Yesterday, Jim and I spent a good part of the afternoon at Chuck E. Cheese — better known as “Hell on Earth for adults.” My nephew, David, was celebrating his 5th birthday. I managed to snap off a few shots with my cell, or rather I tried. (it’s hard to snap still shots of sugared up kids, LOL!)
Zooomr seems to be “mostly up” and I was able to upload them and create a photo set:
Isn’t Jessie charming? ;)
Anyone who has ever visited one of these establishments can attest that it could be best summed up as “kiddie chaos.” It’s loud, there’s always bright/flashing lights, and add kids running wild all over the place: et voila, instant migraine! Ugh. So yeah, yesterday was hell. Honestly though, what really struck me most was not the aforementioned mayhem, it was the over all lack of manners and common courtesy that I observed. Not only did I witness children of all ages running amok as if they were raised by wolves, but also adults who behaved this way.
For example, Jessie came to me and told me that some kids pushed her away when she was trying to play one of the basketball games. I followed her to where she had been playing. There were two kids who were still playing (apparently using Jessie’s tokens). I asked one of them if that was their game (meaning did they put in tokens to play), he said he didn’t know he was just watching his sister. The game ended and they moved to the side. Jessie stepped up and put in a token and started to play. The little girl pushed her away and grabbed the basketball from her hands. I took it from her and told her that it was my daughter’s token and therefore it was her turn. She bared her teeth at me and made the meanest face she could and said, “Mine!” I told her “No. It’s our turn now.” Well, that girl SCREAMED her little head off, which of course caused her mother to come running. I explained what had happened and told her that her daughter was shoving my child and kept stealing her tokens and trying to take over her games. Her mother yelled at me saying that I had “no right” to deny her daughter to “do whatever she wants.” She had the gall to tell me that she didn’t believe me (or any of the other parents standing around who witnessed this!) and that I should be ashamed of myself for picking on her poor little girl, and causing her “grief and emotional trauma”. :roll:
Oh give me a fucking break. Do me a favor, lady. How about you teach your kids some manners and common courtesy?
I know I can’t be the only one who’s noticing this disturbing trend and is concerned by it. I was reading an article in the Selma Times-Journal Friday talking about children’s behavior and the increase in bad behavior seen in area schools:
Parents have a responsibility to teach their children to behave themselves from the moment those children are born. Children do not learn manners by osmosis, although little ones do imitate their parents or other adults they are around.
I think what worries me most is that the parents of these kids either don’t know or don’t care about the harm they are ultimately causing.
Mojo Denbow
I pray to God my little Daphne listens and understands what we will teach her about manners & courtesy. I think that parents have lost their damn mind when it comes to raising children (or not)
Conservative Belle
Looks like you were setting the perfect example.
And people wonder why some kids grow up and become bullies and thugs and unable to cope in society.
Christy
I dread the chuck e. cheese years.
Nicki
@Mojo: With a super dad like you, she can not go wrong. :)
(and I agree about other parents!)
@Belle: Exactly! Jim said something pretty much to that effect when I told him what happened. It’s just sad really. :(
@Christy: LOL My first Chuck E. Cheese experience as a parent was a real eye-opener!
It’s a shame that the Vestavia is the only one around here … they need to expand that place VERY badly!
Prvtctzn
On a side note to this, those places are also a haven to the scumbags (child molesters). This just happen at one of them in the Seattle area. Father caught the dude in the act, in the bathroom, but the perp got away.
As for the parents attitude, it doesn’t bode well for the next generation, does it? Some parents’ disgusting display at their kid’s athletic events speak volumes.
Nicki
re: pervs – yeah, which is why she’s got a “chaperon” when it’s crowded like it was Saturday.
re: sports events – don’t I know it! I can remember a handful of parents being that way when I was a kid, and there was ALWAYS something said to them back then. Nowadays it’s just crazy!
Uncle Monster
In 1983 I helped open the Showbiz Pizza Place in Roebuck. It later
became Chuck E Cheese after Showbiz lost the lawsuit over the
robotics technology. Anyway, I had to put up with a few brats who
were the spawn of horrible parents. I caught one little boy choking
a little girl and when I stopped him he ran for his daddy. His father
didn’t seem to care that his evil spawn was misbehaving. This father
of the year went to the manager to complain about me because I
embarrassed him in front of his girlfriend. As luck would have it, a real
parent came to my defense because he witnessed the whole sordid
affair. The father of the year acused me of lying about his little angel. So many people saw the homicide attempt by the five year
old saint that the weasel father had to shut up. I love little kids,
they’re great with barbecue sauce and the toes are the crunchy
part.
[8~{} Uncle Monster
Rick
There is a generation of parents coming up who believe that it is their job to indulge and ingratiate their children. They’re not a majority, thank God, but there are enough of them out there that we have to do quite a bit of remedial social skills training at my school. You’d be amazed at how many kinders and 1st graders we have who come in who have spent the first 5 or 6 years of their life with no (and I mean absolutely no) boundaries. Makes the first month or two of school a little rough on them (and their parents).
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