When I worked at KBF, we had similar problems. There were people who wanted to know if they could leave their kids at Lost Children's Center while they went on rides the kids didn't qualify for. The answer was, of course, "No." Let's face it, people today think they are so perfect as parents, when what they are doing is teaching kids to disrespect authority. The parents refuse to read signs, follow directions, etc., and if you try to correct them, no matter how tactfully, they about bite your head off. IMD (In My Day), parents kept hold of their kids, there was none of the crying and begging to not make them go on a certain ride, etc.. Parents backed up authority figures, that included amusement park ride operators, and kids were taught to share, think of other's needs before their own, etc.. Ah, for the good old days! We all have, on this site and at
http://www.kbfdrama.com, tales of parents who let their kids do what they want, no matter how dangerous it was. Trust me, I got put on a six month final for warning two kids, at differant times, not to play on the chains or with the turnstile, and the parents complained. I had parents tell me, "They're just kids." Yeah, well, I used to be a kid too at one time, and my parents never let me or my siblings play around on chains, queue line rails, turnstiles, etc.. When I got called in about the parent's complaint, my area manager said he had a 3 year old daughter who plays with clocks to the point that none of the clocks in his house work anymore--but he lets his kid play with them just so she can learn about clocks. Jeez, imagine what would happen if she decided to learn about power tools! I have a scar on one of my fingers from when I tried to teach myself how to use a saw--I wasn't hurt bad when the saw caught in the wood I was practicing on , jumped out and cut my finger. And I was like 7 at the time (I'm a Baby Boomer--take a guess when it happened!) :) Parents don't discipline their kids anymore--IMD, the father wasn't afraid to use a belt or other item to enforce discipline. Today, you just look at a kid the wrong way and they call 911 on you and claim you abused them! I remember reading a story about a woman who had a baby girl, and she decided that her own upbringing was too harsh, so she decided to treat her daughter not as a daughter, but as a best friend. As the girl grew older, her mother acted like her best friend, always listening to her, offering suggestions, chatting with her, etc.. Their relationship was extraordinary--or so the mother thought. The mother never raised her voice at or punished her daughter, it was as if they were best friends. But one day, when the daughter was 16, her mother went to her daughter's room for a reason I've forgotten, and found her daughter dead--a suicide. The note she left behind said that her friends envied her relationship with her mom, but she would hear her friends talk about how they were always arguing with their moms, how their moms restricted their activities, etc., and it made her feel like a freak. This situation bothered her so much, that she felt that she couldn't take it anymore, and the only way out of her situation was to commit suicide. The daughter ended her letter saying that her mom was supposed to be a disciplinarian, a rule setter and a limit enforcer, not a best friend. You can imagine how totally shocked the mother must've been. I don't know if that actually happened, but the fact is the reason kids are getting into trouble, girls are getting pregnant without marrying, and boys are abusing girls is that the parents aren't setting an example, aren't discipling them. You learn how to be a parent by observing your parents. Parents say that we single, childless people know nothing about child raising, and therefore are not qualified to tell them how to parent their kids. Just because we don't have the actual, hands-on experience doesn't mean we don't know anything about it. Unless you're a total orphan and were raised in an institution, you will have an idea of how to parent. A historian once researched why the great civilizations of the past throughout the world fell, and one of the reasons was lack of discipline. The others were violent entertainment, lack of morality, disregard of religion and government giving everything to people for free. Every civilization was built by morality, religion, hard work , discipline, and thrift. When they started doing things the way other nations did them, like adopting their religions or taste for violence, lust or otherwise straying from the founding principles that built their country, the country and its civilization were destroyed by those they borrowed customs, religion, morality, etc. from, and was taken over by those they mimicked. Anyway, the key thing is, when parents fail to discipline their children and teach them to obey rules, and enforce them, and not let their kids tell them what to do/what they want, they are helping to destroy civilization. Why parents would indulge their child's death wish to run up and down the aisles of a train when it's moving, or stand in a moving ride vehicle, is beyond me. The number one reason people get hurt or killed on amusement park rides is because they don't follow the rules. And the number one cause of injuries is putting hands, arms, feet or legs out of the ride vehicle. It's amazing when you tell people things so they don't get hurt, they rationalize that if they get hurt, they can sue for damages. They don't realize that an investigation will result, and when they are found to be at fault, they could face charges (depending on the situation), and may even end up paying the park instead! Real Stupid!
