Parents & Kids Rant

I don't have my own kids. I have three great nieces who I love dearly-but I was happy to leave the parenting to my sister. This is fine by my parents, they are happy with three grandkids and don't really feel that they need anymore. I had a psychic recently tell me I was going to marry a younger man and have a baby when I was 43. I'll be 40 this year - so I guess anything can happen - but I'll just say this -Trent Reznor is 42 so if I'm not having his baby I doubt I'm having anyone's baby.

Anyway, I know that parenting is not an easy job and not for one minute would I ever make light of it. But when I am in a store and I see a parent negotiating with their 3-4 year old I want to go mental. It's all I can do to stop myself from walking up to them and smacking them off the back of the head and saying "you are the fucking parent, now act like it for Christ sakes!"

What is this shit anyway? A kid is throwing fit in the grocery store and instead of dragging them out of the store and throwing them in the car the mother stands there and asks "Oh honey, what do you want" or even better "If you stop crying you can have x or y" and on and on. How about this golden oldie "If you don't stop crying, I'll give you something to cry about." Or my personal favorite "If you don't knock it off there will be two noises - me hitting you and you hitting the floor." Now before I go any farther let me be clear I am not advocating beating your kids in any way. My parents didn't do much more than a quick smack on the ass on occasion. Although believe me it should have been much worse.

My point here is YOU ARE THE PARENT, find your backbone and act like it so the rest of us don't have to suffer through something akin to Teamster negotiations in the damn cereal aisle.

There, I feel better. I haven't had a good rant in a while.