Swimmers are out in full force. My door seems to be open more than closed. Drives me crazy. I want to shout at them "IN OR OUT AND SHUT THE DOOR"!
Oddly enough, it is the adults who seem to have a problem, HeWho included. They find it necessary to hold the door open and carry on conversations with those who are in the store and those out of the store. I reminded one man that my air conditioner was on, a gentle hint. He said, "It feels great!" I told him it wouldn't feel great if he left the door open and he still did not get it. Now, I just say, "Shut the door, please."
When I was a child, I did not dare to disrespect adults or their property. Not so much nowadays. Children are left to destroy anything in their path. The parents seem to be oblivious, if they even accompany them into the store. For whatever reasons they seem to think this is a place to turn them loose. Children as young as three will come in with money in hand and I am responsible for telling them what the money will buy. If I happen to be busy, which is often the case, the child will grab a candy bar or bag of chips and start eating. They will have some change in their hand, but not enough to pay for what they take. I have to lock the store and trudge out to the pool, holding the child's tiny hand to find the owner of the child and ask for the money.
The parents seem to think the situation is funny, as they sit there, not even knowing the child is missing ...... or so they say. I have taken it upon myself to educate these parents to the perils of the world. I remind them of the close proximity to the Interstate and the rest area that is in walking distance to my park. I remind them of recent Amber alerts for missing children and tell them just how quickly their child could be taken. I also remind them that I am not liable for their attempt at parenting, as one man seem to think he could sue me if his child disappeared
My mother always told my sister and I that we were smarter than the rest of the world. She may just have been right about that. I know I am not the only business to suffer the vandalism of children unsupervised. You see it everywhere you go. The parents don't feel they are responsible for damages their children create. As far as that goes, they do not feel responsible for damages they, they adults, create.
4 comments:
Put up one of those signs about selling them to the circus. Then contact a circus!
Oh my I know you are right! I saw it everyday I taught. Restaurants are the worst. Unsupervised children are a hazard to themselves and others. Think about this, their parents are going to be tending us in old age. They can't keep tabs on their own!
I don't know a solution. Like the cicadas currently driving me mad with their noise, perhaps we can bitch them into understanding.
We see the same thing at the campground we are at. Children come in, often times not having a clue except that they have money and will spend all of it if they can. There are a few families that every weekend their kids come to the store with no idea of how much they have or what it will buy and we have to walk through it all, a few of them are near teenage!
I am once in a while shocked when a well behaved child come in to the store which reminds me that thankfully not all are brought up coddled spoiled little chits.
I hope your next weekend is a good one!
Erik
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