Small Children: A Menace to Society

I saw a tiktok video of an artist who makes these sunburst type pieces of art out of wood and flowers.  

She mentioned that at the last show she went to, someone’s little kid walked up to one of her pieces and punched it.  😂

The comments were full of people who were like “the parents just don’t watch their kids!!!”.  

Maybe that is true.  Maybe the parents are negligent.  

I would like to offer an additional viewpoint on this scenario.  

Henry (my 4 year old) is totally the type of kid that could get excited walking into a new location and just start punching things.  He isn’t malicious.  In his mind these things are some villain from a book or TV show and he is in a battle. Or he is showing off his super power strength.   💪

For most of Henry’s life now, we have been in “covid times” and so he has not been at stores and restaurants as much as a pre-covid kid would.  He doesn’t know how to act.  I can explain things to him over and over.  But Henry learns mostly by doing things and then observing the consequences of those actions in real time.

How is he to know we don’t punch things in a store?  Well, he keeps doing it and I keep administering consequences.  🤪

Kids don’t know a lot, and it makes them sort of a menace to be around at times.  I am trying to impart knowledge as quickly as I can.  But there is a limit to what a 4 year old can assimilate in one conversation.

For people who don’t have kids or who only had really polite and well behaved kids, I get why it is irritating.  I am irritated about it sometimes too.  😂

But maybe my kid will change the world. 

Maybe we all will get to a point where small kids and their parents are viewed with smiles and laughter when they learn these life lessons instead of sneers and criticisms.    ❤️