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Working in a girls' clothing store, it's common for parents to bring their kids into the store with them regardless of age/gender. Naturally, the younger boys that come into the store really don't have an interest in the merchandise we have... except those things that can easily fit into their hands and/or look edible. Two consecutive days, we had mothers come in with somewhat unruly (but not abnormally so) little boys. Let's examine their strategies in parenting, shall we?
How *Not* to Parent
A woman comes in with her young son. The kid's like two or three; old enough to get into stuff but not old enough to be left unsupervised for more than a couple minutes when in public. At this point, I wasn't at the register, I was floating around organizing the store. The customer was up at the register (where the candy displays are) completing her transaction. Now, I'm not a parent, but I know it's not always super-easy to multitask with a small child. Instead of focusing on getting her son to sit still for long enough to finish the transaction, she calls over to him that he's not gonna be allowed to go on the train if he's bad (the mall has one of those little kids' trains... can't remember what the company that provides them is called). Kid's still getting into stuff, but mom's not doing anything to keep him out of mischief. As I'm standing next to one of my managers talking about what other little duties I'm gonna have for the day, we notice that the kid has grabbed a candy bar and is running toward the front of the store. He's halfway to the doorway before his mom even notices, and he's almost completely out the door when she catches him. She tells him again that if he's bad, he can't go on the choo-choo train. Mom puts the candy back in the display, finishes her transaction, and takes her son out of the store. As she leaves, we hear her tell her son that because he was "such a good boy"
he gets to go on the train.
Can We Give This Woman A Prize?
The next day, I'm at the register and a woman goes through her transaction. Her son was getting into stuff, but mostly just 'cuz that was keeping him occupied while mom bought his sister some clothes. They leave, and my shift continues. About an hour later, mom comes briskly walking in, son in tow. I figure she changed her mind about one of the items she purchased, but when she comes up and looks down at her son with a stern look, I know something's up. Here's what transpired:
Woman: He's got something for you.
Boy: (Hands me a slap-bracelet which he had apparently taken when he and Mom left the store, has a shy and sheepish look)
Me: Thank you. (I try not to have any kind of inflection because I don't want to reinforce that stealing is okay, but I also don't wanna come down too hard on him since he's gotta be 4 at the oldest.)
Mom: (to son) What do you say?
Boy: (mumbles) You're welcome.
Mom: No, what do you say?
Boy: I'm sorry.
Mom: Sorry for what?
Boy: For stealing.
Me: Well thank you for returning it.
Mom: (to me) I gotta teach him stealing is wrong and that I can get in trouble for that. He's a kid, he's gotta learn.
Me: *nods* He's little, it happens.
Then the mom wraps up the conversation and leaves. That has to be the single best instance of parenting I have ever seen in my life.
How *Not* to Parent
A woman comes in with her young son. The kid's like two or three; old enough to get into stuff but not old enough to be left unsupervised for more than a couple minutes when in public. At this point, I wasn't at the register, I was floating around organizing the store. The customer was up at the register (where the candy displays are) completing her transaction. Now, I'm not a parent, but I know it's not always super-easy to multitask with a small child. Instead of focusing on getting her son to sit still for long enough to finish the transaction, she calls over to him that he's not gonna be allowed to go on the train if he's bad (the mall has one of those little kids' trains... can't remember what the company that provides them is called). Kid's still getting into stuff, but mom's not doing anything to keep him out of mischief. As I'm standing next to one of my managers talking about what other little duties I'm gonna have for the day, we notice that the kid has grabbed a candy bar and is running toward the front of the store. He's halfway to the doorway before his mom even notices, and he's almost completely out the door when she catches him. She tells him again that if he's bad, he can't go on the choo-choo train. Mom puts the candy back in the display, finishes her transaction, and takes her son out of the store. As she leaves, we hear her tell her son that because he was "such a good boy"
he gets to go on the train. Can We Give This Woman A Prize?
The next day, I'm at the register and a woman goes through her transaction. Her son was getting into stuff, but mostly just 'cuz that was keeping him occupied while mom bought his sister some clothes. They leave, and my shift continues. About an hour later, mom comes briskly walking in, son in tow. I figure she changed her mind about one of the items she purchased, but when she comes up and looks down at her son with a stern look, I know something's up. Here's what transpired:
Woman: He's got something for you.
Boy: (Hands me a slap-bracelet which he had apparently taken when he and Mom left the store, has a shy and sheepish look)
Me: Thank you. (I try not to have any kind of inflection because I don't want to reinforce that stealing is okay, but I also don't wanna come down too hard on him since he's gotta be 4 at the oldest.)
Mom: (to son) What do you say?
Boy: (mumbles) You're welcome.
Mom: No, what do you say?
Boy: I'm sorry.
Mom: Sorry for what?
Boy: For stealing.
Me: Well thank you for returning it.
Mom: (to me) I gotta teach him stealing is wrong and that I can get in trouble for that. He's a kid, he's gotta learn.
Me: *nods* He's little, it happens.
Then the mom wraps up the conversation and leaves. That has to be the single best instance of parenting I have ever seen in my life.
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