exit, noisily
>> running back and forth, rolling around on the floor, and blocking the
>> aisle. I had to turn around and traverse the entire aisle to get away
>> from them. There is no excuse for such behavior.
>>
>> When I see well-behaved children, I make it a point to comment on this
>> to the parent. Unfortunately, this is all too seldom.
>
> So why would you assume the opposite just because it's seldom that you
> see it?

I'm not assuming anything. Mostly I see ill-behaved children with parents
who either don't care or don't recognize it themselves. Possibly the
parents are just as ill-behaved in their own way in other venues. What see
least are well-behaved children with attentive parents.

> As a matter of fact, about 6 months ago we were at home depot & my boy
> was acting just a little too hyper. he was sitting in the cart, but was
> driving ME nuts even. On the way home I called DH and asked him to meet
> me at a park & ride. We exchanged cars & then I went grocery shopping.
> That is the only time we have ever had to do that.

Obviously, your love and diligence in raising your son has paid big
dividends. I understand that children's behavior can be unpredictable, and
this instance you clearly did the right thing. I wish more parents would
do the same.

Cheers,
Wayne