I had a lesson last night in how rude parents can be

[titaniumsalute]

My wife is now (again) a High School Choral Director and Guitar teacher. Last night the HS had a large musical event with the band, choir, individual soloists, musical theater performance, etc. Sort of a variety show of music performed by the HS students.

There were probably a good 1,000 adults there. Of course, as usual they announce no flash photos due to distracting the performers, no cell phone texting and please turn off your ringers, no talking or waving at the kids.

Let me tell you apparently the rules don't apply to anyone in that room. I heard at least 10 cell phones ring during, people getting up and standing in front of my to take pictures, people texting or whatever, some talking, etc. The lady behind my was sucking on a candy pacifier...slurping and sucking away. It was gross.

I really felt bad for the kids. They work their asses off to get ready for a performance and the ADULTS in the room act like little kids. Oddly enough the HS kids in the audience seemed to be much better behaved than the adults.

[mr_hat]

1. Being there is just another chore

for many parents, IME.

They juggle other chores when they ideally should be "here now."

[Drahthaardogs]

20. Anyone who views their child's function as a chore

should just not go. There are many children who pour their heart and soul into athletics, music, and art. For these kids, being there and supporting them is a wonderful experience. If the kid or the parent does not want to be there, better they just stay home.

[sharp_stick]

2. My favorite

are the parents that show up and stay only until their kid is done. At my daughters school, only elementary, by the time the older kids were up for the Christmas show the auditorium was only 1/4 full.

[titaniumsalute]

5. Yes that is a huge problem

My wife mentioned that last night.

They make it mandatory for all the kids to stay so hopefully the parents will stay also. They also usually do a full ensemble at the end so they all have to stay. So rude.

[progressivebydesign]

3. That is a serious issue and seems to be getting worse.

I had my own crappy parent experience last week. I rented a beautiful condo on the ocean, for some much-needed R&R. It was a peaceful little complex, with mostly seniors. Very quiet. Well, until the two families showed up in their Lincoln Navigators and 9 children.

Seriously? They let the kids run screaming up and down the stairs the entire time, from 6am til after dinnertime. They yelled next to the windows where people were living, they disturbed everyone. At one point I saved their toddler from plunging down three flights of stairs, unattended. Not ONCE did I hear any of the parents say to their kids "you need to be respectful of the people here, and not scream" Or anything like that. Not one word to them. And when I stopped the unattended toddler from falling down the stairs (She was following her siblings who had just run down the stairway screaming and left her) the mother said to me "oh, we're really not bad parents, really."

Parents are foolishly ignoring the basic rules of parenting.. the kids DO see their behavior, and if they're rude, and if they don't expect anything of their kids, they kids haven't got a chance.

Sorry to hear about your concert. I've seen so much of that with my daughter's school events.

[Archae]

10. I used to live in an apartment, the window opened out into a day care's playground.

And I got so frikkin' sick of the brats SCREAMING I finally went out and chewed out the playground supervisor, showed her my window, and told the day care I would sue them if they didn't control the screaming.
(At the time, I worked third shift.)

Not just yelling like normal kids do. SCREAMING.

The day care owner was brought out, I chewed her out too the same way, and the screaming stopped that day.

[demwing]

12. I'm glad you don't live near my kids

end of story

[alphafemale]

15. Oh...so you're one of THOSE guys.

I can empathize...to a point. But did they build the playground AFTER you agreed to rent the apartment?

It's a little over the top to demand kids play quietly on their own playground.

[Archae]

23. After I was there for a couple years.

I didn't mind the playground, at first.

But it was the kids screaming.
Not yelling, not playing.

There were several little girls, spoiled, of course, who would scream if they didn't get their way.
This wasn't play screaming. It was spoiled-brat screaming.

That sort of spoiled-brat scream you'll run into in a store sometimes, the scream that turns your spine to jello.

And the playground supervisor just sat and let them scream.

BTW, there were four of my neighbors there with me, complaining too.

This was 25+ years ago.

[MineralMan]

22. Uff da!

Move, for Jebus' sake. I welcome the sound of children. They are our future. And I've never even had any children, and am too old now to have any.

Get over yourself, close your window, and find a new hobby. That's my suggestion.

[Archae]

29. I did move. 20 years ago.

The day care and playground are long gone from that place.

Nowadays that area is just a place where the apartment dwellers hang out and talk.

[Odin2005]

24. Oh look, a kid-hater.

I live by a very busy set of railroad tracks, noisy kids are NOTHING on loud trains.

