I saw the most amazing thing yesterday.
My mom and I were having lunch out and there was a little boy with his mother at the table across from us. I saw them get up and go the salad bar, which was behind where I was sitting so I'm not sure what happened but he ended up bursting into tears over something. His mom brought him back to their table and from what I could hear of their conversation, it sounded like he wasn't happy with whatever she had put on his plate. She told him they were going to go outside until he stopped crying. He kept crying so SHE ACTUALLY WALKED HIM OUT OF THE RESTAURANT.
She didn't ask him if he wanted "a time out when we get home" or tell him he couldn't watch "Bob the Builder" after his nap. She didn't give in and walk him over the dessert bar so he could get ice cream. She just told him they were leaving the restaurant and going outside until he was ready to stop the tears. And, then she followed through on that. How often do you see that happen??
I was shocked and appalled.
A few minutes later, they came back in and sat down at their table. The little boy was no longer crying and was once again his happy little self. He climbed into the booth and went back to eating his lunch. And, when they were all finished, he and his mom went to the dessert bar and to get an ice cream cone.
If I was able to, I would have paid for their lunch. Dang, I would have bought her a BMW if I could have. I was so impressed by how she handled the situation.
I hope she gets a super fantastic out of this world Mother's Day gift this weekend. She sure deserves it.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Bravo, Mom
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5 comments:
Hallelujah! I can't even tell you how many times a screaming child and/or their pleading parent has ruined a meal out. I know kids get cranky and sometimes they just don't understand, but the parents certainly should, and they should know negotiation is not an option. Who's in charge here - you or your child?
My ILs like to say how well behaved my DH and his brother were whenever they went out. DH and BIL say it's because whenever they went somewhere, Dad would turn around before they got out of the car and say, "Don't make me bring you out here before we're done." They both say they knew he meant it, and going "outside" wasn't going to end well for them, so they never pushed their luck. LOL
I do this, too. Or, I should say, I did this. Its easy to do when you only have one child since you are only dealing with one kid. Now that I have 3 kids (aged 3 and under! Ugh!) its easier to simply not go to restaurants because trying to drag 3 screaming kids out of a restaurant when they are acting up is not pretty! LOL!
Good for her!
That Mom most definitely deserves a pat on the back...if not a medal!
I just got in from a Family Reading Night event at school. We had a center in the new library and I was mortified by the behavior. During the school day, when those children are with me we normally sit in theater area for storytime. They have expectations and they KNOW if they don't behave, they don't get to participate in whatever the rest of us are doing. I don't really have too many discipline problems.
Tonight however, with their parents their...complete pandemonium! There were kids jumping off the theater, rolling around on it and one boy climbed over a bookcase. Yelling, back-talking...it was awful.NONE of the parents said so much as Boo. As a teacher I don't feel I should correct children when the parent is right there in the room. Sadly, the parents didn't feel like they should correct them either! I was a nervous wreck by the time the night was over!
Love this. I used to have a co-worker who followed through on her word--it was inspiring, I tell you what. She once bought her daughter a doll she wanted, then the daughter got all pissy the next day, and damn if that mom didn't take the toy back. Message: appreciate what you have. It was incredible. She used to tell her kids their eyes would turn purple when they lied, so she'd know. They thought for sure that was the case, so of course they tried to hide their eyes or look down and she'd know, lol. It was genius. I would have said something to that mom--but then I do stuff like that. Good for her for taking the more difficult but correct path to guiding her children toward being the best they can be.
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