Thursday, September 8

Lesson #136 - The Language of Children is Universal

The other day I took the kiddos to mall. The weather around here has been atrocious - and we are all getting a little cabin fever. So, I packed up the kids and their diaper bag full-o-crap (seriously, I don't know what I put in there, but it always feel heavy with concrete blocks) in the car and off we went to my second home the mall.

After walking around a bit and not buying one darn thing I decided to let Lulu and Bubba let off some steam by knocking down other kids playing around in the designated children's crazy padded area. As soon as we sat down to take off their shoes, another mother looked at me and just started talking like we'd known each other for years...bizarre!

While Lulu ran around like a crazy child was the most angelic child there, Bubba was making his way around the perimeter of the play area...you know, looking out for his big sister and all. They both got a little hungry and despite my best efforts to hide from them found their way to me and the diaper bag. Out came the sippy cups and their favorite snack - goldfish.

 (photo courtesy of Pepperidge Farm)

I don't know what it is about goldfish that makes children FLOCK to the bag. Seriously, I am pretty sure every child in that play area surrounded me - like little chicken pecking at my feet - wanting a goldfish. I would be lying if I said I wasn't just a little angry that all those children came running like I want Santa Clause on Christmas morning...because their parents DID NOTHING about it!

First off, I am a STRANGER...DO NOT let your children take food - or anything - from strangers, except on Halloween, but even then it should be in a tightly sealed package. Second, do you people not feed your children?! My kids would never go up to a stranger begging for food - even if they were starving...because we have taught them not to approach strangers.

Maybe parents these days just don't care about the safety of their kids...am I wrong in thinking that there was definitely something wrong with what happened??

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

LMAO. First off-opening Gold Fish around kids is like breaking out crack rocks in a dark alley.

Seriously though, it's pretty scary that parents are okay with letting their children take food from some random lady. (Not that you're random, I'm down with you...but you know.)

Glad your kiddos had a good time and you survived the mob of hungry kids.

Liz Mays said...

I would never let my kids gather round a stranger for snacks. That's absolutely NUTS!!!

Goldfish do rock, but NO!

Kristy said...

I would not let my child take something from a stranger. Not only is it dangerous its rude. I would be embarrassed if my son did that. I'm a new follower from the hop.
http://kristy-s-place.blogspot.com/

Brooke said...

OH my! That's pretty funny. My boys {especially C} would have been the ones begging for goldfish. Sorry 'bout that.

But it's still a funny story.

Tammi @ My Organized Chaos said...

They have new flavors now!! I like the news ones a lot better, we kinda got sick of the cheddar ones.

Unknown said...

Hahahah good stuff! And yeah I usually have one problem or another in the mall play areas, like parents not watching their kids or parents cussing, etc. I still go there because my daughter loves it but it always annoys me for some reason or another.

Unknown said...

That is pretty crazy. But snacks are like crack to a kid. The urge is just too strong for a child to say no. Best to keep an eye on them!

LOVE MELISSA:) said...

Couldn't agree with you more. I would not let my child surround a stranger or take snacks from one. Glad your kiddos had a good time though.

Twingle Mommy said...

I hate that too! I would never let my kids just go up and take food from someone. Oh they would beg since they act like I never feed them when they see food, but I would say no. You know that little magically word that some parents have never heard of.

Sandra said...

Just tonight my son made the comment that children nowadays (apparently he doesn't fall in that category...?) are so used to getting everything that they assume people want to give them stuff. Maybe that's the phenomenom you experienced...but on a small "Goldfish" scale...but I agree, my children would never have gone up to a total stranger for food. There is something wrong with that.

Cheryl M. said...

New follower from the Weekend Hop here :-).

My 5yo son refuses to grasp "stranger danger" for some reason. I would definitely stop him from taking any snacks from a stranger, but can't do much about him verbally accosting anyone in the supermarket who thinks he's cute who's willing to listen to him. I give him a big lecture every single time, and he just doesn't get it. And some parents are totally freaky about feeding their kids. My step-sister will let her kids starve while jamming food into her own mouth because her daughters aren't allowed to eat what she's having, and the poor girls will have to wait til they get home. As far as I'm concerned, it's not only cruel to the girls, but also rude and inconsiderate to whoever they're visiting because that person now feels responsible for feeding the kids.

Cheryl
http://www.coffeewithcheryl.com

Unknown said...

Hello !I totally agree with you I would never let my son do that. I am your newest follower from the hop.I hope you get some time to stop by and follow me back at http://mommyhoodsdiary.com/ . I look forward to reading your posts.
Have a great week!

Erin Wallace said...

Children go to goldfish like moths to a flame. And I swear my youngest would be dead from self induced starvation if it weren't for them. Okay, that being said, what about how rude it is, without even bringing up the irresponsibility of it all, that these parents just expected you to feed their children?! Craziness, all of it!

Anonymous said...

Goldfish are kiddie crack, seriously. We provided boxes for the kids at Babe's birthday.. big hit, even with the adults and um yea, my kids aren't allowed to take food from strangers.

AndreaLeigh said...

i was at bed bath and beyond the other day and someone in line behind me offered cooper a gummy snack. um, no? I said he didn't like them and refused. but seriously... not taking food from a stranger, even though their intentions might have been good.

An Apel a Day said...

I love all the crossed out stuff! I have days like that! Big time!

My diaper bag is heavy to! What's up with that? What the hell do I have in there? I'd love to give it up completely. My youngest is 3. My mom and dad watch him 3 days a week and still love having the diaper bag. I offered just to leave a change of clothes and extra undies. NOPE they want the bag.

Amy said...

You're not wrong at all in thinking that the parents were out of line. Those are the parents setting their kids up to have something bad happen to them. Molesters often use candy or food or "help me find my puppy" as a ruse to lure children.

Thanks for making me glad (for this 5 min at least) that my kids are all big monster teens (or older) now. ; )

Big D and Me said...

Just strange. I can't believe none of them came to take their kids away. I would have jumped up and told my kids no we have our own snacks. Of course, nowadays everyone has their face in their phones and aren't watching their kids anyway.

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