tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7164794708270892518.post8095784478162421855..comments2024-03-18T04:20:15.987-04:00Comments on Statement Analysis ®: Statement Analysis of Maine Diner Mother Statement Analysis Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13607372649929274491noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7164794708270892518.post-19310677366612295742015-07-25T17:26:59.065-04:002015-07-25T17:26:59.065-04:00JR, she certainly IS a monster. Under no circumst...JR, she certainly IS a monster. Under no circumstances should she ever be given parole. She has no remorse; she denies the tense and scheming boyfriend relationship she was in as being a factor when it was; she won't even admit or talk about what led her to kill her babies. She would kill again too, claiming she was not in her right mind. Well, of course she wasn't! I hope she has been sterilized in prison so that she can't produce another child that would carry her killer genes; even if/when adopted, her offspring would still carry her inherited genes no matter how well they were raised or what kind of good life they were given. Genes are genes. <br /><br />According to her stories during the investigation and before she was sent to prison, she was supposedly abused and raped many times as a child, including being raped by her stepfather who her mother was still married too at the time she drowned her babies; even later continuing her sexual relationship voluntarily with her rapist step-father after she became a teenager and could have tried to stop him. She claimed her mother knew what was going on and would not stop him. (MOther did later divorce him). However, you probably know more about Susan's background than I do.<br /><br />Regardless, whether she was raped as a child or not, that is no excuse or reason to kill your own children or anyone elses. In fact, I do not understand how a woman (or man) who was abused and raped as a child could ever inflict the same kind of abuse and torment on another child. One would think they would be the last ones on this earth who would ever cause such terror and pain on another helpless child. I'm sorry for them, what they had to endure, and their ruined life, but cannot find any compassion or understanding when they do the same thing (or worse) to another child. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7164794708270892518.post-28169101238148106882015-07-24T17:29:31.293-04:002015-07-24T17:29:31.293-04:00Edit to add. The last sentence should read She con...Edit to add. The last sentence should read She continued to give reasons for what shed did but never admitted that she did anything wrong. She did not say that she killed her children.<br />Fig Bar Inspectorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14616083832858610449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7164794708270892518.post-50574488069174162002015-07-24T17:22:25.669-04:002015-07-24T17:22:25.669-04:00OT
Thank you Peter for your excellent blog of Sta...OT<br /><br />Thank you Peter for your excellent blog of Statement Analysis. I have been a true crime buff for a long time. I had an interest in becoming an FBI agent when I was younger but I had the impression that I need to be have a law degree to work for them. I made pretty good grades in school but I was not deans list material. Though I have always had a good memory and a good observant of human behavior. So I ended up in Sales for a Major Electronics Retailer for 29.5 years. I wish that I had been aware of SA during my time in retail because I spent a majority of my time in management positions. <br /><br />I was wondering if you could do an Analysis on the Letter that Susan Smith wrote to "The State"Newspaper of South Carolina. The newspaper wanted to get her "side of the story" in conjunction with the 20th anniversary date of her conviction for First Degree Murder of her two sons, Alex 14 months and Michael 3 years old. I know that she is serving a life sentence and could be eligible for parole in 10 more years. She states that "she is not the monster society thinks she is". She says " It has been hard to listen to lie after lie and not be able to defend herself". From what I have gather from reading her letter she is more concerned about what peoples perception of her is. She has failed to show any remorse for what she did. She claims that"Something went very wrong that night. I was not myself. I was a good mother and I loved my boys." She never admits that she killed her children and continues to say that she was not in her right mind. Give reasons for what she did but never admiting that she did anything wrong. <br /><br />http://www.thestate.com/news/local/article28050157.htmlFig Bar Inspectorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14616083832858610449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7164794708270892518.post-43447069406246718042015-07-24T14:45:11.868-04:002015-07-24T14:45:11.868-04:00I notice that the analysis of the mother's new...I notice that the analysis of the mother's newspaper statement ignores the diner's statement that the mother was responding to. There are many parts of the mother's statement that mirror or directly address parts of the diner's statement (for example, the diner's statement mentions the toddler's pancakes but not what if anything the parents had for breakfast, and the mother's statement similarly mentions the toddler's pancake only.) Doesn't it change the analysis when the speaker is mirroring someone else's language? Here is a link to the mother's original (spontaneous) Facebook post on the diner's Facebook page, and the obscenity-laden Facebook post by the diner which went viral to which the mother's newspaper statement was responding. https://twitter.com/TVTEDDY/status/623197472245067776Katprintnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7164794708270892518.post-75919134241498973522015-07-24T09:23:13.151-04:002015-07-24T09:23:13.151-04:00Kimisan, here's another handy-dandy trick you ...Kimisan, here's