Reply #54: It could have been much worse. [View All]

[kimchi]

I've seen much worse parenting; and I've probably done some things that others wouldn't like.

Yesterday, my husband took a ball away from my daughter, who is not yet two. Being tired, she promptly threw herself on the floor in the middle of the grocery aisle and started crying. I continued on with the cart, since it was HIS duty to take care of her. Well, being an only child with no relatives in the US and unskilled in childrearing, he walked away without me noticing. It pisses me off to no end when he does that! Anyway, before I could get to her, an old lady in a colorful housecoat walked over to comfort her, and said "Would you like to come home with me?" And then, "Is this YOUR girl? You should love her, the world is a cruel place and only YOU can give her that love." Well, normally I don't cotton to people telling me what to do with my child, but the lady was unaware of the situation and only trying to help. I said, "Yes, ma'am, thank you."

Sometimes we don't know the whole story; and we don't know how an individual child behaves or learns. The only time I ever say anything is when a parent hits their child in public. I've seen verbal abuse that would make an adult cringe; and usually I go out of my way to say hello to the child or try to make them smile, but ignore the parent. How can anyone get upset for being nice to a child?