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If You Know Your Kid Won’t Behave, Don’t Drop Them Off At A Birthday Party And Leave
It’s not free babysitting
“Jeremy, please stop hitting. We keep our hands to ourselves.”
This is the fifth time Mark’s mom has asked Jeremy to stop hitting her son — the birthday boy.
It had as much effect this time as the others — none.
The frazzled mom lets out a deep sigh and, not knowing what to do, sits back down.
In the background, the reptile zoo employee is trying her best to ignore the commotion and continue on with the show. I can barely hear her talking about the turtle she is holding.
Jeremy, sitting in the front row, is screaming too loud. Suddenly he jumps up and down and wallops Mark again. Mark starts crying — loudly.
Jeremy gets up and dances around the room. Mark falls to the ground, in tears. The other children move away from the commotion and go sit with their parents. The zoo employee shields the turtle, not knowing what will happen next.
In short, it is utter chaos.
Chaos caused by Jeremy — the six-year-old boy whose mother dropped him off at the birthday party an hour and half ago, before she raced out of the room as fast as she could.