WHY I DON'T TOLERATE SCREAMING CHILDREN

I am going to say something that might piss off a lot of people.  Good thing not a whole lot of people read this blog.  Doesn't matter - It's my blog, and I can say whatever I damn-well please.  Okay, ready?  here it comes:

If your children scream bloody murder in public, do not bring your children out in public.

No, I'm serious.  I don't care if your toddler is cranky and tired, and I don't care if your kid has emotional and sensory issues, and I don't care if your kid has other things going on that force it to scream and cry and throw tantrums in public.

It's unacceptable.

Okay, maybe it's acceptable at Chuck E. Cheese or McDonald's Play-Land or the kiddie section of the amusement park, but in an otherwise polite society, your out-of-control kid has no business assaulting other people's ear space.

Take this morning, for example.  I'm at the track, which doubles as a playing field and a kids' playground.  I should expect kids to be at a playground, which I do, but it's barely after 8:30 a.m.  I'm at about mile 2 when I first hear the noise.  The noise I'm talking about is a screeching, crying, out-of-control toddler being carried sideways by its older sister, howling so loudly that its voice is reverberating across the field and echoing back from the trees and river beyond.  They are coming from a van and to the open field area.

Now, some of you are saying, "Oh, that poor little cherub must be tired..."  Yes, well, then at 8:30 a.m., perhaps its mother or guardian ought to keep it home (or in the van with her) until it is properly awake and functional.  Some of you are even thinking, "Screw that, maybe the kid needs to let off steam.  Don't be so judgmental."  Really?  because, you see, there is an elegant apartment building and several rows of single-family homes all within yards of this merciless noise.  I'm not the only one being treated to this horror.

The poor soccer coach who is giving a lesson to a teenager in the middle of the field must yell to be heard over the piercing cries.  Let's be honest -- NO ONE wants to listen to this child freak out at 8:45 in the morning.  I, personally, don't want to listen to it EVER, but I'm trying to be reasonable.  It's too frigging early for this shit.

I make it to mile 2.5, and the little fucker is still screaming, louder and more persistently than before.  I do feel sorry for the lone adult having to listen to this all day long, which I assume she does since she is coddling the screamer and cooing to it gently while it arches from her grasp and continues its tirade like a trapped alien life form.  Finally, at mile 2.79, I've had enough.  The noise is deafening and irritating as well as just plain goddamned impolite.  I won't be making 3.0 miles this morning.

As I pack it in and go back to my car, another mother shows up with more kids, one of whom whacks my car while I'm sitting in it.  The mother, clearly unconcerned about the damage her child is inflicting, simply says, "Watch your head!"  Your head?  Watch the damn car next to you, you little fucker!

Deep breath.  deep breath.  It's only the start of summer break.  I'm still in kid-withdrawal mode, apparently, and my patience is ragged.

Although, I never allowed my children to behave that way in public.  They tried that trick once and only once.  One of them, I do not remember which of the older two it was, attempted a meltdown in a department store over a toy.  Calmly but rapidly, out of the carriage they both came, and we swiftly left the store. 

Shocked and unclear on the concept, one of them asked, "Why did we leave?"

The answer is simple:  "We do NOT behave like that in public EVER.  NEVER."  And we left the parking lot, the half-filled carriage still sitting in the aisle of the store. They never pulled that stunt a second time.

My parents did the same with us.  If any of the five of us couldn't behave while out in public, one parent completed the mission (or finished the meal) while the other took the offender(s) to the car.  It's just how it was.  Tantrums were not tolerated, and, if we absolutely had to have one, it wasn't going to be in a place that disturbed others.

Am I mean-spirited?  Do I not understand children?  Am I hating on children with issues?

Naw.  I just think there's a little something called "parenting" that needs to go on.  It may be your right to bring your tantrum-throwing child into public, but I have the right not to listen to it screech.  Since I was at a semi-playground, I chose to leave.  Be aware, though, if it's an adult establishment like a nice restaurant or a movie theater, I will ask you to shut your kid up and I'll only ask nicely once.