If I still worked in the service industry I would likely be fired…..

Warning: If you happen to be a parent who thinks there is nothing in life your child could ever do wrong, and that we should all worship the fact that you've had a child - then this is not the post for you.

The idea for this little rant came to me last week or so when London came home and said he’d seen adults yell at Tim’s workers, but he’d never seen a child do it. While that in itself is a bit disturbing, what I find even more so is that the child’s parents were standing there with smirks on their faces.  The kid asked for a certain flavor drink and got a different kind. He proceeded to say to the Tim’s worker “I asked for A flavor, this is B flavor…what are you stupid?” This child was maybe 8-

My first thought was “What the hell is wrong with people that they would not only stand for but seem to nurture this kind of behavior” My second thought was “If I was that Tim’s worker, I would have been fired”

I worked at McDonalds from the age of 16 to about 20 while I was in school. It was not a glamorous job by any stretch. My head was too small for the visor causing it to consistently fall over my eyes. I had so many burns I lost track and my car smelled like cheeseburger onions for 4 years. Of course I had my share of rude customers, but nothing in my four years as bad as that.

Those of you who know me best know that I have an opinion on almost everything J and that I can be very direct. There’s only so much a service worker can take, and I’m pretty sure that would have been my moment.

Various daydream scenarios would have run in my head like perhaps looking at the parents and saying “What is wrong with you? Your child is just a little guy and is already that rude-he likely talks to you like that at home, and you let him. In 10+ years when he is the workforce and can’t handle the competition of work and criticism from management-that will be your fault. I hope you enjoy him living in your basement until he’s 40 because he can’t hold down a job”

Option B would have been my favorite, but I likely would have been charged with some form of child abuse (as I understand it, today’s parents aren't even supposed to look at their kids funny….) “Listen here you entitled little shit- you may be able to talk to your parents like that but I will not tolerate it. People make mistakes and it’s up to us to be understanding and not demanding. How would you like it if I said to you that you ordered wrong because you’re stupid? Not very fun is it! Your parents may not be teaching you but you should be treating people with respect-especially people who are older than you! Now do you have something to say to me?”

But likely before I got the words out of my mouth I’m sure mommy and daddy would have stepped in and berated me for damaging the self-esteem of their precious child.

I’m not a parent so I can’t speak to how to raise a child or how to discipline them, but I know how I was raised and it was to be polite when speaking to an elder, say please and thank you, old people always get the chairs, failing at something doesn't mean you’re a failure at life; there is just somebody that is better at that particular skill and that’s ok. Work hard for your money. Be grateful for what you have, there are others are always worse off than yourself, the wooden spoon will break in half on your ass and lastly-your parents brought you into this world, they can take you out….

Thanks for stopping by…