Please keep your kids away from me

[sammycat]

Will do

[Suze]

had to jump in on this one --

Our spinning and weaving people have the opportunity to have a booth at a local Woolgathering (show for fiber junkies) it is really a fun day --- until

There is always at least one family whose kids will not leave the spinning wheels alone. Wen when you tell them "please, don't touch, you could break them."  (I stopped two kids, 10 to 12 age, one day from pumping the peddle one way and trying to get the wheel to spin the other way-- eeekkk)  They are not my "toys" but I was the only one on that end of the booth. 

A good wheel can cost several hundred dollars. I feel that I can stop kid from breaking someone Else's "toy" 

Parent of said kids (had their hand on them anyway) Gave me the sorry old line of "why can't they play with them, nobodies using them right now."  I told her that they were not mine and besides what they were trying to do to them would break them and unless she was willing to pay $500 for it not to let them touch it. 

Not very nice, I know, but these two kids I had seen trying to play with the loom, and they also went for the viking carding combs. (think 6 nails about the length of your hand in a board with a handle, lethal looking)  then they went after the drum carder. (another $300+ "toy")

Parent also started whining about "well, if this wasn't a hands on display why didn't you say so."  Excuse me, I didn't say it was, nor was there a sign indicating that they could play with our stuff. (In fact, there were "do not touch, please signs on most of the wheels and the loom) - there was an area set up IN ANOTHER TENT for the kids to do things in, not our booth.

Needless to say they left in a huff. 

When the owners of said "toys" came back and I told them what had happened they thanked me and told me that I had done the right thing.

Oops - sorry this got a little long

[IndianInlaw]

Oh gosh, that reminds me of when I went to Plimoth Plantation.  The "inhabitants" there are all in character and have to speak and act like people did circa 1620, when the pilgrims landed.

Anyways, they were cooking food and some kid started throwing handfuls of sand in it.

Parents did nothing.

Pilgrims were displeased.

[Suze]

Oh gosh, that reminds me of when I went to Plimoth Plantation.  The "inhabitants" there are all in character and have to speak and act like people did circa 1620, when the pilgrims landed.

Anyways, they were cooking food and some kid started throwing handfuls of sand in it.

Parents did nothing.

Pilgrims were displeased.

Well you know that it wasn't "real food" that they were cooking........

[NOVA Lady]

just because a parent doesn't feel something is wrong doesn't mean the people around the child who have to deal with it aren't annoyed by it.

People annoy me all the time.   I don't expect them to accommodate my particular annoyances, nor do I try to correct their beahvior -- adult or child.

I would agree with you if there weren't parents who felt that things that shouldn't be tolerated in public are OK. For example:

1. At the movies the little one kicks my seat, throws food in my hair, grabs and jerks around the back of my seat as mom and ad sit there watching the movie. I AM going to turn around and tell the child to stop. I don't have to deal with such an annoyance just because the parents don't think its a big deal.

2. Eating at an upscale place (the most recent example being the capitol grille) where someone decided a child who cannot sit still belongs during the dinner hour. The child was at the table across from us and went under our booth, places things from his table unto our table. Mom and dad say nothing...does this mean this is an annoyance I should just have to live with? No, I say something to the child.

3. Old in the "wild" (as in just walking around the street) I have had kids kick me, grab me, and otherwise touch me and invade my space and have had mom/dad ignore it. I don't let it go, I correct the child.

I can see what you're saying in that somethings are just annoyances for some people and the parents don't oppose the behavior. But in many cases innapropriate behavior not addressed by the parent is not just a personal annoyance. And they will be corrected by me. If mom/dad takes offense perhaps they need to reevaluate their parenting and actual control their children. Its rude to let your kid (or pet, or whatever else) bother, harass, and otherwise materially interfere with other's and if a parent wont stop the behavior I don't see what is rude about saying, "Don't kick my chair." or "Don't touch my purse" or "Please step away from our table"

[Chivewarrior]

My aunt is going to be one of those 'no control' parents. My mother tries not to be an interfering SIL, so she and I complain to each other about aunt's lack of parenting. (Despite the fact that aunt apparently was very interfering when I was a baby, and far stricter with me than she's being with her own child.) Aunt is also a hypocrite, insisting that everything be just so for baby when she used to insist to my mother that nothing could be altered or babyproofed for me.

Some examples of aunt's lack of parenting: there was a daycare thing, I guess, that had taken a day trip to the beach. Now, this is a small beach, and baby cousin goes rummaging into the daycare's large tote bag, which contained snacks and things. I tried to stop cousin and was told by aunt "oh, no, he won't hurt it! Let him play."

I've also been forbidden from pulling him out of some potentially dangerous situations by aunt- like trying to play with a large bike leaning against a tree, or running off into the woods behind the beach. (These I try to protect him from unobtrosively by interposing myself between him and whatever it is and making it look like that's just where I happen to be standing.) I love cousin, but I'm not going to go out with him when he's older.

[Twik]

I've also been forbidden from pulling him out of some potentially dangerous situations by aunt- like trying to play with a large bike leaning against a tree, or running off into the woods behind the beach. (These I try to protect him from unobtrosively by interposing myself between him and whatever it is and making it look like that's just where I happen to be standing.) I love cousin, but I'm not going to go out with him when he's older.

At this rate, he may not GET older!

As an aunt, if not a mother, I can understand the impulse for people who love their children to be permissive in giving their kids stuff.But I'm a nervous wreck around my nephews - there's so much out there that can HURT a kid! I can't understand why someone would see a danger, and not remove a child from it, if they care about the child.

It sounds more like laziness than permissiveness, actually.

[Scritzy]

There is always at least one family whose kids will not leave the spinning wheels alone. Wen when you tell them "please, don't touch, you could break them."  (I stopped two kids, 10 to 12 age, one day from pumping the peddle one way and trying to get the wheel to spin the other way-- eeekkk)  They are not my "toys" but I was the only one on that end of the booth.  A good wheel can cost several hundred dollars. I feel that I can stop kid from breaking someone Else's "toy" 

Back when my MIL was alive, she and I used to go to many miniatures shows. (She worked in scale miniatures and taught me the hobby.) Now I know those teeny-tiny things look like great fun to play with, but I've seen miniature furniture that costs $300 for a grouping of loveseat and two chairs. Working with minis is NOT an inexpensive hobby.

Both MamaG and I were appalled at the parents who let their kids run loose, trying to pick up things, or worse, trying to handle the dollhouses/roomboxes on display. I was thankful that the roomboxes I displayed weren't very interesting to children; the adults loved them, but they didn't try to handle them. (Houses and roomboxes on display are supposed to be covered with plexiglass so kids won't touch them, but I've seen kids open the plexiglass coverings and stick their hands in to get to the furniture and accessories.)

I also saw many women with strollers blocking the aisles (the kind of strollers that held three- and four-year-olds, which aren't huge but can block an aisle when turned sideways). While the mothers were looking at things for sale, the kids were getting out of the strollers, grabbing (and sometimes breaking) merchandise. If the merchants spoke to the parents, sometimes they would hear, "Well, it's TOYS, for crying out loud! If you don't want kids to handle them, you shouldn't be selling them!" Uh, not quite. Miniatures and dollhouse furniture may look cute to kids, but unless the furniture is the plastic or wood kind intended as playthings, kids shouldn't handle the stuff.

(The same goes for quilt shows. Having a child come running up and handling a quilt with sticky fingers — be it an heirloom or just one that took months to piece and quilt — is not a happy experience for the quilter.)

[Ehelldame]

Breederzillas

I think that word is a bit inflammatory because of the connotations.   At issue is not irresponsible breeding but irresponsible parenting.  "Parentzilla" is a more apropros choice of words. 

[dck133]

Per the clean shoes comment. If the child is walking then the shoes are not clean - they walked to get to the seat. I don't think I want to know all the germs that are on the floor and I definately don't want to sit on them.

