Is it OK to Sneak Candy into the Movies?
Our adult behavior is the real instructor of children.
If you grew up in family with no money, like I did, you vividly recall when one of your parents let you stuff packages of Twizzlers in your pants or jacket before a trip to the movies.
It was much easier to pull off in the winter months, when you could shove twice as many goodies into your large winter coat that Mom had bought at Burlington Coat Factory on layaway.
The reason we did this?
The movies charged twice the price the grocery store did, and we couldn’t afford candy or popcorn at movie theater prices.
It seems harmless enough.
But is it good parenting?
After all, sneaking something into a movie is technically taking away profits from the theaters, which survive largely from concession sales.
We as parents punish our kids when they lie. Or when they sneak around. When they break the rules. We’re constantly pounding into their heads the importance of honesty. Of ethics. Of doing the right thing.
As we should.
But then they watch us.
They see when we’re rude to the barista at the coffee shop. And it conflicts with our years of…
