Kids these days...

So I have been meaning to share this story for a while, and find that now it gives me a reason to put off studying for a short time.

During my brief and (and surprisingly miserable) stint at Target this summer, one evening I was stocking some merchandise in the infant section. As there were some larger items, all the stuff was loaded onto this large cart, really a 3' x 5' piece of plywood on wheels with a big handle. There I am stocking away, and I go back to the main aisle where the cart is (b/c it's much too cumbersome to push down each individual aisle) and...no cart. Then I see the cart flying down the aisle with a little girl, probably 5 or 6, half pushing-half riding along. I chase it down and we come to a stop about 30 feet away from where the cart originally was, with the little girl's mom following behind. I wanted to tell the little girl that the cart wasn't a toy and that she could have gotten hurt or hurt someone else, but her mom was right there, so I decided to leave the parenting to the parent. The mom pulls the girl off the cart and says to her, "You shouldn't have done that! You could have got hurt!"

Good for you, mom, I'm thinking. However, that thought lasted about 2 seconds, because the mom immediately turns to me and says, "But you did just leave it there. So it's not really her fault that she hopped on it."

I stood there at a loss for words. (Well, to be perfectly honest, plenty of words came to mind, but any combination of them would quite possibly have gotten me immediately fired, so in my mind they remained.) She then walked off, offspring in tow, as I continued to stand there, with what I am pretty sure was a look of utter annoyance.

Now, let's be clear. My annoyance was initially directed at the girl. She was certainly old enough to know that she probably shouldn't go joy-riding through the aisle on any large wheeled object that happened to sit low enough for her to hop on to. But then my annoyance switched to (and remained with) the mother. My unsaid thoughts went something like this:

Really? I shouldn't have left it there? Aside from the fact that I am supposed to leave it there, and that people would be pissed if I tried to maneuver that thing down the baby food aisle as they shopped, I don't see how the mere presence of the cart caused your daughter to careen through the store on it. So because I left the cart there, your daughter automatically loses all self-control and, more importantly, you lose all parental control? You haven't taught your daughter what is and isn't acceptable shopping behavior and that's my fault?

Let's follow this logic down the (admittedly) slippery path it may follow:

Hmm, honey, that isn't your bike. What's that? Susie just left it in her yard? Well, in that case I completely understand why you thought you could take it for a ride. Wear a helmet dear.

Oh my, you took my car and rear-ended a little old lady? You're only 14! What's that? I left the car in the drive and the keys on the counter? Silly me, I should have known it would be too tempting for you to avoid driving it. We should send that old lady flowers.

Honey, where'd you get the iPod? Oh, someone left it on their desk in class while they went to the bathroom? Well, that was just careless of them. What? Oh, you need an iTunes account. Of course, just get the credit card out of my purse, but be sure you put it back this time, your last shopping trip almost maxed it out.

I know, I know, this parade of horribles, to finally use a law school idea in real life, is a bit extreme, but what happened to parents teaching their kids what is and isn't acceptable behavior? My mom would have apologized profusely and then lectured me until we got home about how lucky I was I didn't get hurt and that I should just be thankful I didn't run into anyone else and hurt them and that I better not ever do anything like that again because while we'll just keep it between us this time, if I ever pull a stunt like that again, young lady, your father will hear about it, and then you KNOW what will happen.

I get it, we all want kids to be kids. Kids should have fun. But kids should also know that they can't just take a ride on any wheeled object that crosses their path. And parents should keep an eye on their kids and not laugh off things that should be opportunities to teach their kids what is unacceptable behavior.

I could go on and on about kids not respecting their parents and how some people shouldn't even be allowed to have the responsibility of raising kids, but I won't. Mainly because I am sure I will soon have an illustrative encounter which will make those points for me. All in good time...