Seen and Not Heard

I am a pretty laid back parent.  I give my kids a lot of freedom and allow them to have fun most of the time.  They also learn through their mistakes.  I am the type of parent that lets them fall or fail at things and then helps them to take their experience and learn from it.  I am fine with hearing and seeing kids most of the time and understand that they will make noise and that they are present and should be included most of the time.  There are however a few times that they should either not attend or be seen and not heard.  I had the joy of going to a meeting recently and childcare was not provided.  This means that many people brought their children along.  I can handle a toddler being chased after and a baby crying but cannot understand older children running around the room and screaming during a meeting.  Their parents seemed to be oblivious to the bad behavior and didn’t seem interested in teaching their children to behave while adults were talking.  I am pretty sure, when I was a child, my mother would have removed me from the room and probably beaten my ass for that behavior.  My 2 children both under the age of 5 were able to sit and for the most part were quiet and played with a toy.  I always make sure if they are coming along for a boring adult thing to have some form of quiet entertainment.  They would not be found during a 1 hour meeting running around and being so disruptive that others could not hear the speaker.  If your children are bored and disruptive, remove them from the room and maybe try teaching them some respectful behavior.  If you aren’t willing to do that, please in the future get a sitter.  It shows disrespect on the part of a parent to allow this behavior and you are doing your children a disservice by not teaching them how to act in certain situations.