My Rant of the Day: Irresponsible Parents

Hard to comment without knowing the ages of the children. I have had my children out late for one reason or another but never to Walmart. I would note that where I live, school is out.

Since there were 2 parents with the children I do agree that would be the responsible thing to do. But unfortunatly not all parents are responsible. This was an A+++++ rant!!!!!!

Yes, I'm afraid I agree. Kids don't need to be out all night, even in the summer. Flip a coin, if you have to, to decide who stays home, and both parents stay till they're safely in bed--that way both parents get a break of sorts.

I think it all depends on how the children are behaving. If they are well behaved, then I have no problem with family outings. But there are some children that should never be allowed to leave the house due to bad parenting. I'm talking about the kids that run through the stores like little hellions while thier parents do nothing to stop them. Those are the kind of kids that need to stay home.

PS - You are such a good man to go to 3 different sotres for your wife's mousse!!! You know how particular we are when it comes to hair products.

i cant comment, im not a parent.

I agree, you shouldn't have your children out at one in the morning specially if they are in grade school. I have a friend and kids never sleep and no set bedtime. I find it unusall that both parents are there.

As a parent of three, I would not take my kids out at one in the morning unless I had to get fever reducer if they were sick. I'm a single parent but I'm lucky enough to have someone watch my kids if I had to go out that late at night.

Being a single parent is a different story but I wonder if even a single parent with a little planning could find a more appropriate time to do their shopping. One of the poster said that they did not know the ages of the children. I am not talking about teenagers. Teenagers even when there parents tell them to never sleep anyway. I am talking about children twelve and younger. I do not believe that it is a good idea to have children out even if they are behaving.

I agree with your point Vicky. It also drives my crazy when you see a parent out with an infant in bright sunlight and the child is not covered.

My thanks to everyone. You guys gave very interesting comments that I enjoyed reading.

I try to be a good man Barb but like all men I do not always succeed.

Some parents refuse to let the fact that they have children interrupt their lives or change their habits. I live in a big city and you cannot go anywhere, any time, without hearing screaming, unhappy kids.

Since I don't know the circumstances surrounding the parent's choice to bring their children into the store, I really can't condemn their actions outright. From the surface, yes, it appears a bit irresponsible, however:

1) Perhaps these parents were on their way home from an emergency room visit for one of the kids that required them to get prescriptions filled? Certainly possible, and a reason for them to be in the store shopping while waiting for their name to be called to pick up their medicine.

2) Perhaps an illness in the family, or a death, required the parents to be out late. On the way home they realized that they were out of (Toilet paper, toothpaste, food....whatever) and stopped at the store to pick it up. Can't leave kids alone in the car anymore the way we used to be able.

3) Maybe Dad works an odd shift and Mom doesn't drive (this still happens some) and this was their only chance to get out and get some things purchased?

Unless I know someone's life inside and out, I usually find it hard to condemn them for doing something that may be out of the ordinary but is perfectly legal.

I would never take my kids out after sundown. In the moonlight we all become something else and positively not fit for civilized society...were we to walk into Walmart at two in the morning the place would empty out. Lol.

No child should be out and about at this hour of the night...they should be sleeping or at least pretending to be. On another note...if my wife needs mousse...moi is not the one that'll be going out to get it...at any time...day or night.

Joan,

You bring up some valid points but I still think the number of children that I saw out last night could not all fall within one of your scenarios. My wife and I worked opposite shifts for many yeare and we never had our then baby out late at night.

Felix,

I thought you were leaving Gather. I do not mind being out late at night because I am a night owl anyway. She has support me while I have been going to school so even if it bothered me I would still do it and not complain.

Braxton,

I'm a part time Gatherer now and a full time Hunter in the Blogsphere Jungle. I hear you, Braxton, one hand washes the other. You're a good man, Braxton. Not I, if she asked for me for mousse...I'd turn ala DeNiro and say, "You talkin' ta me? You talkin' to me? as I roll on the floor in uncontrollable laughter. Lol.

