There are no bad kids. Only bad parents

If you haven't read the story of the kids behaving badly at the Tate Gallery, I implore you to click here. Kids behaving badly and parents condoning it. Sadly issues like this are common experiences these days, I know first hand because being a parent I am constantly watching other parents around me. My observations have led me to believe that when we complain about kids lacking commonsense and respect, or exhibiting a blatant disregard for other people and their property, we should look no further than at their parents. I have lost count of the number of times I am in a supermarket and some kid is helping him/herself to an item and the parent turns a blind eye, or times when some kid is behaving badly and the parent instead of correcting is busy making excuses that they are a certain age and as a result that is what they do. Kids sometimes don't know any better but do your job as a parent and correct them sheesh! And don't just stop there, try and always set them a good example, take for instance this lady at playgroup this morning. She arrived just after I had arrived and we were both instructed at the same time that the playgroup was full and we should put our name down and when someone leaves, we will get called in accordingly. Considering I arrived before her, you would think she would let me put my name down first...no! Instead she left her buggy right in the middle of the walkway in front of the door obstructing access and then quickly scribbled her son's name down while I waited for her to move out of the way so I can put my son's name down. I didn't say anything to her because I dislike getting into confrontations with strangers in front of my son but I was seething I wanted to kick her and her buggy out of the way. We both made it into the playgroup and it came as no surprise that her son turned out to be rather unruly. While playing, she kept telling him to wait his turn but did you think he listened? No! The apple never falls far from the tree after all. As a parent, it is up to you to show and teach your kids respect for others and their property. It does not matter how precious your kids are, if you fail to instill respect in them, then they will never grow out of that mentality of treating everything like it is their playground forever.