Summer has begun which means that there are so many more kids at the pool (this is important because I mostly deal with kids at my job, I'm a lifeguard). And yes, before you ask, I don't mind kids. If they're well behaved and friendly, then I can get along with them (just please don't ask him how long until I have one of my own). But when kids come in and all they do is scream and demand and refuse to listen to me, that's where I draw the line.
I never will understand parents who don't discipline their children. Do they not understand that discipline isn't hitting or spanking your child when in reality, it is just making them understand that they are not in charge and that cannot always do whatever they want? It's called learning and kids do it every day, but some parents don't want to teach their children the harder lessons in life.
I deal with a wide array of kids. Some are the sweetest angels and that's when I know that they receive some sort of discipline at home. And contrary to popular belief, it is not a bad thing to discipline your child. At some point in time, a child is going to act up and that is when you as a parent have to step in and make them understand why their behavior is unacceptable. And some of the kids are not the sweetest of angels. Just this week I had to pull a girl out of the pool and she gave me attitude after the incident happened. I was appalled because I would never speak to any person like that when I was her age and she thought it was okay to be rude to someone who had basically just saved her life.
As a lifeguard, it is my job to keep all people that come to the pool safe and these kids make it incredibly difficult when they refuse to listen to me when I tell them what they are doing is wrong because they do not understand what I'm saying. And that would be because they have never had anyway tell them no before and that is crazy to me.
Parents, please learn how to control your child, especially when you take them to a place where someone else is responsible for them. If they don't understand how to listen to adults nor do they understand the word no, then they are not going to be able to survive in any type of environment in the future. You're just setting them up to fail and that is the saddest part to me.
Not every parent is like this, and most - if about 85% - of them understand the word discipline. But for those who don't, they need to learn fast otherwise I am going to have some serious problems with all of their kids this summer and I will not be as nice to their kids as they are.
