Too bad you don't need a license to be a parent...

Allie and i made a trip to Target this afternoon to pick up Ainsley's birthday gifts. Now I LOVE Target, it is like therapy for me to walk the aisles and look at all the "stuff" but today was a nightmare. Children running amok, screaming, climbing into the displays, under the clothing racks, knocking things off shelves, you name it. A boy maybe 5 or 6 was even pushing my cart in the baby food aisle! Since I have very little tolerance for that, after the second push, I gave him my meanest teacher face and voice and asked "Where is your mother?". Of course she was no where to be found, but at least he left me alone after that.

I just don't get it. Ainsley (and Allie when she is mobile) would be laid out in the middle of the store if she did even a fraction of what these little beasts were doing. I still remember my mom saying "hands in your pockets!" to us when we walked into a store, knowing that if we did not comply, there was a wooden spoon in her purse. One of my most vivid memories of being little was going to dinner in a restaurant with mom (dad must have been at work). Kelly, David and I were not listening and after she ordered our food she told the waitress "we'll take that to go". Holy crap we are dead, was what the three of us were thinking.

When did it happen that people quit disciplining their kids? Yes, I have heard the whole you don't want to hurt their self esteem BS that is out there. Hello? How great is it on their self esteem when they are not able to behave themselves enough to finish school??? or get a job??? Give me a break.

I've said it a million times... you need a license to drive a car, but not to be a parent. There is something wrong with that.