Is that how I look?

[I am Sam]

About six years ago I ran into the biggest parent bully I ever saw at the Rose & Crown one night. My family and a close friend of mine and I were eating there when we hear a child crying and his dad screaming at him that he must eat every bite of his kids meal of fish and chips. The child cries that he is full but dad keeps forcing his kid to eat going so far as to stab the child with the fork when jr. Refused to open his mouth. By the way this little boy was 4 or 5 at the oldest. Disney kids meals are meant to feed a 9-12 year old. Well 10 or so minutes of this and the kid cries I am going to throw up. His dad scoops him up and says I don't care if you throw up you will finish everything else on your plate when we get back. He then took the boy to the bathroom where at least 10 other dads followed him in to make sure he was not beating him for throwing up. While they were in the bathroom the restaurants CMs cleared the entire table including mom and sister's plates. They then set ice cream sundaes in front of the sister and in front of his seat. I arranged to pay for the boy's meal as part of dad's rant was we had to pay $7.99 for your meal so your going to eat every crumb. I also know security was called but I don't know what happened to them.

[dazyhill]

About six years ago I ran into the biggest parent bully I ever saw at the Rose & Crown one night. My family and a close friend of mine and I were eating there when we hear a child crying and his dad screaming at him that he must eat every bite of his kids meal of fish and chips. The child cries that he is full but dad keeps forcing his kid to eat going so far as to stab the child with the fork when jr. Refused to open his mouth. By the way this little boy was 4 or 5 at the oldest. Disney kids meals are meant to feed a 9-12 year old. Well 10 or so minutes of this and the kid cries I am going to throw up. His dad scoops him up and says I don't care if you throw up you will finish everything else on your plate when we get back. He then took the boy to the bathroom where at least 10 other dads followed him in to make sure he was not beating him for throwing up. While they were in the bathroom the restaurants CMs cleared the entire table including mom and sister's plates. They then set ice cream sundaes in front of the sister and in front of his seat. I arranged to pay for the boy's meal as part of dad's rant was we had to pay $7.99 for your meal so your going to eat every crumb. I also know security was called but I don't know what happened to them.

That is a horrible story! That poor kid! Forcing a child to eat like that leads to only more issues-like being food phobic. I bet that kid refuses to eat fish and chips now.

[ifoundnemo]

I wouldn't be too quick to stand in judgment of this type of behavior. Yes, some parents are just mean, however, many others know their children a lot better than you do. Sometimes they need to be pushed, sometimes hard, to experience new things. Watching other peoples children in isolated circumstances really doesn't make anyone an expert on child raising.

This is true, however, if the parent is yelling at the kid to the point of embarrassing the child, that is where I have the problem.

[joanna71985]

I know I've mentioned this in another thread, but watching parents drag screaming kids on to rides is my biggest pet peeve.

I've seen parents do the whole "don't be such a chicken" "grow up" among other things... it bothers me immensely about how parents can be such terrible bullies when their child gets scared.

Have I learned a thing or two about parenting by working at Disney??? Absolutely.

We're not allowed to send the ride if a kid is screaming (thank goodness- I don't think I could stay on the ride for 20 minutes with a screaming kid).

[Mayonnaise]

It's not always little kids the adults bully.

I will never, ever, ever, ever, ever EVER get on Splash Mountain again after my folks bullied me onto it at age 14. They poked and prodded and they swore I'd like it if I just gave it a chance. After the first drop, they're lucky I didn't bolt into the dioramas, not that I would ever do that in my right mind, but that shit gave me a full on panic attack anticipating the second drop after the extreme unpleasantness of the first. Not just fear... I swear on vertical drops I can literally feel my innards rearranging themselves. Smack me side to side as much as you like, but do not effin drop me.

Not doing that again. Thunder Mountain, ok fine. Space Mountain, I could take it or leave it overall, but no more than once per trip. Splash Mountain? EFF NO.

8^S

[5th Dimension]

I've seen plenty of parents, as their kids are crying, who say "oh he'll be fine" and I've seen plenty of kids coming off the ride crying too. What happened in between or if it was the same kid is unknown to me. Personally, I don't care if "they were just fine" the first time, if they don't want to go for a second time, I wouldn't make them.

Not too long ago I saw parents drag their kid onto the vehicle, and he was moving all over, crying and screaming, blocking their parents from buckling the seat belt, pushing the seat belt away. I can't send the vehicle if he is doing all of this, so I told them that. It was making me upset that they were forcing this kid who obviously was scared as hell go on the ride. Finally the kid calmed down enough, but I was about to :mad: at the "parents". Another kid scarred for life.

[ifoundnemo]

We're not allowed to send the ride if a kid is screaming (thank goodness- I don't think I could stay on the ride for 20 minutes with a screaming kid).

It's is definitely the at your own discretion thing. I had to pull a family from Pirates one time because the family was forcefully restraining their child down in the boat. No one felt comfortable sending the boat...

[I am Sam]

Once while waiting with my 7 year old personal assistant's daughter in the Voyage of the Little Mermaid's waiting room we came accross one of these families. Both parents were berating a 10 year old girl who was terrified. They even told her they would never take her to another amusement park and told her siblings thank your sister for ruining your vacation for you. I interrupted and asked if she had ever seen the show. The answer was no. They had been to AK the day before and the Its Tough to Be a Bug show had terrified her. I asked if she had seen the movie The Little Mermaid and she had. I explained the show was a shortened version of the movie. The noises she was hearing that were scary was just the thunder storm that happens when Ursula dies. I explained that the only other special effects like the 3-d shows have is bubbles. She was fine and actually excited to go see the show by the time the doors opened for us to go in the theater. Her parents actually followed us most of the day as I explain everything that might be scary to my PAs daughter (she has had trouble with new experiences and scary things) before it happens. Doing so actually gets her on more rides then and I have never taken her on or off a ride crying (including tower of terror). My dad always carries "lucky" quarters that he gives to crying kids in line. He tells them he gets them from Mickey Mouse and that nothing can hurt you on the ride (as long as you follow the rules) if you have one. He gives them out more at Haunted Mansion and Pirates than any other ride.

[hhsrat]

Once while waiting with my 7 year old personal assistant's daughter

First of all ... your PA is 7 yrs old? Secondly ... your PA is 7 yrs old, and has a daughter???

[I am Sam]

First of all ... your PA is 7 yrs old? Secondly ... your PA is 7 yrs old, and has a daughter???

My PA's 7 year old daughter. Sorry typing after 3 benedryl tablets bad idea :twisted: