Children, children everywhere (they should have stayed at home)

By Laura Yates on Aug 26, 09 11:13 PM

The thing about taking your kids out to kid friendly places in the summer hols is that these places are usually full of, well, kids.

Not that there's anything wrong with that - it's not like I particularly dislike other people's children - just not in such large numbers and not when they're being parented by people who are at the wrong end of the summer break.

These mums (and sometimes dads) are invariably counting the seconds till their little darlings are packed off back to school. Good parenting practise was thrown to the wind two days after the kids broke up and a blind eye is now being turned to all but the very worst behaviour.

Fraught mothers pretend they can't see their little one climbing up the slide, causing the children on the way down to fall either side like shelled peas. Little Johnny is left unhindered to wipe the contents of his nose on the swings because his mom simply can't face explaining for the hundredth time this holiday why he should use a tissue.

I encourage my own children to behave despite the fact that the kids in the park resemble something out of Lord of the Flies, but there's only so many times you watch your own child fall foul of the actions of others.

I grew so tired of waiting and waiting and waiting with The Kid for his turn on the spinning thing in the playground. It was occupied by some bratty, curly haired girl and had been for twenty minutes. I wasn't the only one waiting and the worst of it was that her mom knew she was being less than fair to her fellow rug-rats yet buried her head in a book.

Eventually I let The Kid go. He bowled over and climbed all over the bratty, curly haired girl until she ran away in horror. I let him play for a full, fair five minutes then prized him off so that someone else could have a turn.

So, it may not be a perfect solution, but when it comes to the case of parents not encouraging their offspring to be civilised, well, if you can't beat them (and you can't - it's illegal) then you may as well join them.