Agreed. This has nothing to do with a spoiled brat. I’m sure the grandmother was mortified. Children are a handfull. Don’t be so quick to blame the parents. Sometimes you can blame the parents, but unless they took the kid out for ice cream on the way home, I don’t have any reason to think they’ve done anything wrong.
You would have found a book and read at four years old? That’s pretty unusual.
Probably less unusual around here. I’ve been reading since I was three; I usually had a book with me when I was four as well.
Not really at that age I would have and did do the same.
There is also another advantage, A .22 will not always leave the skull,Avoiding the whole “ewww my cake is all ruined” scenario 
Close quarters. Small, fast-moving target.
Birdshot.
Well, it would have been, like, Dick and Jane or something, but yeah, I was into reading that early.
Of course you can teach a 4-year-old manners - my kid is very careful wth his "please"s and "thank you"s, and he has been known to apologize of his own free will, without being ordered to. That doesn’t prevent him from having the occassional meltdown like the one described in the OP. You can teach a 4-year-old how to behave, but you can’t expect him to have learned to do it perfectly.
And yes, the grandmother should have made her apologies and left.
Hahahaha, jokes about shooting unruly kids are fine but HOW DARE YOU bitch about fat people!
Shine on everyone!
That’s because unruly kids aren’t likely to post to the Dope, whereas fat people are.
I’m sure if unruly kids could participate, they’d be throwing tantrums in this very thread.
It also could be because no one really thinks that ChefGuy and MEBuckner are serious about shooting toddlers. Unlike the fat people bitchers, who actually believe the crap the spew.
Agreed 100%. Even the best kids are erratic as you say. Consider: they have very little control over their lives, everything is new around them, they don’t understand the rules of society, their brains are not yet developed completely. Parents need to help them learn the world and its expectations, certainly–but they need to balance this against ruining everyone else’s time.
Sometimes you must err on the side of inconveniencing other people a little: if you’re at a party and your child starts snivelling because he doesn’t get a present, you might pull him aside and explain things, and bring him back in when he’s able to be quietly devastated at the unfairness of it all. Sure, his tear-streaked frowny faces is gonna harsh some buzzes, but he needs to learn correct behavior.
But other times you err on the side of not teaching the lesson right then: if he’s clearly trapped in a spiral of anger and sadness, your lesson won’t get through, and his screams can ruin everyone else’s time. Take him home, make your displeasure clear, and when he’s calmed down, make a plan for next time.
And next time, go over party rules in advance. Make the time for this: it’s a vital part of prepping for the event. Make it positive, fun–but clear.
Especially not after you shoot them.
She only did that because it kept making nom nom noises, when she held it by her chest for the reporters. The Taco Bell dog is a good example of how annoying a lap dog with vocal cords can be.
Uh, that’s racist.
Won’t *someone *think of the children?
There is your first problem. One of the rules of thumb is that you should have no more than 1 child per year +1. I always felt that the extra child is at least one one too many. Geez if we are doing social obligation invites at the age of 3 what the hell is her wedding going to be like. There is no earthly reason to invite every kid you know within 2 years of the kid’s age. The kid won’t enjoy it and someone will act out. Guaranteed.
As for the kid who acted up, it is hard to tell from one viewing whether he is just a brat or if he was overwhelmed. Keep in mind, size is not a good way to judge age. My daughter was always tiny for her age, and was given a lot more leeway because of it. My mother’s best friend’s grandchildren were in the 90th percentile in height. Even teachers who should have known better were constantly expecting more from them, with really bad results for the kids.
The other thing to keep in mind is you shouldn’t make threats you can’t or don’t want to keep. Telling the kid “I am taking you out of here if you act up one more time,” when you really want to stay is something the kids can tell pretty easily. Don’t give the warning just pick them up and go.
Why does a three-year old need an elaborate birthday party, anyway? They haven’t done anything yet to merit full-blown commemoration of the mere anniversary of their birth. Why, it’s like giving a first-year president a Nobel Prize or something…
What?