Abusive parents

[DisneyMom]

I use "Keep on the Sunnyside". When my 15 year old wants to get out of line, I threaten to start belting it out. Works like a charm.

Yep, embarassing teenagers is the best way! Mwahaha! :twisted:

It is not child abuse, but I have been known to drag hubby on Soarin' (he hates heights) He'll go on but looks like a cat clinging on the curtains when the Rottweiler walked into the room! Guess I better stop if I want to stay married.....

[LittleDollClaudia]

I've got one.

We were walking through Fantasyland. (of course the land of tantrums, screaming, and downright unacceptable behavior, oh yeah the kids act up too! )

See this little kid in the Dumbo line, tears streaming down his face. Mama who I swear looked about 19 if a day. She's all smiles, totally oblivious to her boy, or so I think. "I don't wanna go. I'm scared." he sniffles. She fires back at him, "Hey, we didn't come here for YOU. It's my turn to have some fun. Shut-up or I won't be able to go on."

Uh, yeah. This isn't Knotts, dumbass. You don't need to torture your poor child so you can have 5 minutes that he will suffer for in therapy for 20 years.

[Princess Susi]

I think I may have told this one before, but it fits this thread too perfectly.

I got pulled from City Hall to work GC for the evening parade. As I'm standing at the crossing in front of Market House, I look up the street and see Alice holding the hand of a girl who couldn't have been more than 5. the girl is crying and Alice is hurrying in the City Hall direction, so I figured she was lost. I ran out to meet them and just as Alice was explaining to me (in character :) ) that her parents had gotten lost, the little girl saw her mom further up the street and took off running to her. Alice and I chased her up the street to make sure it was mom and not just the kid bolting, and we saw mom bend over like she was going to hug the kid and say "there you are, I was so worried."

Instead, she bends over and smacks the little girl across the face, and screams "Don't you ever do that again!". Alice and I stood in shocked silence and the entire section people waiting for the parade on the curb went silent. Before I could figure out what to say, mom was dragging the little one by the arm out of the park. I heard some guy boo her as they passed, and I turned to Alice who just said "Oh, dear!" and I thanked her for trying to help and we both went back to our posts.

This makes me very sad for that poor young girl... :(

Yep, embarassing teenagers is the best way! Mwahaha! :twisted:

It is not child abuse, but I have been known to drag hubby on Soarin' (he hates heights) He'll go on but looks like a cat clinging on the curtains when the Rottweiler walked into the room! Guess I better stop if I want to stay married.....

And I even told him we would sit him in between the two of us and we would hold his hands on either side, so he wouldn't be scared! ;)

I've got one.

We were walking through Fantasyland. (of course the land of tantrums, screaming, and downright unacceptable behavior, oh yeah the kids act up too! )

See this little kid in the Dumbo line, tears streaming down his face. Mama who I swear looked about 19 if a day. She's all smiles, totally oblivious to her boy, or so I think. "I don't wanna go. I'm scared." he sniffles. She fires back at him, "Hey, we didn't come here for YOU. It's my turn to have some fun. Shut-up or I won't be able to go on."

Uh, yeah. This isn't Knotts, dumbass. You don't need to torture your poor child so you can have 5 minutes that he will suffer for in therapy for 20 years.

That line (bold mine) is too funny! Bwahaha!

Parents can be so childish sometimes. You would think the kids have more sense than half the parents seen in the Parks. It is so sad to see the kids taking the brunt of the parents short temper, or being too hot and tired themselves to be handle a situation better. They do and say unbelievable things and I want to smack some them so hard sometimes and tell them, "Just look at what you are doing to your child!"

These emptyheaded moroons would not get it if you slapped THEM across the face like they do their kids....The frustration levels are high, their expectations are high and they lose it if one little thing goes off track or schedule for them, when it would be better to have SOME plans but NOT go commandoing all over the Parks when the little ones cannot keep up and then blame all the problems and frustrations on a kid who just is being human, hungry, tired, overwhelmed, and in bad need of rest and down time. A good swim would help sometimes. A nap would help sometimes. healthy food would be a good thing. And I am not just talking about the kids, the parents need it too to keep their temperament in check. Although some are just abusive and need to be locked up, for the most part I think it is just a lot of heat, hunger and tiredness and go, go, going that gets EVERYONE into a mood.
Susi

[Elena (aka: Bubble Lady)]

Lets not forget the perennial favorite:

"Stop crying or else give you a REAL reason to cry."

