Toddlers from hell, what the heck is up with parents these days?

Question

I think Ive asked a similar question before, but Iam amazed over and over again.

I have a 10 month old son, and for fun and social skills we go and play once in a while at the little mall play area. And atleast every other time or so he gets attacked by toddlers. And every time it happens I go rescue him, and look towards the mothers for help or action or SOMETHING. yeah right, they look at me like I am Satans spawn because my infant DARED to be in the same SPACE as their precious Parker or Makala.

Today he was just crawling around in front of me (obviously I am RIGHT THERE to make sure he doesnt get in anyone's way) and stood up to see a little sit-on toy. This little 20 month old (or so) was sitting near it with her mother. That little brat came FLYING over, shoved him away and started screaming "MINE MINE MINE NOOOOOO!" and the mother just laughed, like "oh how cute she is!".

No big deal, we went to the OTHER side of the play area. He went to go see another climb on toy.

And this little boy (about 4, and about 6 inches too tall for the measure stick outside the play area) came flying over, pushed my son back, he landed on his back on my shoes, and stated that that toy was his and not for him to play with. His care taker didnt even bother to try to intervene. So again, we went else where.

Enter Mary Stepford and her prada wearing 80 octive screaming 4 year old designer hair cut son. This kid made a b-line for the toy my son was playing with, shoves ME to get to him, and then grabs my sons arm before I realize it, THROWS him aside and says "get out of my way, this toy is mine".

I looked at his mother like "WTF is up with your child?" ANd she GLOWERED at me, rolled her eyes, and flopped herself down with a bag of air puffs.

Honestly. I dont remember monster children when I was a kid, its like it all happened in the last 15 years or something.

Is this the way ALL toddlers are? And does NO ONE do ANYTHING about it?

WTF?

Answer 1

Unfortunately this seems to be the trend & wave of the future. I would have had a sore bottom but lets not open that can of worms. Or I would have had all the adults yelling at me, but let's not go there either. If you are Christian or part of a Religion that frowns upon this behavior I would try to play in locations that are more environmentally friendly. If you dare to even correct the kids or confront the other caretakers your inviting trouble to you. The YMCA by us tries to encourage positve pricipals & I never had a prob when the kids were young going there like I did elsewhere. If something happened you could tell a staffer & then they could tactfully handle it. Hope this helps some. I understand your frustration.

Answer 2

I'm never more than a few feet away whenever I have my kids in a public play area, for the reasons you've described. When things happen though I don't bother with the parents, I just 'parent' the child who doesn't know any better. I've never had a problem with a toddler listening to me and if their parents have an issue with it they'll just come over and keep their child closer to them, which they should have done all along. A lot of parents nowadays are just lazy. I even try to invite the smaller kids (the ones that can barely walk or are just walking) to play with mine when I notice their parents aren't watching them and I'm afraid they'll get trampled.

Answer 3

I think that what you and so many others have experienced is symptomatic of a new generation of parents who believe that discipline is too hard and worry that their children won't like them if they are tough on them. The problem is that guidance and boundaries is exactly what children need and it has to be taught right from the start. Children respond well to discipline and those who don't know their behavioural limits will naturally act out and become complete little brats! A lot of parents nowadays rely heavily on other people to teach these basic life skills - teachers and child care workers are often the main influence and have so many more behavioural problems to deal with than ever before.

So what is the problem with these parents? Most of us weren't raised like that, right? I always knew what I was not allowed to do and never crossed the line. Sadly a lot of people are selfish and focussed on attaining other goals in life and just don't seem to care, not devoting their time to raising well-mannered children but spoiling them senseless. They all need a big reality check!

Definitely say something next time you and your child are in that situation. I know you shouldn't have to, but I'd have no hesitation in politely enlightening them about their children's unacceptable behaviour. It's so sad we all feel like we can't take our kids anywhere because of that.

(Mum of 2 toddlers and early childhood teacher).

