We were standing in the check-out line at the grocery store today and quite possibly the single most rude child I've ever seen was standing in front of us with his mother. This little boy, maybe age 12 or so, had short blond hair, iPod earbuds in one ear, and an attrocious attitude. The entire time we were in line behind them, he was yelling (literally yelling) at his mom about how stupid she was - how she wasn't using the self-check-out machine correctly, how she was so slow, how she didn't sign her name on the credit card reader. I stared the kid down the entire time, but he never looked at me. I soooo wanted to walk up to him, punch him in the mouth, and say, "Do you know who this woman is? She's the woman who brought you into this world, provided food, clothing, and shelter for you, gave you all kinds of nice things, like that iPod you have jammed in your head like a fool, and this is how you repay her? I ought to beat some Jesus into you myself, but I'll let her do that for me. You had best learn some respect, and quickly, before you mess around and get yourself killed!" But I didn't.
Steph wouldn't let me. She loves me too much to see me go to jail for beating up a child. If she hadn't been standing between him and me, though, things just might have been different...
And what was worse, the mom just stood there and took it! I wanted to tell her to beat her child! That's the problem with parents these days: they are so afraid of getting in trouble, and the government is so deep into the parents' business, that parents have lost their backbones. Stephanie was about to go Madea on both the mom and the kid: "You wanna call CPS? I'll call 'em myself!" I really wish she would have... it would've been awesome!
And what was worse, the mom just stood there and took it! I wanted to tell her to beat her child! That's the problem with parents these days: they are so afraid of getting in trouble, and the government is so deep into the parents' business, that parents have lost their backbones. Stephanie was about to go Madea on both the mom and the kid: "You wanna call CPS? I'll call 'em myself!" I really wish she would have... it would've been awesome!
The moral of the story is three-fold:
1. "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right." Eph. 6:1
2. "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Prov. 22:6
3. "He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him." Prov. 13:24 (or, in the paraphrase of "Pops" from Tyler Perry's House of Payne, "Get the rod, whoop the child!")Seen any kids acting a fool lately?
Peace, Love, and Dark Chocolate
3 comments:
This definitely made me laugh!
When I first started reading this I thought, "oh no, it's gonna be another critical perfect parent", but you aren't. The reason I thought that was because I was a single mom raising 3 sons for several years and when my sons were very young (ages 3-8) they could be so rambunctious and obnoxious in grocery store lines!
But I was stunned - this kid was 12 and was outwardly berating his mom! My heart goes out to her...what must be her situation that she tolerates this behavior; I can't help but wonder is this boy hears dad berating his mom at home.
Great post and a situation that is seen all too often. As a father of 3 boys myself I know that, unfortunately, the problems for the mom in your story didn't start when the boy turned 12, they started when he first started asserting his will around age 2 or 3 and she didn't want to do the hard job of disciplining him. Kids like this don't all of a sudden decide to be disrespectful and abhorrent to their parents, it's a pattern of behavior established over a number of years. I doubt the behavior of this boy was an anomaly in that household.
You're both right on the money... at least, I'm pretty positive you are. I have no idea who this family is, or what goes on in their home, or if there's even a dad in the picture. What I do know is that the kid was way out of line, the mom didn't do ANYTHING to correct him, and the whole scene made me want to "cover God's eyes" while I gave him the beating he deserved. I also know that had that kid been me, I would no longer be alive! My mama would have killed me right there in the grocery store, and then called CPS... on me!
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