Don't talk to my kid even though she's breaking the rules and I'm not supervising her

[mathnerd]

Last weekend MrMathnerd took me to a hotel to give me a little get away. There was a problem, which is why I went alone this week. Here's what happened.

The hotel was also hosting a large group of kids. For the most part, the kids were fine, and actually some of them were quite pleasant. After dinner is when things got dicey. Most of the kids were at the pool. There were a couple adults there, but they were all talking amongst themselves, not paying any attention to the kids. On the far side of the pool was the hot tub. This is where the trouble started.

You see, one of the kids was eating in the hot tub. That was annoying enough. Once I realized what she was eating I bolted out of the hot tub like my life was in danger because, well, it was. She was eating pizza. All but the newest members will recall the severity of my tomato allergy. I said to the kid "you know it's against the rules to be eating in the water, but to make matters worse, if any of that actually gets in the water, there's a good chance it will kill me". I started to get my outer clothes back on, and apparently that was when the mother decided to pay attention. She was actually more upset that I dared speak to her special snowflake than the fact that her daughter was breaking rules and actually endangering the life of another hotel guest. She then said if I had a problem I should have talked to her. My response was that how was I supposed to know who she was, since she was obviously failing to actually supervise the kid and if she had a problem with other adults speaking to her kid then she should consider actually teaching her daughter how to behave in public.

I immediately alerted the front desk. The personal the desk was awesome. They spoke to the group, then informed me that as per the contract, they were banning that group from the hotel, and then gave me enough rewards points to cover another night of my choosing. So I can't fault the hotel in the slightest.

[MoonCat]

Holy shit! Glad you got out of there okay!

[Food Lady]

My response was that how was I supposed to know who she was, since she was obviously failing to actually supervise the kid and if she had a problem with other adults speaking to her kid then she should consider actually teaching her daughter how to behave in public.

This is my favorite part of your post. Kids do stuff and I don't really fault them. I have a problem with unaware parents.

[eltf177]

Glad to hear the hotel did the right thing in reimbursing you and banning the idiots.

And I agree with Food Lady, how in the blazes do we know you're the "responsible" adult when you are acting so irresponsibly?

This probably cost the idiots a lot, hopefully the point has been driven home...

[XCashier]

Reminds me of the idiots that KhirasHY had to deal with, who couldn't be bothered to discipline their little "free spirit". It's always everybody else's fault.

[eltf177]

That was an absolutely EPIC story. I often wondered just how big the final bill their "free spirit" generated got, and how much trouble there was collecting it. And being kicked out of TWO hotels in one night? You have to think these hotels called the others in the area and let them know NOT to rent to this bunch. Wondered where they ended up in the end...

Edited to add: Ah, both KhirasHY's hotel and the other one called around to the others, so I suspect family had to move on to new pastures...

[mathnerd]

This is my favorite part of your post. Kids do stuff and I don't really fault them. I have a problem with unaware parents.

I generally like kids. I was a middle school teacher for a decade. Kids are generally pretty awesome. The front desk lady was actually surprised when I told her that I didn't have a problem with the actual kids. They were being kids. My problem was with the lack of adult supervision. Kids will do stupid stuff when left to their own devices. That's why they need adults!

[notalwaysright]

Kids will do stupid stuff when left to their own devices. That's why they need adults!

This, so much. I don't get this whole "never speak to my child, ever, no matter what!" trend. I have very few memories of when I was really little, but I remember a cashier telling me off once. My mom was checking out at the register of the grocery store, which had those old fashioned lane dividers made of metal bars. I was swinging on the bars, and the cashier said to stop or I might fall and crack my head open. I was pretty surprised, because I didn't think I was being bad. I would never have done it if I thought it was bad, I've always been like that. So I stopped and I don't remember what my mom said, but it wouldn't have occurred to her to get mad at the cashier.

I'm happy the hotel took care of it. I wouldn't have said that I like kids, 'cause it's not really true. I like when kids start acting like humans, when I can talk to them. I guess I can talk with some smaller kids, but mostly they just stare at me. Maybe because I refuse to baby talk? Anyway, I have no maternal bone in my body. Give me a cat/dog/goat/horse over a baby any day.

[XCashier]

I like kids. I don't like brats. The kid in the OP was bordering on brat; I don't know if she was rude to mathnerd, but eating pizza in the hot tub was most likely a violation of the pool rules, which are usually clearly posted somewhere. (Besides, wouldn't the strong chlorine smell ruin the taste of the pizza?)

I have a kid myself, and made sure he learned right from wrong, the Golden Rule, etc. Apart from being a bit of a motor-mouth, he generally behaves well in public. We've even gotten compliments on his behavior.

Raising kids right takes time, but it's worth it. You've got to be consistent, make yourself the authority, praise when they're good and punish when they're bad. If someone else corrects your child's behavior, investigate what is happening rather than automatically jumping one way or the other.

[Mikkel]

I like kids. I don't like brats. The kid in the OP was bordering on brat; I don't know if she was rude to mathnerd, but eating pizza in the hot tub was most likely a violation of the pool rules, which are usually clearly posted somewhere.

I don't know, the kid may not even have been able to read. In my mind the blame falls solely on the mother and the other adults of the group who didn't do their job. The children should have been told what the rules were. I can easily follow the logic "pizza good, hot tub good, both at once, double good" .

Of course I don't know the age of the kids. A twelve year old should have thought on her own, six year olds might not do so.

[mathnerd]

Kids were pre teens to early teens. Honestly, for a group of about 50 kids, their overall behavior was pretty good. I was initially impressed earlier in the day. But kids do stupid shit sometimes. They don't think things through. They push boundaries and try to get away with shit. It's just what kids do. That's why they need to be supervised.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

This, so much. I don't get this whole "never speak to my child, ever, no matter what!" trend.

It seems these days kids having self-esteem is more important than kids doing the things that build self-esteem. Like following rules and knowing when to stop misbehaving.

[Seanette]

Then there's the "stranger automatically equals immediate threat to preshus snoeflayke" mentality.

[Gerrinson]

As kids, we were pretty well behaved. And if we'd gotten out of line while my stepmother was distracted, it definitely would not have been the adult that called us on it getting into trouble. Parents these days...

[Crai]

I to am Allergic to Tomatoes ( not as bad as you) I get fresh on my skin and its like acid eats the flesh, eat any heavy tomato product I can expect to be reading War and Peace all the way through in the John. I wont be happy it tears me up.

As for the kids sadly its bad parenting now a days. Parents have taught their kids that they are not beholden to the rules. See it all the time. Several Threads on here point out the snowflakes and their ways of thinking.