8^S

[font="Palatino Linotype"]this is something i heard from my dad when i was little, but never at disneyland[/font]

[felinefan]

LittleDollClaudia, you're dead-on about Knott's . I remember one time when I was working Huff'N'Puff, it's shortly after opening, and this Mexican guy, obviously intoxicated, comes up and asks where he can buy beer in the park. I know that at Knott's alcohol is available in sit-down restaurants, and only with the purchase of a meal, plus the Cantina in Fiesta Village. Dude had a little kid, 3-4 years old, with him. I told him about the sit-down restaurants, point him in the general direction of the nearest one, and he staggers off with the kid. I'm still kicking myself for not calling security--that was a tragedy waiting to happen. Of course, at about 10:30 or so in the morning, I doubt he would've gotten anything. Hopefully his buzz wore off and he didn't try to get another one on. How anyone could let a drunk guy take a little kid to Knott's with him I don't know. That, as I say, could go bad in so many ways. I hope he didn't drive to get there and back in that condition.

[WarriorPoets1]

I've got one.

We were walking through Fantasyland. (of course the land of tantrums, screaming, and downright unacceptable behavior, oh yeah the kids act up too! )

See this little kid in the Dumbo line, tears streaming down his face. Mama who I swear looked about 19 if a day. She's all smiles, totally oblivious to her boy, or so I think. "I don't wanna go. I'm scared." he sniffles. She fires back at him, "Hey, we didn't come here for YOU. It's my turn to have some fun. Shut-up or I won't be able to go on."

Uh, yeah. This isn't Knotts, dumbass. You don't need to torture your poor child so you can have 5 minutes that he will suffer for in therapy for 20 years.

*sighs* I swear, parenting should be like driving, you can't do it without a license. Because in the end, both can be dangerous if mistreated.

I know I'm touching a potential hot button here, but frankly, one thing I really detest are the kid harnesses. I understand that you don't want to risk losing the kids, but last I checked, I went to Disneyland since I 5 and Mom or Dad holding my hand was safe enough. More than that, I'm sorry, making them look like a backpack doesn't help. I have actually seen some parents use REAL dog leashes attached to the back of kid's pants.

Finally, sadly, yes, I've seen kids DRAGGED through the park by them because Mom's in a hurry. Not sure which is more dangerous, the stroller army, the ECVs or the Moms dragging the kids by the leash... excuse me, harness.

Like I said, I know I'm going to catch heck for it, but it's how I feel.

[EeyoresButterfly]

I understand how you feel however... My kids will definitely use one (and no, I will not drag them around by it. Most kids are not content to sit in a stroller all day, and after working in the parks, I am convinced it is the best way to keep track of your children. I have literally seen children get lost while holding their parents hand. In a place like that, it only takes one second of distraction. When I worked at a preschool we used them to go walking with the two year olds around the building. They actually loved it and couldn't wait to put them on! They didn't have to hold our hands and could wander wherever they wanted as long as it was in range. That was freedom to them! I would rather not have to deal with my child getting lost while on vacation. I have seen it happen to too many families.

[hobie16]

I know I'm touching a potential hot button here, but frankly, one thing I really detest are the kid harnesses. I understand that you don't want to risk losing the kids, but last I checked, I went to Disneyland since I 5 and Mom or Dad holding my hand was safe enough. More than that, I'm sorry, making them look like a backpack doesn't help. I have actually seen some parents use REAL dog leashes attached to the back of kid's pants.

Finally, sadly, yes, I've seen kids DRAGGED through the park by them because Mom's in a hurry. Not sure which is more dangerous, the stroller army, the ECVs or the Moms dragging the kids by the leash... excuse me, harness.

Like I said, I know I'm going to catch heck for it, but it's how I feel.

This subject was discussed in depth a few years ago. One poster decided it was all right to carry a knife in the park to cut any kid leashes that got in his way.

Most parents love them (when my daughter was a young escape artist I sure did), some don't. Kids can disappear in a second of lost contact.

Earlier in this thread a few examples of lost parents being reunited with their kids led to the kid being yelled at. If you talked to the parents I bet you'd find they were scared to death of losing their child forever. On a rational level the parents realize there's a pretty slim chance of their kid being snatched in any Disney park but rational flies out the window when one disappears.

[WarriorPoets1]

Still, suffice to say there are some truly awful ways the kids are mistreated by their parents at what should be the Happiest Place on Earth.

I think it's borderline cruel to force your kid to go up to Mickey if he seems terrified of how big he is, for example.

And I think we can consider the "Who's-dream-is-it" topic sufficently.

[EeyoresButterfly]

As a friend of a character I HATE it when parents bring terrified children. Not only am I now the one who has scarred that child for life, frequently they will hit/kick/punch us which can become painful. These parents also take their time because they want Jr. to stop crying long enough to take the picture.

If your child is scared, do what my cousin did with her two year old daughter. I was showing them around the parks and had warned my friends in advance that she was nervous around characters. We started her off with princesses and she handled that well. We let her make the decisions. She started off with a wave, then allowed daddy to hold her on the opposite shoulder, and thn let Snow White give her a kiss. At Chef Mickey's, (where the characters ahd been warned), we reminded them as they came up to the table and again let her make the decisions. She let minnie take a picture with her and on our way out actually ran up and hugged Donald! Had we tried to force her, she would probably still be scared.