Kids, football, window...joy...

[Lulu]

So I'm merrily working out the top 50 chart in the middle of the shop when I hear this rythmic thumping, two steps up the shop and I can see three boys, eldest must've been 10-11 something like that, busily kicking a football against the HUGE plate glass shop window. I throw them a glare through the glass. They stop. I go back to my top 50.

Five minutes later, the thumpings back. I go back to the front, same kids, same football. I raise the brow of doom at them through the window, and the eldest one actually laughs at me and carries on.

It's worth noting at this point that the entire mall is covered with no ball game signs and that alone should be enough to stop them, aside from the fact that hitting a window of 12 foot x 12 foot sheet glass repeatedly really isn't the brightest of moves safety wise.

I stand in the doorway and tell them to knock it off. I believe my exact words were
"Excuse me, stop kicking that ball at my window please, thank you."

It was said with an annoyed face, because I was annoyed.

They stop, I go back to my top 50.

Five minutes pass and I've JUST got back to my desk when I see the three kids standing in the doorway looking shifty and a woman I assume to be their mother comes storming in. You can see where this is going can't you.

She proceeded to go into a mindless rant for the better part of a minute, encompassing my rudeness, her "little babies playtime" (yes, she actually said that and the kids visibly cringed) being interupted yadda yadda yadda. I let her rant. She finishes. I smile politely and point to the large and very clear sign visible through my window on the wall outside that states really rather obviously
"NO BALL GAMES, PENALTY FINE OF UP TO £50"

She turns a singularly unattractive shade of puce, grabs her "little babies" and stomps off to the car park with the mall security guard watching her and trying very hard not to laugh. Good when it works in your favour innit

[pbmods]

Ah... kids. Too stupid to know any better. I see they must have gotten that from their mother's side.

[Becks]

She proceeded to go into a mindless rant for the better part of a minute, encompassing my rudeness, her "little babies playtime" (yes, she actually said that and the kids visibly cringed)

The kids probably thought that that alone should be their punishment.

[Tito]

Ah, yes, the joy of mothers who believe their perfect little angels can do no wrong. My, oh my, how times have changed. When I was a kid, if I was caught doing something like that, my mother would have be yelling alright, but it would not be at the person who asked me to knock it off.

[Jester]

If I had been kicking a ball at a window as a kid, I imagine my mother would have done something like this:

MOM: "Just what the heck did you think you were doing?"
ME: "I was just having fun."
MOM: "I am very disappointed in you."
ME: "Sorry, but it wasn't that big a deal." [thinking: "Whatever, Mom. It wasn't that big a deal. Jeez!"
MOM: "Fine. You don't think it was that big a deal? Then you can explain it to your father when he gets home."

ME:

[WHShit]

Ah, yes, the joy of mothers who believe their perfect little angels can do no wrong. My, oh my, how times have changed. When I was a kid, if I was caught doing something like that, my mother would have be yelling alright, but it would not be at the person who asked me to knock it off.

I know! Parents nowadays let their kids do whatever they want. That is why we see so many stories of kids killing people, getting pregnant, getting in trouble with the law...ect...the list goes on. I have kids come in everyday who mess up displays and run amok around the store while the parents sit there and say nothing. If I say something, then I am evil. And they are so rude to adults. They use foul language worse than my family (and they are from NY)! My mother would have never let me get away with any of it, and when I have kids, they will have manners and behave decently in public!

[XCashier]

If my kid had been kicking a football against a window, I would've made him stand there with a squeegee and bottle of window cleaner and scrub the ball marks off the window (and that's IF the ball didn't break the window, and if it did, naturally he'd pay for it!). What kind of stupid, pathetic parent thinks it's okay to let their kids slam a ball against a large piece of GLASS?!

[1756GR2]

I had more than one parent exhibit astounding lack of care about their children's behavior. For example, one whose young child was reaching the counter displays, dumping them out, kicking the kiosk, pulling the dummy phones out of their nests and letting them snap back on the pullied tethers. Just occupying himself destructively. I finally asked the child to stop doing that, since his father wasn't taking charge. The parent laughed, put his hand on the child's shoulder with a grin and reasoned, "He's being rather good today, so I don't say much." THAT'S "being rather good"??? I shudder to think...

I truly think that _some_ parents have let things get so out of control out of fear of being reprimanded for disciplining their children or being pressured to be "Politically Correct" (don't get me started), they have become so used to bad behavior that they think, "This isn't the worst he's done, so it's not so bad." Not in MY book, Magua.

