Hands off the pizza bag!

[wagegoth]

The child was six, not sixteen, or twenty-six. They're explorative and curious. He was excited. He probably thought that the bag contained the food that belonged to them or that the bag came with the pizza, and he was being helpful as only a six-year-old can. He doesn't know. Please, first grade, people, do you remember first grade? How many of you were still fighting over crayons and scissors and books then?

And he certainly didn't understand that tipping the bag could cause damage to the pizza inside the box. If you've delivered pizza, then I'm sure you have run into plenty of adults who can't make that connection.

Frankly, the six-year-old was being a six-year-old, and if something like that is going to send you into a spasm, then you need to find a line of work that completely removes you from interaction with most people and all children.

[chainedbarista]

while six year olds are curious, explorative, etc., they can tell the difference between right and wrong, and grabbing things from another person is wrong, and they know it.

how often do they get into trouble at school for doing things of this nature? often enough for the concept to begin to settle in; in some cases, it's ok, but if you were the pizza guy, would you be ok with it? i know i wouldn't; until the money is handed over, the item isn't paid for, and subject to handling by the buyer/buyer's family, etc.

at least mom corrected the kid; how many would actually do that these days? most would have yelled at the deliverer instead.

[wagegoth]

Yes, they do get in trouble, but the point is, they're still learning.

I'm not excusing the child, but he is a child. And, again, there are a lot of adults that can't grasp the concept.

[Lace Neil Singer]

And there are far too many adults who excuse bad behaviour from children saying "Oh, they're just kids," or "He's only a child!" It kind of annoys me, as when I was 6 I knew better than to touch other people's belongings, cuz my parents taught me and my siblings to ask first. Tho at least the mum wasn't sucky.

[chainedbarista]

agreed on that, wage; god knows we have that problem at my job more times than i can count.

wait, this isn't a mocha.

no schiesse, sherlock, i just said it's a frap. didn't the clear cup with solid contents clue you in? sheesh, and they think WE'RE stupid...

[CRXPanda]

been there. learned to hold bag and give change. it was so "carny" the way i did it, but i had been pizza pushing for 8 years by then.

[Jester]

As for the kid, I would agree that 6 is definitely old enough to know right from wrong. Yes, young kids are going to have impulses, but by the time I was in first grade, I knew not to go grabbing something that didn't belong to me unless someone told me it was ok. If I did, I'd have gotten the same scolding that kid did, so I say kudos to the mom.

When I was 6, I knew not to grab stuff. And I knew I would get in trouble for it if I did.

And I still did. Why? Because I was 6. Knowing you shouldn't do something and still doing it is something that children do all the time. In my opinion, no one was sucky in this situation.

The child wasn't sucky...they were being a normal child.
The mother wasn't sucky...she did what a good parent should do and immediately corrected/scolded her child.
The OP wasn't sucky...he was watching out for the quality of the other pizza for the other delieveree.

The situation was sucky, but I don't think there were any sucky customers or employees here.

We so often on this site get up in arms about bratty children who are that way because of bad or lax parenting, and of course about bad or lax parents themselves. But this was just a child being normally curious/inquisitive/grabby for his age, and a parent in the process of continual instillation in him of the wrongness of his actions.

Hell, I am a bright guy. I dare say I was a bright child. My father once almost killed me for hanging up the phone while he was talking on it AFTER he told me not to touch that particular button. Why did I do it anyway? Because I was a six year old. And curious. And damn stupid, despite my intelligence. In other words, I was a child. Pure and simple.

Now, pass me the Legos, damn it.

[KuzcoLlama]

I guess. I'm of two minds about the kid. I didn't touch ANYTHING that wasn't mine when I was young. I also recall being the kid who got the last and crappiest of the stuff because I didn't just grab for things. I also realize at the same time I'm not the average. I was very timid and nonconfrontational child. OF COURSE I wouldn't touch the bag. My brother however? He'd touch the bag, even if mom told him not to. The sheer number of injuries that kid got from "do not do this" and he ignored it were more than mine: about...9 or so to my 1.

I guess my conclusion is that a person can say, "The kid should've known," "The kid is curious," but to me, it appears to be a case-by-case scenario. Just because one kid wouldn't do it doesn't mean the other one won't either.

Is there a point to this post? Not really, just me looking at the situation objectively.