And then I hear screaming. “HE HIT ME!!!” “SHE WON’T LET ME PLAY!!!” “HEY, GIVE THAT BACK!!!”
My kid, your kid, it doesn’t matter. I will use my very-serious-mommy-means-business voice to control the situation and lay out the expectations of kindness and manners.
When I’m volunteering in the classroom at school and one of the kids pushes me in the back with both hands because I’m unknowingly standing in her way, I will give her the hairy-mommy-eyeball and quietly say, “Perhaps the words you’re looking for are, EXC– USE ME?!” However, I will resist the urge to cuff her upside the head, I promise.
Child to child or worse, child to adult, if they’re rude or snippy or full on belligerent, in my presence, I will not be able to contain myself with a smile and walk away. And frankly neither should you. I mean it.
We all come across bad adults who cut lineups, don’t hold doors open for people, don’t say Thank You or Excuse Me and yell at servers. Perhaps if all adults, not just their parents, held them accountable for their bad behaviour as children, they would have better manners as adults.
At the mall recently, I held open the door for my family to go through and I smiled and waved on the stranger behind them as well saying, “after you”. He walked through the door with not so much as a smile on his face. He didn’t look at me and he didn’t thank me! My response was a very annoyed, “oh you’re very welcome, I don’t get paid to stand and hold the door open for strangers y’know.” I bet he was THAT kid! He was the one that got away with his poor behaviour at home and on play-dates. Don’t let your kid turn into THAT guy.
Lets make a pact, I’ll yell at your kids if you yell at mine!
What do you do when you see other peoples kids with bad behaviour?