So, I'm out in the town centre with the missus & kids - Plymouth has a nice new shopping centre - very nice and swish etc. We did that first - it was busy! We had cause to go to Adams (kids clothing) just nearby. Whilst in there, little Joseph (nearly three) sat in the car ride thingy that, in this case resembles a school bus (more like Postman Pat's van if you ask me)...anyway, he's having a fine and dandy time whilst I watch. An unknown girl (no more than five years old) ask's if she can go on - "Of course" says I "there's two seats". She duly climbs aboard - we now have two happy kids on a journey to nowhere. Little Lucy (four and a half) trundles up and stands adjacent to the door of the ride. I notice that the unknown girl says something to Lucy - now, I'm not saying I am a lip reader but I had a pretty good idea what it was (I didn't actually hear the word because of background noise, distance etc etc)...so I stepped a little closer and as I entered Lucy's peripheral vision, she turned to me and said "Dad, why did she call me w***er?"
Now, I'd already observed the other "responsible" adult around the shop - she had a couple of other kids with her and would not have heard what the kid said. So, feeling a little unsure on exactly how to deal with this, I just said to Lucy "Oh, don't worry, she's just a bit rude". I do the bloke thing and eyeball the kid almost daring her to respond in some way. Well guess what - she did...called me a "n**ger"! WTF
I mean jesus - what kind of surroundings is she being brought up in?
Well, the next minute, her "responsible" adult is telling her to get out of the machine - it takes the normal three or four asks. Sadly, the "responsible" adult failed to notice that her kid spat at me just as she dismounted. A guy in the checkout noticed this - our eyes sort of met because you look around wondering if anyone else has noticed - a sort of disbelief - I just shook my head - I really did not know what to do, so I did nothing. Now, we all know what we'd like to do, oh yes, however even confronting the adult would have been pointless as she didn't see/hear what happened although I don't know how accurate that is...because as the back of her charge came into view she was clearly saturated in urine and the adult said something like "They've told me I've got to ignore anything she does". Great. So when it chops somebody's head off, this adult is going to what exactly?
What I would have liked to have happened in this situation, if the adult had seen what had happened, is to have made the little sh!t apologise immediately, it would then have learnt a valuable lesson in behaviour.
Whilst what I experienced today was a really negative situation, I have to take away positive things from this.
I know that both my kids don't live in an environment where foul language abounds.
They don't live in an environment where there exists unacceptable behaviour.
They both understand the difference between right & wrong and indeed this is pointed out regularly, without violence, but in rational straight talking - clear and to the point.
Still bloody well gobsmacked tho'.
PS - It made the wife laugh!! Help!!
