It's Like He Knows What I'm Thinking...

I read a very frank, honest, and rather scathing column today about discipline. It really expresses what I feel about discipline, as well as what I feel about my kids (and other kids) and the way that they act. Especially in public. Here's the first paragraph.

"If you're the kind of parent who allows your 5-year-old to run rampant in public placces like restaurants, I have what could be some rather disturbing news for you. I do not love your child. The rest of the country does not love your child either. And the reason why we're staring at you every other bite is not because we're acknowledging some sort of mutual understanding that kids will be kids but rather we want to kill you for letting your brat ruin our dinner."

I never wanted to have "those children." You know the ones. The ones that NOBODY wants to have over. Pete and I have worked hard and been extremely dilligent in our efforts to make sure our boys are respectful to people and their property. Having no boundaries for our children doesn't show them security. It will only make them try harder to get some type of reaction, other than the monotone repetition of empty threats I hear in the grocery store lineup. Like the article says; "I don't believe making a child's wishes top priority is a demonstration of love. Nor do I believe I, or the rest of the world, should act as a surrogate parent for somebody's bad-ass kids." If I tell my children, "If you do that again, we are leaving right now," they believe me. They know that we will drop everything and leave. I wouldn't tell them that if I didn't have the intent to follow through.

There. That's my rant for the day. If you would like to read the article, click HERE. **Please be aware that this is an OPINION. If you don't like what I or this article have to say, it's not my fault. **