Yesterday, my friend was flying back from her beach vacation. Flying is rarely pleasant, but it seemed that everywhere she went, unruly children were wreaking havoc and chaos and doing their best to snap her out of her post-holiday reverie.
While waiting for her flight, two young girls near her began fighting, with the little one crying. No parent appeared to be in sight, and everyone seemed uncertain as to whether they should intervene. After a few minutes, the girls’ mother ran over. Apparently she had gone to get a snack and thought it okay to leave her kids behind.
On the plane, the kid behind my friend kept kicking the back of her seat. Not only did his parents do nothing to discourage this, but the father kept riling the kid up and engaging in little wrestling bouts—on the plane! No wonder the child was so antsy. Later, they let the child run up and down the aisles, even though he kept falling over and landing on people’s laps. Not once did they apologize or try to calm the boy down.
It’s hard to fault a child for acting like a child, but I think it’s disgraceful when parents make no effort to monitor their children. Leaving your children without supervision is hugely risky, and encouraging them to disturb other passengers or failing to intervene when they do so makes you a major nuisance and sets a bad example. Bratty behavior isn’t just a phase—if left unchecked, you could be raising one seriously uncivil person!
Try to teach your child the basics of civility and respect—saying please and thank you, keeping their hands to themselves, using indoor voices, and not running around indoors. Not only will be the general public be grateful, but you’ll be doing yourself a huge favor!