Riding the Slipstream

This is a rant. I haven’t had one of these in a while now. My apologies in advance to any parents or would-be parents, but some things should not be left unsaid. I went to Pick ‘n Pay (Pick ‘n Pay is our equivalent to Wal-Mart) yesterday to buy some much needed food items. The cupboards are looking bare and with the rugby this weekend, I am sure to get a lot of visitors. Hopefully we’ll kick some Aussie ass! Go Bokke!! Since I was there, I decided to cruise down the toy aisle. And NO, I am not buying toys for myself. In any case, they don’t keep the ones I’d like to have… hehehe. My sister’s youngest son has a birthday a few weeks from no, and I thought I’d get him something nice. I digress. As I turn into the toy aisle, there a women and her son about halfway down the aisle. It is obvious that the boy wants something, and the mother refuses to buy it for him. I guess it is her prerogative and really none my business. Parents know what’s best for their kids… or so I would hope. But here's the twist. The little brat throws himself on the floor, and lets loose with I can only describe as the highest pitched wail I have heard in my entire adult life. Mariah Carey… eat your bloody heart out! You have n-o-t-h-i-n-g on this kid... n-o-t-h-i-n-g! It is a heart stopper and it cuts through every fibre in my body. Every single person in that entire hyper stopped dead in their tracks. Next, he throws himself on the floor and starts kicking and stomping like there's no tomorrow. He’s like a friggin’ baby Godzilla. Any moment now I expect the roof to come crashing down or that he will trash all the toys on the shelves. Now I don't mind children crying. Heaven knows I was anything but an exemplary kid growing up, but to throw a tantrum of this magnitude in a public place, annoys the living shit out of me. No child has the right to expect to be spoilt, and to go ballistic when he doesn’t get what he wants. And no parent should allow their kids to behave like this in public. Mommy dearest, in the meantime, cannot be bothered to pay attention to the would-be serial toy killer. She looks at him with tired eyes and says in a monotone, "Mark, stop it, I don't care what you want. I am not buying it" (I'm thinking: Whoo-fucking-pee! Is that the best you’ve got woman? Now lets try it with a little more authority.) The child wails even louder. With all the kicking and stomping, he spins around in a little mini circle. It would be hilarious, if I wasn’t so stumped by what’s happening. “Stop it, Mark. I’ve already told you. I don’t care… you are not getting that toy” (Come on, mommy, gimme more! At this point in time I would settle for fire coming out of your mouth.) The child’s wailing pitches once again (definately a rock star in the making). I swear the Barbie dolls went ashen in their little boxes. "But I WANT IT and YOU are going to BUY it for ME! “Stop it, I don't care” (monotone). (Is that your final answer. May suggest you phone a friend... in child welfare?) She acts like he’s done nothing wrong. The brat screams, “But I want it. I want it now! MOMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!" Snot and tears everywhere. This woman’s idea of parenting is fundamentally wrong. In fact she is a terrible parent and I hate her! She has absolutely NO CONTROL over her child. She should not be allowed to have children… ever. The child has no respect for her or any form of authority. He will undoubtedly grow up to be a menace to society. I can see time spent in Juvie Hall , and lots of it. And the mother does not give a shit. I know hitting a child is prolly the biggest social gaffe a parent can commit these days. They are taught to reason, outwit and to engage in dialogue. In this case however, my advice would simply be,