Let me start by saying I have a 1 1/2 year old daughter so I understand being a parent 24/7 is tough. But sometimes I am astounded by the selfishness I see from parents, especially mothers. Last night, after we dropped our daughter off with my mother, my husband and I went to see "The Hunger Games" with a group of friends. We were the first ones in the theater, which is always fun because I like to watch the various groups of people come in. One of the last groups to arrive was a mother and her young boy. He must have been around five years old.
I was a little shocked a parent would bring such a young child to see this particular movie. In my mind, it is nowhere near appropriate for anyone younger than a teenager. She happened to sit right behind us and I was thinking, "Well, this should be interesting." The very first preview shown was for a horror film. The little boy started staying, "Mommy, I'm scared. I don't want to be here." Her response was to shush him and say they weren't leaving.
As the movie played, he kept making comments about how he was scared or didn't like what he saw on the screen. His mother began to lose patience and kept shushing him. About a half hour before the movie ended, he started saying he needed to go to the bathroom. I couldn't believe it when she said to him, "I'm not taking you right now. You're just going to have to hold it." I was very tempted to turn around and tell the boy to pee his pants so his mother would have to deal with that. But I decided it probably wasn't the best thing to do.
As we were leaving the theater, I was again dumbfounded to see she wasn't even paying attention to him. She was on her cell phone, texting away. What has happened to the notion of being a good parent? Are we just at a point where kids are accessories and that's all?
Just a little food for thought.
Stephanie
