This Spring Break, I decided to actually go somewhere rather than sit around at home all week.
Of the things I don’t like, kids are definitely on the list, but since I went to Disney World, I knew we would be running into them.
Just to be clear, I don’t hate kids. I think there are some good ones out there – I just have little tolerance for most of them. So this trip was a test of patience for me.
When you’re in Disney World, the concept of an economic recession seems absurd. People are spending tons of money on a trip to wait in long lines for 10-minute rides that their children won’t remember in the next hour.
Don’t get me wrong, I had lots of fun. But it was more fun knowing that since I was older, I’d be able to actually remember this trip.
I’m also pretty sure there was a line for everything at Disney World. There were lines to check in for reservations, attend rides, eat and even go to the bathroom. The worst part was standing in the lines with obnoxious kids.
At one point, I was standing in a huge line next to a little girl. This line was super-packed and there was pretty much no way out. This little girl had a leash on that her mom held onto.
It might be surprising when I say I’m against tying your child up like an animal. There was even a part of the leash that had a little stuffed dog head on it, just in case you didn’t get the image that this little girl was chained like a dog.
I started to feel sorry for her – that is until she walked right up to me and started slobbering and blowing raspberries. Then she wiped her spit away from her face with her hands and touched the walls of the building.
The best part? Her mom saw her do this but would just tug on the leash every now and then. Moral of the story is – if you tie your child up like a dog and don’t enforce a little discipline, your child will end up acting like a wild animal.
In another astonishing story, a pair of siblings was sitting in the seats across from me on the bus when the little boy purposely coughed in his sister’s face without covering his mouth.
When he didn’t get a response out of her he did it repeatedly until she hit him. The parents, who were standing away from their children, noticed this and yelled at the little girl. When she explained what had happened they just told the little boy to “flash us your toothless grin” and laughed.
What I don’t understand is why they weren’t sitting with their children and watching what they were doing. These parents were sitting far enough away from their kids that it was questionable as to if this party was traveling together.
Rule No. 1 at Disney – keep your kids close to you in large crowds of strangers. I’d like to think even the kids could tell you that.
It was just as surprising to see how lax some people are in their parenting. Going to Disney World makes me want to have children just so I can go back there and show these parents how much better my kids are than theirs’.
Annabelle Vang is a sophomore journalism major from Pekin. She is a Scout copy editor.
Direct questions, comments and other responses to avang@mail.bradley.edu
