Have You Ever Yelled at Someone Else's Kid?

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by dekeguy

Last year I was hosting a sit-down dinner at my place for friends and co-workers to celebrate a major occasion. This was relatively formal with cocktails before, wines with dinner, and cognac and liqueurs after. It was clearly a "grown-up" sort of dinner but one couple brought their five year old along. Not because they couldn't find a baby sitter but because they wanted to introduce their little monster to dinner alternatives other than a "happy meal". There were 18 planned for dinner so shoe-horning in a 19th was an interesting excersise in creative seating geometry. I'll gloss over discussion as to the relative do's and dont's of their adding a five year old uninvited guest to an adult dinner party as I am always open to stretching hospitality as far as I can. However, this little monster had no concept of how to behave and his parents seemed to take no notice of his outrageous and incessant bad behaviour.

Random, but:

I have no clue what makes some people think that an invite extended to "You and Husband" equals "You, Husband, and Your Kid."

Note to parents: It does NOT. And you are rude for bringing them.

[ASTalumna06]

I've never yelled at a kid accidentally. Only on purpose.

I worked at an amusement park for 3 summers. If you don't take control, yell, kick kids off of rides and/or have them thrown out of the park every so often, you're going to have more problems than you'd like.

[carnation]

As a former amusement park employee myself, I hear you. The best candidates to kick out are usually the kids whose parents have bought them yearlong passes and then dump them off at the park everyday for free babysitting. After the first week, they get bored and raise hell throughout the park for the rest of the summer. It usually takes weeks for security to physically snatch up the little demons, take their passes, and call their parents (who blame the park for not understanding their darlings).

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by carnation

As a former amusement park employee myself, I hear you. The best candidates to kick out are usually the kids whose parents have bought them yearlong passes and then dump them off at the park everyday for free babysitting. After the first week, they get bored and raise hell throughout the park for the rest of the summer. It usually takes weeks for security to physically snatch up the little demons, take their passes, and call their parents (who blame the park for not understanding their darlings).

No, the worst part of the whole thing is... the month of June.

Field trips. Hundreds of kids. Only a few chaperones... and they hang out on the quiet, peaceful lake cruise all day long. Although, I can't say that I blame them. They have to deal with those crazy children every day at school.