Gripe of the Day page 586

[Crabbcakes]

"Smile with indulgence"? No, I laugh with mirth. Actually, the last time a kid was climbing around the dinner table I ended up playing with the kid. I'm that singular kind of adult who is not too stupid to separate the concepts of fun and bad. And the people one table over gave the kid a pair of sunglasses to play with.
Around here kids are only punished when it is appropriate. NOT when they're just being kids.

Alex, you must have been dining at Chuck E. Cheese, then, which would pretty much explain the neighbors ostensibly supporting the "fun", and which would also tell me your relative level of maturity. I have lived on two continents and visited numerous countries, and I have yet to see anyone at all, in any kind of establishment, put up with that kind of scene (outside of kids' play places, like Chuckie), just in case you were thinking of pulling out the "America Sucks" routine again.

You seem to have problems with establishing a balance between the proper need of a kid to be a kid and the rights of other people in the vicinity (especially if those others happen to be of adult age).

You also seem to have difficulties with the concepts of "punishment" and "bad". True punishment is a punitive action properly reserved for serious infringements on the property, beings, and rights of others. "Bad" is a term I never used. If you feel that a kid is "punished" for being asked to respect the personal space and property of others, both of you need to grow up - the kid a little (because the kid is, after all, still a kid and learning) and you a lot (because you should already know better).

Do I think a kid playing ON the dinner table / with stuff at another diner's table is "bad"? No, I don't. It is not "bad" - it is inappropriate because it shows a lack of respect and consideration for a fellow person, regardless if you know them or not. If the carefree, fun-loving, energetic, kid were to ASK ME FIRST if I would care to play with him, I probably would. But then, someone would necessarily have put some limits on the free-range kid at some time in his/her development for him/her to even get to the point where he/she would/could CONSIDER that others have personal space and rights, too.

Even kids on the playground or in the 'hood, when no adult is around, lay claim to the right to have their stuff and space respected.

[MissJenn]

I'm so tired of people bashing what I'm eating. I try not to talk about my eating habits with co-workers (despite losing 30lbs in 4 months) but today just irked me. Got bacon and sausage from food truck for breakfast. Co-worker says sarcastically "that looks healthy." I say, "It is!" and happily stroll to my desk. That co-worker is on WW and probably not seeing the same results. IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THEN SHUT UP. I know this co-workers and others talking smack behind my back. You think I would eat this way if it was bad for my health? I've researched this low-carb, high fat diet days upon end with the same conclusions and if I thought it was detrimental to my health, I wouldn't do it. I'm not stupid. Ugh.

Anyone else have to deal with the co-workers in this manner?

[MissJenn]

I have a dealer whose stash is un-pasteurized goat milk and homemade goat cheese. I need a fix.

Paleobird, where on Earth did you find this dealer? I must have their contact information!

[AmyMac703]

My hometown is burning. Everything else going on in the world just seems trivial and irrelevant right now.

[CattyB]

Anyone else have to deal with the co-workers in this manner?

Only every single freakin' weekday of my life....sigh. I've gotten to the point that I growl and wrap my arms about the food like a hungry dog whenever someone approaches whilst I'm partaking of my primal fare -- tends to remind them that I've lost 60+ lbs and have WAAAY more energy on a day-to-day basis than them!

AmyMac!!!
My prayers are with you -- I'm in Loveland and live in Fort Collins where we've had way too much wildfire drama, too.

[NicMcCool]

Anyone else have to deal with the co-workers in this manner?

Granted I work at a gym, but my dude dirty bulks. Basically to him a calorie is a calorie is a calorie. It doesn't matter the source of the calorie, as long as he hits his protein numbers for the day.

He's all over what I eat, always saying things like "Dudebro, that chicken would be better if it was fried. Want some of mine." Or dropping spoonfuls of mashed potatoes on my plate to tempt me.

All in all you can't let people get in your head. Stick to your own game, focus on your goal and be happy with your decision. Dudes are going to get even more lippy with the more success you have. Take it as a compliment.

Also flexing tends to shut people up.

[cori93437]

My hometown is burning. Everything else going on in the world just seems trivial and irrelevant right now.

Burning there flooding here...
South Tampa's Bayshore Boulevard closed again due to floods | wtsp.com

[DaisyEater]

never understood how this tactic works. the kid(s) usually doesn't want to be in the store in the first place. of course, i would lord it over the kid for days: "well, you could be eating yogurt right now. but (kid) couldn't control himself in the store and so we had to leave without it." but i'm evil like that.

This was one of my mom's tactics. When we got home, it was straight to our room. Our toys were in a separate room. No TV. You just got to sit in your room for a few hours. Maybe it wasn't hours, but it feels like that when you're little.

So it wasn't so much we had to leave the store, it was that we were going to have no fun for the rest of the day. If we'd been good, then maybe we would've gotten to go to the park or the beach or at least play in the back yard. She said she only had to do it a few times before it sunk in.

That was when we were really little. She was big on consistency. We never got away with throwing tantrums.

[RitaRose]

did you read about that mom who was charged with neglect for making her kid walk 5 miles to school? the kid was kicked off the bus for misbehavior, so that was his punishment.

Seriously? When mine was about 8, he was being an obnoxious turd on the way home from soccer practice. I finally said "Hey, if you don't straighten up, you're walking home." He kept at it, so I made him walk the rest of the way home while I slowly drove next to him. It was only about a mile, but we lived on the side of a hill out in the middle of nowhere, so it was about a 45 degree slope on gravel that was about a foot deep. When we reached home, I made dinner and we started again with a clean slate.

Amazing how things like that can change a kid's attitude.

[naiadknight]

Past about third grade, my folks had to take me to school if I missed the bus, because my schools were all across town or downtown. I had two chances to catch the bus, because I was equidistant from the two pick up zones and one pickup was 15 min later. I only missed the bus once because I got a joint tirade from both parents the entire half hour there and a threat that next time I'd just get my butt busted then "talked to."