At least you''re exposing him to Tiffany''s at an early age. Your future daughter-in-law will thank you for it!style="WIDTH: 99%; HEIGHT: 189px">Date: 1/12/2005 9:58:24 PM
Author: MichelleCarmen
My children do misbehave on occasion, but it''s not a given and it''s ridiculous to state I shouldn''t shop anywhere besides a cheap discount store!I''ll leave this to you.
.....and that''s exactly the kind of courtesy I''m talking about. It sounds like you have the presence of mind to acknowledge that a 4-star restaurant isn''t likely to be the best choice for three small children....and that''s all most folks are saying. When we were kids, my folks frequented all the the kiddie places too. We ate at Shakey''s pizza and Howard Johnson''s and children-appropriate restaurants, too. Frankly, I''m okay with it if kids want to leer at me over the booth at Chili''s or show me their newly-mushed chicken nugget......neither of those things are potentially harmful to them or to me. I can''t speak for everyone else, but I''m not saying children''s behavior should be *perfect*.....I said it should be venue-appropriate, and that parents should make *reasonable* (if not always successful) efforts to promote appropriate behavior.
I realize you like the flair for the dramatic, but let''s not overexaggerate. It was never said or even implied that children should be confined to home until they are adults.....or that families shouldn''t be expected to go out.....or any other outlandish example. I said that for those who do not wish to impose *any* behavior guidelines on their children at any time in public venues....the most acceptable place for them to be is home. If you do your best to promote appropriate behavior, then that''s not you, right? And it''s not anyone who tries to promote appropriate behavior.
I don''t think anyone''s assuming the worst from your child....honestly. I think it might have been your choice of descriptives.
I think pearcrazy is honing in on what this issue boils down to--common sense and consideration.
There is a sense of chaos from my perspective as I am constantly thinking about two (or more) things at once and this is the case EVERYWHERE I go since I DO have the job of ensuring my kids are safe and sound. My son was running around and wasn''t mellow, but wasn''t completely unreasonable either otherwise, as I said, I would have taken the initiative and left. My comment about my boys being ontop of the entertainment center was an exaggeration (not literal situation that occurred). My kids aren''t THAT much of a handful or I''d be committed to an asylum by now
My term, "ruckus," was part dramatisism. . .he ran behind the counter. I picked him up and brought him back to where we were and then he ran behind the counter again. He was quiet. . . No screaming, crying, just exploring. Kids do this. . .Michelle, I think that you've started a nice, juicy thread that has become about a much more general issue than the incident at Tiffany's. I must ask you to clarify, though, in fairness to those of us with a more conservative view of things, what do you mean by 'ruckus'? You described your son's behavior in Tiffany's as 'ruckus'? I guess I assumed he was doing more than wandering behind the counter. Perhaps the word's connotation is worse than it's actual meaning? In any event, I agree 100% that the way you described the saleswoman's attitude was rude and unnecessary. To me, that was really the point.
Date: 1/12/2005 11:535 PM
Author: MichelleCarmen
oooh oh. Not me. Sorry. I'm nice and my post wasn't meant to be a forum for me to have to defend my parenting. This is ridiculous.
Just a silly trip to Tiffany's. lalala
Michelle, the salesperson at Tiffany''s no doubt mishandled your situation. I''ve never been into any Tiffany''s so I can''t speak from experience, but I''ve been in other upscale shops where I''ve felt uncomfortable just being by myself. But I do have children which does give me the license to comment.
I''m a mother of 3, generally well behaved children. Nevertheless, they are children, and I have occasionally experienced situations where I needed to exercise some common sense parenting and either ask my child to behave/control them, or remove them/ourselves when they refuse to cooperate. I''ve had to put off (shopping, eating out, phone calls) due to misbahavior. But in all honesty, I would not have chosen to take my children to Tiffany''s if I even suspected that it could be a problem. If I had no choice but to take them, I''d have done everything to assure they stayed right by my side. Since it is a trip to a luxury store, vs. a trip to the grocery store (as was pointed out--need vs. desire) I perhaps would have waited until a time when my DH can watch them, then go alone, or perhaps prepared them beforehand by rewarding them with a treat AFTERWARDS (aka bribery
I feel that most of the feedback you have received here is constructive. Trust me, having 3 of my own, I understand children being children, at times. Perhaps it was just a bad day for them, but I think the tendency was to respond based on your own descriptions of the situation.
This pretty much sums up my feelings. And, some kids, regardless of how they are raised, are natural hellions. And, there is always a flip side to personality traits. Willful can equal stubborn. Willful can also equal one that isn''t going to be a sheep in the crowd - a good thing when they approach teen years.
I believe the absolute opposite. As a very small child, I was brought to all the fancy NYC shops, restaurants & plays. It was only through exposure & an expectation of behaviour put upon me by my parents that I learned proper behaviour & etiquette. No, I probably wasn''t perfect everytime. But, I kept going with them. When I traveled to Europe with them, I was invited to come along on business dinners. What else could they have done with me? As a result of early exposure, I knew the proper behaviou/etiquetter.
300x240.png)
