I'm sorry your kid is stupid

[Apathy]

This was told to me by my friend, J, a while ago.

He's up behind the service desk getting returns or something like that. Family (Mom, Dad, kid) is at the desk doing something. The kid's got his finger inside the hinge on the little swinging door.
So J gets his stuff, goes to walk out, and of course, accidentally smashes this kid's finger. Kid screams bloody murder. Parents flip out because J purposefully hurt their stupid child.
Things happen, it gets smoothed out as well as it could. I don't think they demanded J get fired or anything, but they hated him. What a monster he was.
He saw them a little later walking around the store and they just glared at him and gave him shitty "You're an abomination" type looks.

[rerant]

I had something similar happen when I worked at Wal Mart. I was closing my lane and went to slide the Closed sign down the belt when some kid put her MOUTH on the belt and got hit smack in the face with my sign.

The reaction from her mother was the same as the reaction from this kid's parents.

[Alexandra]

I guess keeping an eye on your child is an old-fashioned notion.

Whenever I take my son to a public bathroom, I have him stand back in case someone just bursts in or out so he doesn't get hit with the door. That stems from something that happened when I was a child...my mother, younger sister, and I were at the store, some guy just banged the door open and slammed my sister in the face...I think she got a bloody nose. Thing of it was, though, that door had glass panes and had he been paying attention he would have seen her!

[Snowbird]

My parents response to me or my sibling's sticking a finger in where it could get mushed accidentally?

"Well, what did you think was going to happen?"

This stupidity is where learning how to pass the buck of blame happens, sheesh.

[blas]

If the child is really young, the only way they learn not to do things sometimes is by experiencing the pain of falling down, stubbing their toe, etc etc. I am not advocating anything neglectful or abusive, just pointing out a fact.

However, it's very important for parents to keep their eyes on their kids. Which of course hardly any parents do anymore. It's way too easy to blame everyone else when little Tommy gets his finger stuck in the belt than to take responsibility for the child you created and prevent it from happening.

[Peppergirl]

Ok, WTF????

Who ARE these people??? I raised two boys who were rambuctious as hell when they were little. They got injured occasionally in public for doing stupid things. Guess who got yelled at when my kids hurt themselves?

That's right, MY KIDS. If anyone was to blame it was them if they were old enough to know better, or ME if I wasn't watching them like I should have been.

All these stories around here about these parents who want to blame everyone else for little pwecious getting hurt make me absolutely SICK.

[powerboy]

When I was younger, if I got hurt. Then my parents would just tell me, NOW you know better. Will you do that again?

[blas]

I should quit talking shit. I still haven't learned to stop running up and down the stairs in high heels.

[the_std]

Y'know... I really don't think that these people are the majority these days. I truly believe that parents are still responsible and well-meaning as they were twenty, thirty, fifty years ago. But the few that have turned into these kinds of parents-without-actually-parenting are becoming a lot more visible because we have websites like this to spread the stories.

I'm not saying that there hasn't been an increase in "little pwecious" syndrome, but I really don't think it's nearly as bad as it seems. I mean, how often do you really, truly notice someone who is parenting properly? They're pretty unobtrusive, most of the time.

[Can I Help Your A$$?]

I think plenty of otherwise smart kids do stupid things like put their fingers in hinges now and then. They did it 30 years ago, they do it now. It's a shame that the parents blamed someone else for it. It's stupid. But I don't think a parent can watch a kid so much that he never gets his finger smashed in a door, ever. Who would want to--what kind of parent would think that would even be good for a kid, to never let the possibility of any pain happen to them, ever?

[katie kaboom]

When i was, i think 3, i tried to follow my mom into the bathroom and she didn't realize i was there and i ended up smashing my thumb in the door. Guess what i learned never to do again?

[Zombi]

LOL, I still haven't learned that I should tie my shoes up before I attempt stairs, even after stacking it several times.

[Apathy]

Y'know... I really don't think that these people are the majority these days.

You're a lot more optimistic than I am. I have no faith in any aspect of humanity. Well, you know, except greed, ignorance, and righteous indignation at all times.

You might well be correct, but I'm still running on my pessimistic assumptions.

[Evil Queen]

Ah, to be [very] young and stupid.

When I was a kid, I remember closing the door on my thumb. Number one priority was to close the door to I continued to pull the door closed. Still on my thumb.

I was so smart then.

RetailWorkhorse did the same thing but with a pair of pliars instead. Oh yeah, we were little geniuses.

[RetailWorkhorse]

I thought I used the door and you used the pliers?

I KNOW I did something stupid with the scissors (and your arm).

And the tractor.

And the stairs.

Dog leash.

Ran into a tree a couple of times.

Rollar skates down the stairs.

At least twice.