Burger King Apple Pie Guy

[Gravekeeper]

i saw this on another board, and thought it was perfect in response to the claims that the child acting up could possibly be autistic and not tantruming. not my writing, just copypasta.

<Slowly raises hand>

I have post traumatic stress disorder. Your child screaming like an entitled little monster while you stare at your iPhone is going to trip that. My body is going to react like I am being chased by a bear. My muscles will begin to seize and severe pain will ensue. And this is what I am like with 3 different heavy prescription medications in me. So fuck you, your iPhone and his apple pie. >.>

Case in point, worthless dad at my doctor's office the other day. The waiting room can be pretty bad for me if its crowded and noisy. I do not like it. This asshole comes in with his kid who is around 4ish or so. Sits down, whips out his iPhone and proceeds to completely ignore his son for the next 30 minutes until I leave the room.

And I mean completely. Being 4, the kid gets antsy from sitting still and having nothing to do. Begins to roam. Starts farking around and making noise. Starts doing things where you start to worry for his safety and wonder if YOU need to step in before the kid kills himself since the parent won't. The entire time dad stares at his phone. He did not utter one. Single. Word. To his son. Seriously, not one word.

The kid clearly and obviously wanted his dad's attention. Being in public in a crowded place and totally ignored by your parent? Yeah, you're going to start to wind up and freak out.

But fuckhead couldn't be bothered to get off Facebook long enough to interact with his kid. So the rest of us had to A) Put up with him tearing around and B) Start to watch the kid FOR him for fear he would pull a book rack or something down on himself.

This is why I'M the quiet twitchy guy on the bus now that everyone is wary of. -.-

[siead_lietrathua]

This is why I'M the quiet twitchy guy on the bus now that everyone is wary of. -.-

hugs. you're not alone on that. SIL doesn't even worry when i just leave their house when the niece gets tantruming.

[HYHYBT]

So how *do* you teach children that no, they don't get what they want every time they want it and especially not if they make a fuss in public when what they want is your attention for no reason other than they want it?

[siead_lietrathua]

by... leaving?
mom in the OP easily could have said "keep misbehaving and we'll leave with no pie." and then followed through if the kid kept throwing shit and being a brat.
also known as parenting.

eventually the kid learns that being a brat gets nothing but their but back in the carseat, and they stop doing it! ta-friggan-dah.

[Kheldarson]

So how *do* you teach children that no, they don't get what they want every time they want it and especially not if they make a fuss in public when what they want is your attention for no reason other than they want it?

by... leaving?
mom in the OP easily could have said "keep misbehaving and we'll leave with no pie." and then followed through if the kid kept throwing shit and being a brat.
also known as parenting.

eventually the kid learns that being a brat gets nothing but their but back in the carseat, and they stop doing it! ta-friggan-dah.

Basically. But you don't do it by buying pies to spite a child.

[siead_lietrathua]

Basically. But you don't do it by buying pies to spite a child.

one, the guy did it to spite the mom, not the kid. if the mom had actually attempted to quiet her kid down, never woulda happened.

two, him buying all the pies, or the mom refusing to buy the kid any pies for being bad, has the same outcome. brat doesn't get pie.
heck, what if the store had just been out of stock, and the kid was throwing a fit over it (which probably happens a ton every day considering the number of FF chains). who we gonna blame then? the store for running out.... or the shitty parent that teaches their kid that tantrums get rewarded with treats?
i know who i'm blaming... j/s.

[Kheldarson]

one, the guy did it to spite the mom, not the kid. if the mom had actually attempted to quiet her kid down, never woulda happened.

He did it to "ruin their day". This means he planned to upset both of them. Mom would possibly get the message, but kid? Nope.

two, him buying all the pies, or the mom refusing to buy the kid any pies for being bad, has the same outcome. brat doesn't get pie.
heck, what if the store had just been out of stock, and the kid was throwing a fit over it (which probably happens a ton every day considering the number of FF chains). who we gonna blame then? the store for running out.... or the shitty parent that teaches their kid that tantrums get rewarded with treats?
i know who i'm blaming... j/s.

But there is a major difference in what the child learns in each case. My point was that buying all the pies to spite a child doesn't teach a child that you can't always get what you want; it teaches that some folks are jerks.

The store being out? That teaches that sometimes you don't get what you want, no matter what your behavior is.

The mom actively denying pie based on behavior? That teaches consequences and boundaries. It is the only option that actively connects the negative behavior to the negative consequence.

It may take a village sometimes, but the village can't be spiteful and expect the proper lesson to be learned.

[Gravekeeper]

Well, the problem with that line of thought is that he is not the parent. He has no responsibility one way or another to ensure the child is learning a proper lesson. The lesson the child does or does not learn from this scenario will, again, depend on the parent. It is, again, up to the parent here to handle the situation in a way the child learns from. He did not buy all the pies then specifically tell the child I bought all the pies because you're a brat.

Siead is correct here. All he did was clean out the stock. There is no major difference in what the child learns here. Because what the child learns is dependent on how mom handles the situation. Unfortunately, I doubt mom saw the light and used this as a teachable moment.

[s_stabeler]

if the store ran out, then it's nobody's fault. sometimes it happens. However, this was an artificial shortage created by the guy. I'm not saying the woman behaved acceptably- if the kid was throwing a tantrum, he should have been removed- but it's not the guy's place to get revenge- which is what this was- by buying all the pies. All that would teach me, if I was the kid, is that people can be assholes.

[Gravekeeper]

All that would teach me, if I was the kid, is that people can be assholes.

It would depend on what you knew of the situation, how old you were, how you were raised and how your mom explained it too you. This child does not exist in a vacuum.

As for it being or not being this guy's place. That really only holds up to a point. If you are in public and adversely affecting other people at length it becomes their business as well. Society only functions when everyone abides by the written and unwritten rules that form it.

A child is not a natural disaster. You cannot, as a parent, write off your responsibility and liability as an act of God. -.-

[KabeRinnaul]

I don't see why we're arguing that either this lady was a bad parent who wasn't controlling her trantruming child, or else this guy was an asshole who went beyond what's acceptable in reacting to it.

I can accept that this was a encounter between both a shitty parent and a vindictive asshole.

[siead_lietrathua]

I can accept that this was a encounter between both a shitty parent and a vindictive asshole.

now i'm picturing it as a wrestling match...
"this sunday, watch as the Massacre Momma meets her match in Dudebro McSuckface! When Douchebags Collide! This sunday, ONLY on Pay-Per-View!"

[TheHuckster]

I'm glad this forum is so off the beaten path. I'd hate to have a reality TV producer get any ideas.

[HYHYBT]

Seems like this ought to relate somehow to parents who lie about the store being out of pies (or the playground being closed, or the ice cream machine being broken, etc.) instead of telling them no in an honest fashion.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Seems like this ought to relate somehow to parents who lie about the store being out of pies (or the playground being closed, or the ice cream machine being broken, etc.) instead of telling them no in an honest fashion.

Or saying, "Stop that right now or the lady *pointing to the cashier* will tell you off!" instead of correcting the behaviour themselves without turning the cashier into the bad guy.