For the Kids

Before i start this post, i should add something of a disclaimer - I like kids. No really, i do - so long as they do what they're told, i'm happy to let children be children. As a point of fact, i think modern society doesn't let children actually have much of a childhood these days. When it gets to a point where you have an 8 year old girl plastering her face in make-up, then there's something definitely not right. I mean, why the need to let children grow up so quickly? Anyway, with that said, i am not a huge fan of other people's children when the parents exercise little control over them. There is nothing more irritating that having a child running about, yelling, and generally being a nuisance when the parent is sat there mere feet away and not exercising any parental control. Again, i know there are issues with how far 'parental control' can go, but ultimately a child learns the boundaries by being told them, and the parents just letting them get on with it, just isn't going to help.

Anyway, in Manchester, there were a good number of kids who deserved, at least, a good talking to, particularly given the number of teenage mothers (who seem to think that having a baby will be fun and not hard work). Over here, it seems, there is also a fair number of irksome children. I was in a coffee shop the other day and the mother of a 5-6 year old sat there reading the paper whilst he ran amok all over the furniture and round the shop. He only stopped when he got carried away and ran into another customer (of course, the mother gave this poor gentleman a filthy look, cause of course it was HIS fault). I also have this at home to a degree - with my landdlord (who lives above me) having a 7 year old son. Now, i may be short on memory, but i'm SURE i wasn't as hyper as this kid is. It seems he never walks when he can run, and invariably jumps instead as well. I wonder if it's all the sugar over here?