It's a school night? Or, well for some, maybe not. So, maybe they're celebrating a birthday, graduation for little ones, or are just letting them stay up late from being out of school? Once again, if I was a parent (have an unborn child now)- i'd make their bedtime for 11pm on non-stop nights and 9 on school nights. It also depends in my husband and I wanted to go to the store together, then we might just take the child/ren along (not sure how many kids I'm having- may have twins- and finding a babysitter for twins is sometimes impossible), especially if your family doesn't care like mine. I don't have a driver's license, so my fiance would legally be driving me- and then, our child HAS to go everywhere with us (they'd just have to sleep in the cart) or be on the go like us. :)

Another thing, my fiance works from somewhere hours from 7 am to 9-10 pm, depending on his schedule and it varies, so most likely, we have no choice to go at night, unless he picks us groceries at his work (he works in a deli at a grocery store) and we always go by cheap prices, so if his store isn't cheapest, we always go somewhere else. I wouldn't consider these parents irresponsible, but it depends on the situation, if they just want to take a child to a store for no apparent reason with them- then they need to make better choices.

Felix,

"You talkin' ta me? You talkin' to me? as I roll on the floor in uncontrollable laughter. Lol.

Where I go, my kids usually go, but I don't think I've ever been guilty of dragging them to Wal-Mart at one in the morning!

It's summer here and the kids are out. They are ages (almost) 8 and 13. During the summer we have no schedule and no routine. We also have no bedtime. They will sleep when they get tired. Even with out a bed time set in stone, they are usually crashed well before midnight, unless of course my house is bombarded with all their friends, which is quite often. On those days, I just hide out in my bedroom and let them be kids until the wee hours of the morning. I beleive that to be a right of passage and part of being a kid.

I must say though, that I do not travel with my kids during those hours, except on the rare occassion, because all the idiots are out at that time. Even if we go out to the movies or something, we are usually in by ten.


So, am I one of those irresponsible parents your rant was based on? Ha! Ha!

Great article!

Thanks the comment Krissy you irresponsible parent you.

It's probably the same parents that bring their very young children to movies that are totally inappropriate for kids. @@

I am the worst lot of them aren't I Braxton! lol

Was it a school night or weekend? I think 1am is a bit too late though we have done it a few times.

We go to my sis in laws on saturday nights occasionally and we leave pretty late sometimes and we have had to stop by walmart on way home and we 'd take our kids in if they was awake usually are awake still cause they have been playing with the cousins.. anyways we live 30 minutes from the city so there is no running back and forth really! I think it depends really.. some peoples schedule is so differen I would not conider it irresponsible unless the kids were tired and fussy and an unnecessary trip but we never know if thats there case or what!

I would feel bad to be called irresponsible because I had my kids out according to some people "late"... I see what ya mean but I personally could not judge really enough to make me call it irresponsible.. lol ok Im off to bed I am tired and my kids are sleeping and now I need to go to sleep.. lol take care

You're on the right track Braxton. I would like to see more of your rants in this vein.

By the way, where are pharmacies open at that hour of the night?

You will Harrel. Thank you for you comment.

I also thank you for your comments Tiffany and Eileen.

I agree with this rant. Children should be sleeping during normal sleeping hours. Not out shopping at WalMart, or anywhere for that matter, late at night.
As parents we are responsible for helping a child with the habits they will have for the rest of their lives. Put the children to bed, let Daddy or Mommy stay home with them while the other goes out for the shopping~

I wouldn't necessarily call it irresponsible parenting. I try not to have my son out past ten, but sometimes it can't be helped.

We live out in the middle of nowhere. It takes 45 minutes to get to Walmart. We try to only go to Minot on weekends, but sometimes we have to have something during the week. Since we only have one car, we have to wait until my husband gets home from work to head out. Sometimes that's 6 pm or later. By the time he gets changed out of his uniform and we eat, it is sometimes hard to get everything done early enough.

Also sometimes, part of the kids' routine includes being up at that time anyway. Even as in infant, I have never set my child's bedtime before 9 pm. When my husband works night shift, Elliott doesn't go to bed until after 11, because if we have any appointments the following morning (I have health issues that require frequent dr visits), I have to take my husband to work and we don't get home until about 1130. So his bedtime is usually around midnight when he's on nights. Same things when he is working second shift, since sometimes we have to take him to work and pick him up back up anywhere from 11pm-2am. We do rearrange nap schedules to fit when his bedtime is, and he's never overtired from it. Since we drive so far to go to the dr (almost 20 miles if it's on base, 35 if it's in Minot) I try to make sure we can do it right around the time my husband needs to go to work or get picked up anyway, so that it doesn't add a lot of extra time and miles that Elliott needs to be in the car.