[southernyankeebelle]

30. I bet you sleep sound as a baby, right? I am not being funny. I remember as a child living

on the Air Force base where you had 52s taking off and landing. I never knew any different until my dad retired and we moved. It was so silent I couldn't sleep. In fact my whole family couldn't sleep. We go so used to the sound that it never bother us. Until this day we all sleep with fans on. Winter or summer in our bedrooms. Our spouses have gotten use to it. When my husband was in the military and living on base or where ever we lived we always put our fans on to sleep. We never had problems with out side noises. I remember living on Ft Bragg and talk about diversity in neighbors well we sure had that. In the summer you hear all kinds of music because the guys were out there cleaning their cars. So really its what you get use to hearing. I even had no problems with trains.

[Odin2005]

32. LOL, yep!

[southernyankeebelle]

34. Those are the little tricks you learn in life. Now where I live it is to quite for me. Even the

fan isn't enough.

[gkhouston]

4. I've seen conductors stop the performance, turn around and stare markedly in the direction

of the offender, and then re-begin the piece.

[titaniumsalute]

6. I saw Neil Young once at an accoustic concert

It is typically very quite as it is one guy and a guitar. Some guy's cell rang and he ANSWERED it. Neil stopped and ripped the guy a new ass in front of 4,000 people. It was beautiful.

[Shrike47]

7. The lady with the pacifier may be an Ecstacy abuser.

Maybe you ought to ask her if you are seated near her again.

[Bettie]

8. Well, that is not the norm where I live

The parents that behave this way are the exception rather then the rule here.

I know I don't even carry a cell phone to my childrens' performances and I take pictures before or after with them and their friends rather than during the show.

Sounds like you may live among generally rude people.

All parents are not evil.

[KurtNYC]

9. Even at Broadway shows where people have all paid $110 per seat

cell phones go off and the occasional flash picture gets snapped.

It is usually not enough to warn people or ask. Some will stop the performance on the FIRST cell phone that goes off and embarrass (assuming they have shame) the person. I was at one performance where I think they used a "plant" to set this example because they threw the person out (and the person put up no fight at all, not "hey I paid" nothing).

[Scootaloo]

11. Bubble universes

As America spirals deeper and deeper into the notion of "I am the only person in the universe," this is just going to get more and more common.

[Le Taz Hot]

13. I had an occasion to attend a

grammar school holiday concert not too long ago. I can remember when I was in school parents came, sat through the entire concert, the lights went up and people left after the concert. My recent experience was a real shocker. Each grade would perform and when they were finished, the parents would gather their child and leave -- right in the middle of the next grade's performance. I thought it was the rudest thing I'd ever seen. By the time the Kindergarteners performed (last), there was almost no one left. The same thing happened at the concert I attended that happened in your wife's -- cell phones going off, people wandering around in the aisles, small kids running up and down the aisles while the students were performing -- just awful!

[madaboutharry]

14. Our culture is one that fosters disrespect.

The constant propaganda against teachers has a lot to do with the way parents behave. They don't see any reason to treat teachers, or the school environment with any respect.

[titaniumsalute]

17. dont get me started on how my wife is treated

I live in an area where parents are extra shitheads. She actually had a mom write the super to get her fired because she cut her kid from choir.

[alphafemale]

16. But I'm sure she'd tell you about other parents. The one's who help the show go on.

The one's helping build sets and costumes, sound and lighting. The one's shameless hawking overpriced, waxy chocolates to friends and coworkers.

[titaniumsalute]

19. my wife never badmouths any parents

I'm the vocal one. There's some awesome fund drive boosters, chaperones, etc.

[WinkyDink]

21. They're Americans, right? Case closed.

[Odin2005]

25. politeness has no place in our socially atomized society.

So many people act in public as if the strangers around then did not exist, it drives me batty.

At my thrift store we are constantly telling customers that the kids area is not a toy room and the store is not a babysitter.

[orpupilofnature57]

27. It's a cry for attention.

[orpupilofnature57]

26. The new arena for ' Narcissistic Fibrosis ' School events

[RKP5637]

28. Many adults IMO live their lives on the 7th grade playground. n/t

[DollarBillHines]

31. I could go on for hours on this subject...

I am part-owner of a gallery that specializes in high-end photography.

Parents would actually pick up toddlers and let them touch a $(K photo (and take pics of the little shits handling the pieces).

So we opened a wine-tasting room in the gallery so no one under 21 can come in.

I am convinced that there is a course in Bad Parenting 101.

[proud2BlibKansan]

33. Don't go to graduation.

Those ceremonies are insane these days.