[Ulla dances in a silly way]

I always hated handsy kids when I was a kid.

I love antiques, antique stores, and just general junk shops. My mother, grandmother, and I would always antique when we were on vacation. Nothing upset me more than stores that would not allow me in because of an over 16/17/18/particular age policy. I never touched things I wasn't going to buy (an I bought a lot of antiques even as a kid.) I never understood then why other kids couldn't simply not touch like I did.

Guess I get it, now.

-Ulla

[Suze]

Scritzy - We have a hobby in common

My Parents and I used to sell dollhouse things -- Don't know where you are in the "New South" but we used to sell under the name Tiny Accents. (1980's and 90's) Mom did very fine crochet work (sewing thread and a 16 hook)  Knitting. My main thing was shrink art and wire trees. Dad did some lathe work.

I can't count the times that I have heard the phrase "LOOK MOMMY .... UH - OH -- it broke"  Because little one could not keep their hands to theirselves. (from down the aisle, It's kind of hard to break a doily) Yes a Museum quality Mini is far - far - different from a toy dollhouse

We had one show - where the parents of a bunch of kids taught them to help them shoplift. YEP - you heard that one right.

The kids would be all over the booth and the mom would just start sliding things in her bag.  Usually the show promoters would have a code anouncement (these people kept coming back year after year, why they let them in the door is beyond me. Most year they left in police cars)

Although with three of us in the booth, Dad would start "patroling" our aisle, so if we lost anything it was very small. (He could put a grumpy face on that would stop a truck)

Most shows that we did in later years strollers were not allowed because of the trip hazard that they presented.

[andi]

Boo is at that age where he wants to wander and explore (almost 2) if left on his own for 2 seconds. Which is why he is in a stroller or highchair at all times when in public.  He's safe, secure and OUT of everyone's way (and little hands are much easier to keep away from shelves where we are learning not to touch)

Yes it's a pain to pull the stroller out for quick "in and out" trips.  No he doesn't like being in a highchair when he's finished eating and the rest of us are enjoying a visit - but i WILL NOT be the person everyone talks about when we leave.  And any mess he does make is cleaned up by me or hubby before we leave. And the few times he's had a booster seat instead of a high chair he still has to "sit on his bottom" till we're all done.

Hubby and i were both raised to be courteous and polite and we're raising our son to be the same.  I applaud all the parents here who are doing the same.  No it's not easy, it's time consuming and heartbreaking to us but HOPEFULLY someday they'll look as some bratty kid and say "good lord, mom/dad would have skinned me alive for that".

[Venus193]

Sorry, Miss Jeanne; I won't use that term again.

To me parentzilla always meant the Helicopter Parent, but I guess we need to open the definition to the ones with other entitlement issues.

[Scritzy]

I can't count the times that I have heard the phrase "LOOK MOMMY .... UH - OH -- it broke"  Because little one could not keep their hands to theirselves. (from down the aisle, It's kind of hard to break a doily) Yes a Museum quality Mini is far - far - different from a toy dollhouse

We had one show - where the parents of a bunch of kids taught them to help them shoplift. YEP - you heard that one right.

The kids would be all over the booth and the mom would just start sliding things in her bag.  Usually the show promoters would have a code anouncement (these people kept coming back year after year, why they let them in the door is beyond me. Most year they left in police cars)

MamaG and I went to shows in Charlotte NC. I've also been to a couple in Atlanta. It's been a long, long time, though. The name Tiny Accents does ring a faint bell for me. Did you ever advertise in Nutshell News? I did miniature wedding invitations back in the days before more people were computer-savvy and script fonts were not readily available to the general public.

To this day, I still make as much as I can for my vignettes (most are too small to be called room boxes). In storage are boxes upon boxes of miniature supplies I inherited from MamaG's estate. We have no room to put them here, but someday when we actually do build a house on our lot I'll be able to claim them — and boy, will I have fun then!

The shoplifting parents … hmm, Fagin lives. It doesn't surprise me one bit.