Bad Parenting

[R_Lefebvre]

Anybody have any examples of BAD parenting to share? (I guess maybe we should keep it outdoors related, or this thread could get pretty bad pretty fast!) This past weekend, we saw one. It really shocked us a little bit.

We took our new daughter (8 months) on her first camping trip in a park. My folks came along, and on Sunday they watched Elise while my wife, my son (4) and I went on a 2 hour canoe/hike trip. We were paddling back to the the beach we launched from, and saw a woman and two little kids on shore. One boy about 4-5, and another boy about 1.5. Apparently the father was much further down the beach, dropping a canoe into the water. The older boy wanted to go with his father, and started running down the beach, not listening to his mother telling him to come back. After the kid gets about 50 yards away, she takes off after him.... abandoning her 1.5 year old on the beach! She chases the older boy about a football field length down the beach, never looks back at her younger son who is completely alone on the beach.

Then to our horror, the little boy starts toddling towards the water. OMG! We cranked the canoe around and started paddling like mad towards the little boy. We got there just about as he started into the water, and when he saw us, retreated back up the beach. We stayed there until the mother came back. Never once did she even look back to check on her younger child.

I don't know what would have happened if we hadn't been there. Or heck, we could have just as easily been kidnappers.

When she came back, we scowled at her, and she seemed completely oblivious to what she'd just done.

I realize that 1 parent-2 kids is a common problem. But for gosh sakes, pick up the little one and take him with you! It'll slow you down, but the 4 year old will fare much better in the shallow water than the 1 year old!

 

[SunTzuNephew]

Traveling through Yellowstone NP, traffic stopped because of bears. Nimrod tells his kids to go get close to them for a picture.

 

[stevenmd]

I realize that 1 parent-2 kids is a common problem.

I disagree. I was a single parent with 3 boys before I met my wife (and subsequently had 2 more kids...:sombrero. I went everywhere with my boys and was able to keep them out of harm's way.

But I get the gist of your thread. I guess, for me, as a parent, I am overly cautious when it comes to situation where my kids can get seriously hurt. Minimally hurt? I say go for it!:victory: They've got to learn someway or another and it's best to do with the safety net of a parent close by. Example - teaching a little kid how to whittle while sitting around the campfire.

 

[Maddmatt]

Not camping - but while I was unemployed my wife was working a lot of retail hours at the mall. The stories she would come home with would just make you cry - 18month old kids drinking 16oz coke bottles, at 9:30 at night. Mother's screaming at kids to 'just shut up a minute' while they spend an hour browsing for even more makeup. It would be pretty easy to get the impression that everybody at the mall had their kids cruelly thrust upon them, as nobody seemed to really want them around.

 

[adrenaline503]

I saw a kid taking a crap in the middle of trail as their parents looked on.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

I disagree. I was a single parent with 3 boys before I met my wife (and subsequently had 2 more kids...:sombrero. I went everywhere with my boys and was able to keep them out of harm's way.

But I get the gist of your thread. I guess, for me, as a parent, I am overly cautious when it comes to situation where my kids can get seriously hurt. Minimally hurt? I say go for it!:victory: They've got to learn someway or another and it's best to do with the safety net of a parent close by. Example - teaching a little kid how to whittle while sitting around the campfire.

Oh, I agree. Don't misinterpret what I mean when I saw 2 kids is a "problem". I just mean... for those times it is a problem. You know, one kid is playing with the fire, while another chasing after a skunk...

And I consider drowning to be seriously hurt.

I just found it to be a pretty surprising lack of judgement. It was completely avoidable. She was right beside the young child, could have picked him up, but she just ran away without ever looking back. My wife was actually about to jump out of the canoe to get to the boy, had to tell her to get back in and paddle! :lol:

 

[The Adam Blaster]

Somewhat related to your story Rob, but I just LOVE the parents that yell and threaten punishment, but never follow through.
Then they wonder why little Johnny or Sally doesn't listen to them when they say "stop".

I actually worked with a woman that was like this with her 14 yo son that was working his way into jail time. Through my wife's connections at her school board I learned this kid was the top bully at the junior high, even though his mom thought "The principal just doesn't like him and treats him unfairly."

 

[61rover]

I watched in horror as tourists that had taken a summer ski lift ride to the top of a mountain let their children walk on a snow cornice that was clinging to the top of a 1,300' drop off. The snow was on the side of the cliff just below the edge. Nothing but 1,300' of air underneath it.

 

[adrenaline503]

I watched in horror as tourists that had taken a summer ski lift ride to the top of a mountain let their children walk on a snow cornice that was clinging to the top of a 1,300' drop off. The snow was on the side of the cliff just below the edge. Nothing but 1,300' of air underneath it.

I bet that under 1% of people who go to the mountains know what a "cornice" is. Frightening.