Answer 4

I hear you!!! I do have a toddler she is 2, and I had the same problem and still do. Not saying my daughter is perfect and knows everything already, I do correct her when she does something wrong, and I do teach her. I hate it when I take her to themall play area and it is usually only in the mall play area where this happens, and parents don't watch thier children and let them push around other children and steal thier toys. I swear I think some parents just drop thier kids off and shop. Recently another little girl pushed my dd off the top of a slide and my husband had to take the little girl up and find her mother and she had the nerve to give us an attitude.Grrr, you should have to pass some kind of test to be a parent!!!

Answer 5

I totally unserstand what your saying..when my kids are in that situation I actually say to the other child that is not nice and go about what we were doing. I make a point to look at the other parent and let them no I mean business. My kids have their fare share of being "mean" but I never let them get away with it. I tell them no, this little boy/girl had it first and you can wait your turn. You dont like it when someone does that to you. But your right parents dont seem to care these days. I guess they think that their kids are better than ours. An that is where they are wrong! Our kids will grow up to respect other people and their probably wont.

Answer 6

I'm just pregnant with my first, but if I remember correctly with my little brothers who are now 5 and 7, its amazing how much parents let their kids get away with. Like they think it is normal. I hated taking them to the park for this reason, other children would push them out of the way or didn't know how to share. I just explained to my brothers that, THAT little boy/girl was behaving naughty, and that we'll go play somewhere else. I was younger so I didn't want to confront adults about their children, but Imagine once I have this baby, I'll be confronting a parent if their child decides to push mine, or be a toy hog for no reason.
Its unacceptable!

Answer 7

My child is a toddler and she never behaves like that but unfortunetlly gets bullied and pushed around by other kids.
And i have to agree with you that partent of these children don't give a damn. My daughter was recently pushed off on of those little cars in the mall and ended up with a bruise on her head. When i looked at the mother/cargiver she told me to f@#k off that there just kids. Needless to say that security stepped in as my daughter required immediate treatment.

Answer 8

Been there, done that.
My daughter (20 months) is VERY well mannered. But so are we. And I am a single mom so I do it all alone!! But we always say "please" and "thank you".....so much so that she actually says "thank you" without being prompted.
Dinner every night is at the table in the highchair. every great once in a while (think Steeler football nights) she and I eat in the living room at the coffee table. But that is the exception, not the norm. So I can take her to any restaurant in town and she sits and colors and is quiet til the food comes. she eats, samples everyone else's food (she asks for bites.....I encourage her to try new things.....lol. worked too well) and then is content to continue to sit and color more when the meal is over. she smiles at people at the next table..........

meanwhile I see kids at other tables screaming, climbing out of highchairs, ripping open sugar packets (and the mother was allowing it!!) throwing food........it is horrible!

Good behavior starts at home..........but I guess many people just don't want bothered. that sucks.

Answer 9

Toddlers can be wild and inconsiderate (mine has that tendency from time to time), but their parents SHOULDN'T be. I've noticed this attitude that people have about their children, as if they can't/shouldn't have to do anything about their behavior.

First of all it CAN be hard to handle these feisty little people from time to time, but people should remember that its their JOB as parents, easy or not. The problem is that people only think of themselves and that attitude will easily be taught to kids (who are naturally selfish). I'm glad other people are bothered by this, because we work hard to teach our daughter to be considerate (and to step in if she can't control herself and is bothering/hurting/inconveniencing someone else); and it's so frustrating to watch other kids (in her library story time, for example) running around shoving, screaming pushing, tackling, not waiting their turns while their parents gaze on fondly or indifferently. I guess they think that the kids need to learn "naturally" from each other (in a class that is supposed to be parent supervised). What results is toddlery violence/anarchy, not one child politely instructing another in the benefits of social graces...that would be what parents are for.

So yeah, left to their own devices, toddlers actually do act this way, which is why it's so sickening to watch lazy/entitled parents leave them up to their own devices...Lord of the Flies, the Toddler Years.

Answer 10

Wow! You handled it better than I would have. Parents just don't seem to care anymore, hence those children getting away with doing whatever they want. I'm sure they thought the play area was a cheap excuse for a babysitter. How rude of them!

Just raise your little one the RIGHT way. Respecting others, taking turns, etc. He'll be much better off for it.