Not my little angel!

If I have to watch one more child make a fool out of his or her parents in a public place, I am going to scream. I will fling myself right down on the ground beside that kid and pitch a fit of my own, which will hopefully freak him or her out enough to quit screeching.\nAn alarming number of parents these days seem to be oblivious to the fact their children are acting like little hellions. At playgrounds with my little brother, I have seen parents stand by and watch their children verbally intimidate and shove other kids away from equipment. I'm still aghast -- why didn't these parents step in, grab their child by the arm and say, "You apologize to that little girl this instant, young lady!"?\nFor some reason, certain parents think because they dote on their children, everyone will make exceptions for them. I ran into these enablers often while working as a theater camp counselor in Montgomery County, Md. We had strict rules about leaving Pokémon and Yu-gi-oh cards at home, but the kids often snuck them in anyway and tried to play backstage during rehearsal. They ended up missing their cues and tripping other kids because they were sprawled all over the limited backstage space.\nRather than support the rules our campsite had in place, parents complained when we confiscated the prohibited items. Funny, but I would think if you paid several hundred dollars for a theater camp, you would want your budding Shirley Temple to actually work and perform wonderfully. These same parents glared at us when their kids flubbed lines and embarrassed themselves during the final performances.\nThe most obnoxious parents don't believe their wonderful children could possibly be blamed for anything. "Oh," the parents coo, "we know that little Jimmy could use a little more discipline, but we don't want to damage his creativity. We don't want to encroach upon his individuality and stifle who he is as a person." \nFunny, but little Jimmy is generally the kid I want to drop-kick because he's pulling things off the shelves at the grocery store.\nSome people out there may be defensive now: "Hey, little college brat! Think you're so smart? It's hard being a parent these days. What business do you have telling me what I can and can't do with my kids?"\nI'll tell you why it's my business. It's my bum they're running into while they play tag in the checkout line. It's my head they're clobbering when they throw things over the back of the booth at restaurants. If your little darlings dash out into the street in front of my car, your negligence abruptly becomes my business when you slap me with a lawsuit. \nI appreciate that parenting is hard, but you are not doing your children any favors by allowing them to act like wildcats. All you do is teach them it's okay to act like a jerk. If kids learn they can speak disrespectfully to family members, they will speak that way to peers, teachers and, eventually, employers. Make no mistake -- your attempts to be indulgent now will affect the quality of their interpersonal relationships forever. \nKids will be kids, and it's not fair to completely discourage them from playing and exploring the world around them. Even so, there are few sights more wretched than a parent caving to the will of a toddler. You just know, someday, that kid is going to end up on a daytime talk show, getting dragged to teen boot camp by a bellowing drill sergeant. \nDisciplining your children is not a crime (unless it crosses the line into abuse, of course), so be considerate and control your brats until they learn to control themselves.