A Mother that followed through...
By cortjo73
@cortjo73 (6498)
United States
June 10, 2010 3:54pm CST
I was at Goodyear tires yesterday, getting my tire fixed. I was sitting in the waiting room when a mother with her 2 kids came in. They were pretty well behaved. I think the daughter was maybe 8 and the son was maybe 6. The daughter got up and grabbed a cup and started to get coffee in the cup. The mother, who was reading something at the time, looked up and noticed what the daughter was doing. She immediately stopped her and asked her what she was doing. The daughter told her she wanted some water and the mother informed her that it was coffee in the machine. The girl giggled. Then the mother asked her if she had asked her if it was ok to get something to drink. The daughter said no. The mother told her to throw the cup away and told her that she had to ask her if she could do something like that in the future. So, the girl threw the cup away and proceeded to grab another cup. The mother stopped her again and told her no and to put the cup back. The daughter kept trying to grab the cup and kept trying to rationalize why she needed the cup. Mother asked her if she asked if she could get a new cup and daughter said no. She still tried to grab for the cup and mother kept telling her that she had to ask permission from mother to do anything. Finally, daughter stopped trying to get a cup and mother never backed down.
I was impressed because, I have seen a lot of mothers back down and let their kids do whatever they want to. They may say no once but they always give in. I get that you need to pick your battles as a mother, sometimes. But, it seems like more times than not, a mother is backing down to her kids in public.
What do you all think? Do you think the mother at Goodyear should have backed down? I for one think that more mothers should learn from her example.
3 responses
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
10 Jun 10
Hi cortjo! I think that what this mother did was absolutely
right! And if the daughter still didn't understand than she
would learn the lesson at some point! And it is true that most
of the time the mothers do end up giving in just so that they
don't have the child throw a tantrum, especially in public!
I think that is the worst scenario possible! I have seen so
many children throw tantrums in stores and the parents seem
oblivous to this! It doesn't seem to upset them, but it sure
does all the other people who have to witness the screaming
child! I give this mother alot of credit for her patience and
for sticking to her principle!
@cortjo73 (6498)
• United States
12 Jun 10
Hey Opal!
I agree! I silently gave her a ton of credit for how she handled the situation. I thought about telling her how much I appreciated the way she handled it but, I didn't want to interfere, even though, I think she might have liked to hear that I thought she was a good mom. And, it might have encouraged her to continue not to give in. I have been in stores where I see parents just ignoring the tantrums. It drives me crazy. You don't have to give in but, something needs to be done. Sheesh. LOL!
On the other hand, I did witness a mother nearly slap her daughter across the face, several years ago, because her daughter was sort of off in her own little world and daydreaming in line at the grocery store. She wasn't screaming, crying, throwing a tantrum or even asking for anything. She was maybe about 5 or 6 years old. She was standing in front of the grocery cart daydreaming and her mom told her to move out of the way. When the little girl didn't move right away, her mom raised her hand to slap her across the face. I stared her down and she looked at me at the last second and didn't end up slapping her. It was uncalled for. Not that I think that a slap across the face is ever a good idea. I am for a whack on the butt but, not a slap across the face and definitely not for daydreaming. She wasn't doing anything wrong. She was just little and in her own little world for a few seconds. I am known to do that myself so, I can't fault her for it. If that woman would have hit her for that reason, I would have done something. Called the police or smacked the mother myself.
There are definitely moments when parents should be more stern but, that wasn't the time. And, never the right method.
@Natara (169)
• Canada
10 Jun 10
I think it's good for parents to do things like that, but I think for the most part the girl justdidn't realize it was coffee. I don't think a situation where the girl just wanted a drink of water would have been the best time to do that. Maybe if the mother had just said that it was coffee, and the water wasn't there, it would have been fine.
@cortjo73 (6498)
• United States
12 Jun 10
The mother did try to tell her it was coffee and when the daughter acknowledged what mom was telling her, she still continued to try to get some coffee. Then, mom finally got her to throw the cup away and she decided she still wanted to use another cup. It took mom some time to finally get it through to daughter not to take another cup. The daughter didn't want to listen. So, the mother really needed to be persistent. And, she did tell the daughter 4 times that there wasn't any water.
@twoey68 (13627)
• United States
1 Nov 10
It seems like it's usually easier for parents to give in and let kids have their own way rather than try to discipline their kids. I've always had the attitude that if a kid can't mind in public then they should have to stay home.
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