 

[Errant]

We had about three feet of fresh snowfall one morning and the schools were closed. The boys and I went to the store and back, then made breakfast. Afterwards I looked out the window to see if my tracks were still the only in the road, when I noticed a yellow something peeking out just above the ruts in the snow. It was a baby in yellow footsie jammies crawling down the road! I ran down to the road and scooped him up, then followed his tracks back. He had crawled out the front door of the house up the street, down the stairs, down the drive, and out into the road. I banged on the door and a little girl of about 5 answered, said her mom was in her room smoking her pipe (!?!), and asked why I had her brother.

 

[stevenmd]

...while another chasing after a skunk...

I consider that a "learning lesson".:victory:

 

[Mr. Leary]

Nothing really dramatic, but here goes one...

One time The_Mrs. and I were camping at Caprock Canyon State Park in Texas. While we were out hiking, a gaggle of minivan driving families showed up. They set up their "adult" camp on one side of our camp, and the "kids" camp on the other, and looked on as their kids ran screaming back and forth through the middle of our campsite.

Not wishing to break the children for their parents lack of respect, we left. My dogs were not happy, and neither were we...

 

[DaveM]

Not outdoors related but your story reminded me of this:

I was driving my old fj55 (ok, there's the ExPo connection) to the store. I pulled up to a 3 way intersection to make a right hand turn. As I did so there was a woman walking her child (only a few months old) in a stroller approaching the cross walk I was about to cross. She had one hand on the stroller and one hand on the cell phone she was talking on. I saw her before I even entered the turn lane and had my eye on her the whole time but she apparently thought I was going to pull in front of her cutting her off at the cross walk (that she had a light for). As I slow to stop she jerks her eyes up from wherever she was spacing out on, glares at me and lets go of the stroller... not the phone... to hold her hand up to tell me to stop. The stroller, which was already on the curb cut rolled away from her in to the cross walk, alone. It only got 2 feet away before she grabbed it again, but that's all it would have taken if I really hadn't seen her.

She knew what she had done, looked very upset with herself and quickly moved across the street. Stupid, stupid person.

 

[Honu]

work on a tourist boat or the beach on Maui and you will see examples every day !!!!!!!

its insane

my worst is lying parents about medical conditions when I was taking a kid diving on a intro !!! ruptured both his ear drums ! turns out he had major ear issues and 4 tubes each ear when he was younger !!!
poor kid only was down 4 feet when it happened
I went off on the parents yelling like a drill sergeant in their face they could have killed their kid etc.. was at the pool at the Sheraton Maui !!! they were humiliated and my point was to make them think more next time

another we say NEVER swim past this point as the current will take you away and you cant swim against it !! so DONT swim past this point
sure enough their goes idiot family with the kids past the point !!!
the outside point at Molokini if some of you have been to Maui
this happens way to much


things like red flags are up at the beach and the parents leave unattended kids about 5-9 years old to play in the waves rushing up !!! thinking they are good swimmers in the pool back home !
we say to them remove your kids please or stay right with them ! they say things like OH its not that big of waves and he is a good swimmer ! you have to balance being nice and firm usually a set or two comes in sweeps little kids out we go rescue them or they wash back up and manage to grab the beach freaked out
had one old guy who had a zipper ! (heart surgery) horrible out of shape we tell him he should not go out !! he goes out anyway sadly he drowned you can tell people but they wont listen !!!

worst as its sad to watch the kids in horror as their parents are hurt !!!! is when grown ups do it then turn the backs to wave at the camera for the big waves !!!!
I have rescued stupid parents also ! one broken back and a couple near drowning when they are puking blood near drowning !!!! cause of this and plenty just have to drag em back to shore puking their guts out etc..

red flags are up box jellies and manowar are in the water we tell them I would not put my kid in that water today and we really recommend nobody goes in !!! we even say you notice I am dry today !!! well their is a reason and smile at them ! they will be gone by tomorrow just wait ! half hour later we are treating the kids for jelly fish stings !!! and if you have been hit by a box or manowar its not to fun !!!!!
sometimes I felt like dragging the parents to the water and make em swim out get stung so they know what its like


I miss that life though so fun and full of action and things going on truly is fun cause its never the same day !!!!
trust me I could keep going on and on and on

 

[rynosurf]

I came across two kids out in the middle of nowhere while riding in the desert one time, they were around 10-12 years old and one of their bikes was not running. The older kid on the good bike didn't want to go for help because he wasn't sure which way camp was and didn't think he would be able to find his way back to the broken bike even if he did find his camp. I had my cell phone on me so I got their parents number and called them to let them know what was going on... they didn't seem to concerned, I told them that I would meet them on the main road and that they could follow me to where their kids were. I got to the main road and waited...and waited...I called the parents back after about 10-15 min and they told me that they were just about to leave camp! I told them to get their behinds in their vehicle and get over here quick or they would be spending the rest of the day searching for their kids by themselves. They finally showed up and followed me to where their kids were. I was going to give them a piece of my mind but I decided to ride it out on my bike instead, something told me they wouldn't have understood why I was so mad anyway.