Mother of the Year

[ArenaBoy]

One thing I was always hearing on the radio at the arena was constantly lost child calls being sent out. At one point I was starting to think if parents were purposely trying to lose their kids.

[iradney]

I'll be honest here. My parents would sometimes leave me in a bookstore for 30 minutes or so while they went to the bank or somewhere with queues where a slightly hyper 6 year old would get bored. But when they got back, they'd always buy me the books I'd been reading. Which was awesome

[greensinestro]

I certainly don't call these people parents. That's called too cheap to hire a babysitter, but we still want to go out and have a good time without the five brats in tow. I have twins, both four years old now, and not once have I left them alone in a bookstore so I could do whatever the hell I wanted. My kids get into everything if I'm not around, plus I don't like to imagine what could happen if I left them unattended in any store.

And yeah, what is it with someone like this continously popping out children they don't want to take care of? Are these people Mormons? Nothing against the religion, but maybe they need to convert to a religion that allows birth control.

[greensinestro]

I know it sucks when parents use bookstores as free babysitters, and yes, calling the cops is often the best way to teach them not to do it again.

But I wonder how many of those kids feel the way I did -- that browsing in bookstores is a wonderful escape from a crappy homelife? And the last thing the kid wants to do is behave in a way that causes the store to kick him out or call the cops.

I never had a crappy homelife, but it was still nice to get away from the real world for a while with a good novel. I still do that, even with the family life I have. It can be stressful added to working, and when I have a novel in my hand, it takes my mind off of it.

With that first quote, using any kind of store to have your children babysat is just wrong. Don't people like this know about the Adam Walsh case? I and everyone around me certainly remembers it, and it makes me sure that I know the whereabouts of my children at all times, which is pretty much with me and nowhere else.

[aurelemsrealm]

Shoot, I don't even hardly let my dog out of the house without being right there to check on him every so often. I don't have children yet, but I couldn't imagine just leaving the children unattended like that.

[Sliceanddice]

when i was younger and got lost or bored i always food books. Thats how my parents would find me.
When i was older i would hang out in book stores when i was at the mall and boed of clothes shoping.
I think if kids want to hang ot in stores and now how to get in touch with their parents or find them its ok to have them there.
Its the parents who dumb their kids in a store and the kids have no way to get in touch with them and have almost no way to find them, or their parents are at work or something and there is no way to get home or anyhting that i think needs police intervention.
Because those parents are the ones expectint the stoes to be aprents for them and neglecting their kid.

[Kogarashi]

Starting when I was about 12 or so, I would hang out in the local bookstore while my parents were in the adjacent store, but they knew where I was, I knew where they were, and they by no means expected me to watch my younger siblings. And that, I think, is the important point here. I might let my child wander a bookstore alone while I get some shopping done quickly, if I deem them old enough and responsible enough for it, and I certainly wouldn't leave them there for a lengthy amount of time, let alone past the store's closing time.

And yeah, what is it with someone like this continously popping out children they don't want to take care of? Are these people Mormons? Nothing against the religion, but maybe they need to convert to a religion that allows birth control.

Mormons allow birth control just fine. You might be thinking of the Roman Catholic Church. (Correct me if I'm wrong there, any Catholics out there.)

[Sliceanddice]

yeah mormons are all for birth control and planning your family, just no abortion unless the mothers life is at risk. Just because some mormon familys have 5, 7, 11, 13 or more kids doesn't mean they don't believe in birth control. They just decided they where ok with a large family.

BTW i wouldn't be here any other way. My family is all mormon my mother the second youngest of 7 kids my grandmother the only girl of 13 i think (4 brothers, 7 step brothers and one half brother though it might have been more on the brothers and step brothers) and my grandfather from a family of 6 where he was the second oldest. and thats just my mother side. There is a whole town in whyoming where (when i visted that is) i was related to half the people there some way or another and the town had a population of at least 200.....

[Gawdzillers]

I smell a movie.
How cool would it be to see these kids going on all sorts of adventures in the store?
Oldest kid: Alright team, let's move out! *marching music*

[Gawdzillers]

Mormons allow birth control just fine. You might be thinking of the Roman Catholic Church. (Correct me if I'm wrong there, any Catholics out there.)

Yeah, us Catholics don't allow condoms, pills, diaphragms, abortion, etc.
But, like the author of the Second Best Web Page In The Universe says: Abortion doesn't kill people, unaborted babies (Like Charles Manson and John Wayne Gacy) kill people.

[cinema guy]

I smell a movie.
How cool would it be to see these kids going on all sorts of adventures in the store?
Oldest kid: Alright team, let's move out! *marching music*

Sounds like Grounded. In this day and age, how did those kids get into various off-limits parts of an airport without getting shot?

[BookstoreEscapee]

My cousin lives near Store2, so I would occasionally run into his daughter (she just turned 12) browsing either in music or the kids dept by herself (starting when she was around 10). But her mother was always in the store, and she's a responsible, quiet kind of kid. It's a decent size store but only one floor, so her mom was never that far away. Leaving 5 kids in a public place in the care of a 12 year old is a completely different thing. Some stores have babysitting services (one of the grocery stores near me has a playroom with an employee to watch kids while their parents shop)...if you ever see them again when she comes back you should write up a bill for the babysitting services...let's see, 5 kids, I'd say at least 20 bucks an hour...

Oh, and no way in hell would she have even gotten her hands on the book you were holding for her...Closed 15 minutes ago? Get your kids and get out! Come back tomorrow if you want that book.

[Brighid45]

I agree--if these morons show up again and try the same thing, definitely time to call the cops on them. That kind of behavior is inexcusable.

Back when I worked at the now-defunct chain bookstore, we would often get parents who would come in with offspring in tow, dump them in front of a spinner full of talking storybooks, grab a couple of books and rip off the packaging (this despite the fact that there were sample books available for every title) and leave their little darlings for us to babysit for an hour or two while they shopped at the oh-so-ritzy overpriced supermarket a few doors down. We finally put a stop to this by mandating that children under ten had to be accompanied by a parent at all times. Anyone who objected to this requirement was asked to leave. It certainly wasn't company policy, but when our DM objected our manager asked him if he wanted a bent company rule, or a massive lawsuit when one of those little brats ended up hurt or missing. So the bent rule stayed. Oh, and the parents NEVER bought the books they opened up either. Cheapskate entitlement jerks.

[Starlord]

What is the difference between Michael Jackson and a plastic bag?




One is dangerous for kids to play with, and the other you put groceries in.

[Delphae]

It's one thing if they are leaving a well behaved 11-12 year old to look at books, but little kids should not be ever unattended. Then there are the parents who let their 11 year old run around town after dark. We have them come in our store at all hours. Parents please supervise your children.