I've hauled my kids out of Dairy Queen for fighting verbally with each other. They were 14 and 17 at the time, had fair warning. They made the choice to continue it. We went home.

[Crazyredhead]

If the glass is as big as you say, and if it would have shattered and broke, he could have gotten cut very badly, or had something amputated or worse off, killed. They the mother would have yelled at you for not keeping her boys aways from it.

[Blinky]

Just to the left of the topic....

Speaking of kids, breaking glass and getting hurt..I was working security at a local strip mall and a two kids were riding their skateboards up and down the side walk in front of the stores. Of course I asked them to stop, but when I did I got the usual flack from punk kids. Alright, I said, lets play a little game. I walked over by one of the doors to a business and told one of the kids to start skating in my direction and as soon as he got close to the door I was going to open it and pretend like I was walking out and didn't see him. They both got that "oh" look on their faces and skated off. I just laughed and finished up my shift.

[karma_gypsy]

Just occupying himself destructively. I finally asked the child to stop doing that, since his father wasn't taking charge.

There was this mother and her very young child (about 3-4 maybe) and they were both hispanic and did not speak an ounce of english at all. The daughter ran about the store, screaming (yes, screaming!) and playing (even ran outside once without her mother's knowing). She started punching speakers (I think they're something like 12" car stereo speakers, they were mounted at the very bottom of a display). She wasn't lightly punching them, she was really going for it... like they were punching bags or somethin, and kicking them too. Telling her stop wasn't an option, because she didn't understand what we were saying to her.

Finally, the owner's nephew (nice young lad, about 9 or so), who knew both spanish and english (his family too, is hispanic) told her to stop, although I don't think she stopped her rampage after that.

And her mother? Happily looking through the jewelry, ignoring her little rambunctious child.

[starglitter]

My coworker and I were talking about something similar today. Parents don't ask their kids "what did you do?" anymore. Now, when kids get in trouble their parents just start screaming at the person who reprimanded them.

[Jester]

Telling her stop wasn't an option, because she didn't understand what we were saying to her.

If you have a lot of Spanish-speakers in your area, remember these words:

"Alto!" Stop!
"No mas!" No more!
"Ahora!" [eye-ORE-uh] Now!
Or if you want to be polite, you can substitute "por favor" [pore fuh-VORE] for ahora.

I went overboard explaining these because from the post it sounded like you knew zero Spanish. Just trying to help.

Of course, if you really want to be evil, when they look at you and ask "Donde son los banos?" ("Where are the bathrooms?") just look at them blankly and say either "No comprendo" or "No habla espanol."

[Barefootgirl]

Heh, kids and footballs truly are joy-in-a-box.

While I was on holiday, I took my daughter (aged 3) and my niece (aged 7) to the park. In this particular park, there are two play areas. One is for small children, with a fence and a gate all round it, smaller climbing frames, rocking animals, kiddie swings as well as ordinary ones, etc. There is another one, with no fence around it, and with much bigger equipment, designed for older children. I was, naturally, in the kiddy section with my two, and there were perhaps five or six other small-ish children, mostly under-5s, all with accompanying parents. This is important.

Two slightly older boys, maybe ten and eleven, came into the kiddy section, and began kicking a football about. The park itself isn't really a park, its just a piece of common ground, all grass and trees with a brook running through it. Why these stupid kids couldn't have gone and played football on the grass is a very good question. Its DESIGNED to have ball games played on it.

Anyway, these lads carried on kicking their ball, and then decided it would be fun to aim it at the equipment - with small children playing on it. At this point there were five adults in the kiddy playground, including me and my mother-in-law. The ball bounced off the climbing frame very close to a small boy, right beside his mother - did she say anything? Not a blooming word ! So, it falls to me to put my pants on over my jeans and become Super Pissed-Off Mummy ! See her yell !

Me: You two, stop kicking that ball in here ! This park is meant for little children. If you want to play with your ball, go out onto the grass.
*expects mouthful of foul abuse from scummy kids*
Kid: Er, sorry...
Me (astonished and trying not to show it): That's OK. Either play nicely in here (yes, I actually said "play nicely" - I'm turning into my mum) or take your ball outside.

Five minutes later, the other kid starts booting the ball again.
First kid (with a nervous look at me): Stop it, or that lady'll tell us off again.
Me (to my MIL, but loudly enough for them to hear me): He's dead right i will

Kids give up and leave the playground. Weedy mum comes over to thank me.