All together again for Christmas

From several isles away you hear a child screaming. It’s not a child in pain but more of a demanding tone almost angry sounding. It seems to go on nonstop for several long minutes wearing your own emotions as it continues.  You have probably seen a scene such as this while shopping in public places more than once. Just recently it happened again. I was becoming annoyed and wondered at the adult how they were handling the situation so I headed towards the screaming child who looked about the age of three. His gaze was intently on the young woman who seemed to be deaf to his complaint or demands. She appeared to be on the cell phone but how could she hear anything and wouldn’t she be the least bit embarrassed by this defiant child? I wonder if she was only pretending to be on the phone “to busy to notice or care.” But how could she carry on a conversation with such noise in her ears. There were no tears in the child’s eyes. It was an obvious forced cry. The young teen girl standing near seemed to be embarrassed by the spectacle this child was creating. Even she was noticing the disgusted faces of all the onlookers at this pitiful scene. I looked around into the faces of those in view of this site. The looks on their faces were as if wondering, “When are you going to deal with this child?” I’m sure they were as annoyed as I was listening to this child pitch a fit. The screaming child, and the non involved adult was annoying me so much I was tempted to approach and rebuke either the child or the woman whom I will not dignify by calling her a mother because it was too obvious that she knew nothing about mothering. My frustration and disgust on the situation may not have guided me to be kind and gracious which would only have started a shouting match between that negligent woman and myself so I bit my lip and went on. What has happened to our society when a grown adult can not handle a three-year old child?

I am no Dr. Spock or a self-proclaimed expert but I have raised six children, five of them boys and my children never pitched a fit like that in any store or public place. We never allowed that type of behavior to go without correction. If they even started to whine they were dealt with instantly. I can remember times when I needed to take them to the bathroom for some much-needed correction but most often they were dealt with at home. And never did they get any reward by crying for it. I’ve seen too many ignorant parents appease their child by giving the child the object they were screaming for just to quiet the brat to spare themselves the embarrassment of their inability to handle the child’s misbehavior.  This seems too familiar with the way liberal politicians wants to deal with the radical Islamic terrorists. Appeasement, giving in to their demands so they learn that they can scream and holler and threaten us into giving them what they want. Does it solve the problem? No, it only exasperate it. The problems become more compounded. By giving the child what he demands we are teaching him how to be manipulators, whiners, and self-centered beings. Bad behavior should never be rewarded with good. Is the object in raising children to keep the peace? If you think so then you better not have children because your cute little babies will grow into the terrible twos which become the testy teenagers and if never brought under submission will become societies terrorists and you will have a broken heart. They will have no respect for you, they will spit in your face, and disdain all authority. Wait that seems to describe the average young person in America today. As Willy Wonka says, “Whose to blame, when your child is a brat? The father and the mother.”

Methods of appeasement only continue the wrong selfish behavior. Peace is found on the other side of war. Just ask yourself the question. Do you honestly think that giving the demanding little brat what he’s screaming for will prevent him from doing the same act again for another desired object? If you have any common sense at all you know it won’t. So how can we think it to be any different in dealing with terrorists? As a parent I chose to oppose the wrong behavior, and stand strong against it. I might not have been loved immediately, nor was their best friend but I did gain their respect and obedience in the end. My rules remained constant and firm. We do not tolerate lying, stealing, willful disobedience or hurting anyone intentionally for any reason no matter what they have done to you. My children were taught to respect all authorities because they are watchers of their souls. If we as parents do not demand respect and obedience from our own children, how can we ever expect them to be disciplined in school to respect and obey the teacher, or later in service to the employer on the job, the police officer, the supervisor, or the law of the land? Failure to teach discipline to young children breeds “would be terrorists” to society at large. Appeasement is no solution it only adds to the problem. Parent’s who fail to discipline their children are the contributing factors as are Government officials in appeasing terrorists. War is more often than not the best solution that brings about the peaceable results in creating a civilized society.