by Christine Dunbar

Created on: March 25, 2007   Last Updated: May 15, 2007

Tonight my daughter, husband and I went to a birthday party. The birthday boy was turning 10 and we went to a new place for the kids to run around, eat pizza, play games and laser tag! We had a blast, if was a lot of fun for the most part. However; attending this shindig brought up a question. How do I discipline someone else's child? Do you even attempt it? Or let the child run wild? Well first let me start by telling you the parents of two of the party guests just showed up and dropped their kids off. So there was absolutely no threat of Mom and Dad while they were there. Also let me take the time to tell you this wasn't typical "boys being boys" or kids will be kids" behavior.

They ran all around the room that was reserved for the party, and yelled and were just down right disrespectful. When the cake came out I found my self saying in a loud voice over top of their yelling, "If you want cake you need to sit down", followed up with a "PARK IT". The kids all sat at that point, and I helped hand out cake.

So for all of the parents out there, is it OK? I believe the answer is yes. How else will children learn the concepts of what is and is not acceptable is society today? I hate to say it but a lot of parents just let their kids run the house, their lives. I say no way! If you let your child run around and act like a beast on your time, that doesn't mean that I am going to do the same. Just think when those kids get out into the real world they will have a very harsh reality facing them.
There is nothing wrong with showing someone else's child that you have your own limits. Not physically of course but with our words and the tone of our voices. I taught preschool for a few years, and children are not oblivious. They know when enough is enough. Don't be afraid to speak up and tell them. I must say that as a parent I would not want someone to sit back and let my child act like a lunatic, just because I am not there.
If the parents of the kids who I told to "park it" today had come to me and confronted me I can honestly say that their behavior was unacceptable to me as a parent. That if they had an issue next time they shouldn't just drop their children off and leave...
As long as you are not physically aggressive towards the parents or the children I believe that it is possible to verbally discipline someone else's child. Beside sometimes a "no" from another adult means more than from Mom and Dad.

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