Rules

Okay ... recently I stopped by a McDonald's to get out of the heat while I waited for someone to come pick me up after my car broke down. While I was waiting I saw the rules posted on the playground area for the kids, and I just had to wonder where this country's discipline has gone. The rules (from memory here so may not be exact) were:

• Please do not run in the playground.
• Please do not wear shoes on or in the playground area
• Please wear socks at all times
• Please do not climb on the outside of the playground equipment

Please? PLEASE?? Are these rules, suggestions, or requests? The sign was labeled as 'Playground Rules' so I would assume that they are, in fact, supposed to be rules and that not following them can get you removed from the playground area. I understand that it is nice to be polite ... but those aren't 'rules' ... they are requests.

"No running in or around the playground" is a rule ... "Please do not run in or around the playground" is a request, not a rule. We wonder why our kids have no sense of discipline or responsibility, why they seem to think that they can do anything that they want ... it's because we keep giving them requests instead of rules.

I've heard it in stores as well 'Timmy, please stop running around and come here.' .... the mother in question asked him 5 times ... he never complied, and she never elevated her request or did anything to stop or prevent him. What has Timmy learned? That there is no consequence for ignoring mommy.

Seriously people ... if someone can't handle being told that their child is not allowed to run in the playground doesn't need to have their kids loose in a public place. I mean, come on ... this is McDonald's property if your child is going to use it they need to learn that when they are there (or anywhere else for that matter) there are RULES that have to be obeyed and these rules usually involve limiting the things that they are allowed to do.

But "No" has been ostracized as a word for being too negative. It has been declared harmful to children because it imposes limits or somehow harms their self worth. You can't give them a bad grade because it might damage their personal perception of themselves. (god forbid they try to work harder and get better .... if they did that it might make another student feel bad, or worse encourage them to do better too.) Children must be coddled and protected and made to believe that they are the center of the universe ... eventually that view will have to be crushed in some form or another but by then they'll be adults and can pay therapists thousands of dollars per hour to figure out how their lives got so screwed up.