SOUTH PARK/THIS HAPPENED IN REAL LIFE/DISCIPLINE
I Just Heard a Real-Life Eric Cartman Messing Around at a McDonald’s
This kid was a whirlwind walking right into that restaurant and thoughts of this kid’s parenting came to mind
I didn’t really get a good look at the kid since I was facing away from the table when this group walked in. I imagine that the kid wasn’t fat like Cartman but he certainly behaved like him. The first thing I heard when this group of kids walked in was this kid as the leader saying, “Boys are better than women.”
Problematic behavior
Immediately, I thought, “Oh, shit, this kid has some problematic views on life.” I was right. There was much more. “Oh, girls and boys shouldn’t eat together.” He continued saying stuff about girls being lesser than men. I don’t want to make any assumptions about his parents but they’re either not ever there or they hold similarly problematic attitudes or they don’t pay attention.
Okay, I know it’s hard to gauge how this kid’s family life is from just a small interaction. It’s hard not to judge this though. When I was a kid, if I had acted in such a way in public around other people at a restaurant, I’d have probably anticipated a spanking when I got home. I rarely stepped out of place as a child. My partner says he was the same way as me and his parents would’ve also acted just like mine.
Thinking back on my own childhood and watching a woman control other people’s kids
These parents, even though I don’t know them, clearly haven’t raised their children the same way. I get that some kids are just wilder than others but they respond to how the adults around them respond to them and act too. I thought, “Wow, this woman here has a lot on her hands and might not be able to handle this kid.” That’s when I heard it, “I’m going to tell your parents to pick you up if you don’t stop.”
Oh, at least some of these kids aren’t hers. I get kids thinking they could act a certain way in front of their friend’s kids. I still wouldn’t act that way around my parents’ friends, either. Maybe the kids these days are just acting out more and more. I don’t want to make a universal assumption about the state of raising kids. I’m not so closed-minded. I certainly do see different ways of parenting than I ever saw when I was growing up though.
There were some “Oh, my” and “Oh, darn” moments but one moment took the cake
As I was listening to all of the things that were going on behind us, it became non-stop laughing and uncomfortable silence. That was until this same kid said a word I didn't expect, especially from a kid as pale as he was. At this point, I had caught a glimpse of him but didn’t want to look too long because I just wanted to avoid getting attention from observing all of this.
He said the n-word. “Oh, well that’s not acceptable,” I said nearly saying it loud enough for the group to hear. He didn’t say the hard r at the end but he didn’t have to. This kid was really a boundary pusher and didn’t care who heard him or what the consequences of his actions were.
When the woman heard him, she said, “Timeout over there, now. That is not something I ever want to hear you say in front of me or my kids ever again. That is racist and I won’t stand for it.”
A timeout? After racism?
I don’t want to say that his parents wouldn’t have done the same thing but hearing him be so bold and brazen with it, they’ve either allowed him to say it or they’ve said it themselves. The second part worries me more. Children are such sponges and they learn so much from us. Teaching them casual or any sort of racism is not a good life skill for them to learn.
“Mike, what would’ve happened to you if you ever said that as a kid?” I asked my partner. “Well, first of all, I would not have done it but I would’ve been in big trouble.”
The other kids in the group responded in kind, “You’re a racist. Such a child racist.” The thought of child racism made me laugh and I was thinking to myself, “How is that different from grown-up racism? It’s not but it’s funny to hear a little kid say something like that.”
It’s not on this woman to raise that kid, he’s not hers after all
I feel bad for the woman who has to watch those kids. It sounded like she was taking them to McDonald’s and they were going to some kind of fun park after but if I were here, I’d probably take those kids back to their parents and take my own kids with me to show that the actions aren’t unacceptable.
I don’t even want to begin to tell either the parents of that monster or the woman there, who was the mother of at least two of the kids in the group, but without consequences, these kids will continue to act in an unacceptable way.
The parallels to a South Park episode I watched once
The solution I was thinking about was from the episode of South Park where Eric Cartman is put on a ton of nanny shows and his mom is trying to figure out how to get him under control. There is a part in the episode when Cesar Millan from “The Dog Whisperer” comes in and subdues Eric like a dog, hushing him by hitting his neck lightly and making a tsk sound.
I know that probably wouldn’t work in real life but a timeout at a McDonald’s is about as effective as it was in the episode when one of the nannies tried to do it to Eric. What’s stopping this kid from doing it again if he’s just being separated from the rest of the group to eat alone? He needs to know that there are consequences to his actions.
This kid needs to get it right or he’ll have a hard time getting older
It seems that this kid hasn’t quite figured it out yet. One day, when he’s older, he might say something in front of the wrong person, and he won’t be so lucky to get a timeout. He might get something much more abrupt. I just hope he doesn’t push the boundaries enough to find out. It was an interesting experience hearing a kid like that in real life.
Even at my worst or my siblings’ worst, we never would’ve gotten away with doing any of that without serious consequences. I’m not saying that parents these days shouldn’t spank their children, but I’m also not saying not to. I don’t know. There is definitely a fine line between discipline and abuse and I definitely don’t condone abuse but some children don’t respond to simple commands and need to figure out how to correct their behavior before they become a real-life grown-up Eric Cartman and no one wants that to happen.
Something needs to be done to show the kid that their actions are wrong, whatever that includes.
Note After Publishing: I was going for tongue-in-cheek with the spanking part. I don’t actually think that spanking is that effective and was more just kind of pondering my own upbringing and how it coincidentally worked on me. I don’t think that the spanking was the main cause as I know it also left scars of abuse on me that are hard to undo. I read an article by my friend and fellow editor Nanie Hurley 🌿on the topic and she makes some great points and has some excellent insights on that.