another handy-dandy trick you might want to use when out shopping with your little kid in the grocery store (if you ever have one), and he is driving you to utter distraction and making you crazy screaming and wanting every damned toy and trinket that isn't nailed down: <br /><br />Tell him/her that he can have ONE toy that does not cost more than $___; he can pick out the one he wants. If he wants more than one, tell him to pile them all into the cart, but by the time you get to the end of your grocery shopping, he must decide between ONE toy, or two, if you're feeling generous or he beats you down for two. <br /><br />This keeps him totally occupied choosing multiple toys, piling them into the cart, playing with and looking at them, and by the time you get to the end of your shopping he has already tired of most of them, THEN finally at great length chooses the ONE special toy he wants and happily leaves the others behind. By golly, it WORKS.<br /><br />I am the anon who posted earlier about having a hyper son that caused us great embarrassment in restaurants many times when we went out to eat; for that we never found a workable solution, other than to take him out of the restaurant and take turns eating while the other one stayed outside or sat in the car with him. <br /><br />He threw a coupla fits at my office too, lying down on the floor, kicking, screaming, and once calling someone a SOB (he was four), but the only thing I could do there was get out of there as quickly as I could, just tell others to ignore him and step right over him. They did. One even broke up laughing and said, 'hey I like that kid', but I can tell you, it was NOT funny.<br /><br />He made me want to beat the hell out of him more than once; but thank God I didn't. Once I did pinch him (and not even all that hard) trying to stop him, but the little b'stard ran headlong up and down isles through the grocery store screaming 'child abuse, child abuse'... OMG, the horror or it all, with people staring at me and giving me dirty looks! <br /><br />I rushed over to him and whispered in his ear, "you're going to find out what child abuse is when I get you home." But as soon as we got home he jumped out of the car and ran down to the neighbors bug zapper threatening to electrocute himself if I touched him. Again, he derailed me. I chased him with the broom but he got away from me. I finally had to give up. This was before I came up with the idea to let him choose one toy to keep him occupied. <br /><br />He grew up to be a wonderful son, very bright, gifted, sharp, gorgeously handsome, and a beautiful person. He's deceased now. He had a life-long heart birth defect and passed on last Sept at 41 of a massive heart attack. All of my memories of him are very precious, he was so special. I just wish we'd known about his heart defect during his childhood and earlier youth, so many things could have been done differently. We never know what is making them tick, we can only love them. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7164794708270892518.post-50570120126111712402015-07-24T06:52:29.926-04:002015-07-24T06:52:29.926-04:00Did my post go walkies yesterday?
Did my post go walkies yesterday? <br />Tania Cadoganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06511272355142175684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7164794708270892518.post-35577818552996479202015-07-24T05:28:54.876-04:002015-07-24T05:28:54.876-04:00Vance Holmes said...
I teach my English students t...Vance Holmes said...<br />I teach my English students to vary their nouns. I emphasize -- don't keep telling me about "the baby, the baby, the baby." Find synonyms! . . . not just so the reader isn't put to sleep by the repetition, but also because it is an efficient way to further describe and characterize "the toddler," "the two-year-old" -- "the little stinker."<br /><br />All language use is artificial and, in some sense, meant to achieve effect. Speaking to police or giving a formal account is one thing -- but in a prepared written letter, couldn't changes in language simply indicate solid writing skills?<br /><br />Answer; "yes" yet we look at which words were used in which context and note that emotion has the most impact on change of language; even when one is doing this deliberately for writing style. <br />also, with this woman's writing, I don't find the element of higher thinking...just an opinion, but I do not think she was deliberate in changing to avoid repetition. <br /><br />I have learned a bit more about the case, including how far away the owner was when she yelled. It makes sense when looking at the language. <br /><br />Peter Statement Analysis Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13607372649929274491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7164794708270892518.post-53335655394484363102015-07-23T23:28:51.693-04:002015-07-23T23:28:51.693-04:00@ Vance Holmes and VLW,
I am not an expert...@ Vance Holmes and VLW,<br /> I am not an expert, but I imagine it is all a matter of either "reporting" or "storytelling." I'm a writer, too, and when I am trying to engage my reader, I use synonyms to keep them from getting bored. But reports and statements seem to be a different thing. I've had to make several 911 calls as a witness to car accidents, and when I think back on my written statements, I kept the report to the truthful 25/50/25 percentage with no change in language except for the change of reality with new information (i.e. I once wrote something like "The black car ran the red light and hit a person in another vehicle," then changed "person" to "woman" when I got closer and saw the person in the other vehicle was female. I just now saw that I changed "car" to "vehicle" because when the car was hit, it stopped running and therefore became a vehicle. Go statement analysis!). Peter needs to weigh in since he's the authority on this; that's just my opinion on the storytelling.kimisan03noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7164794708270892518.post-39065657344192755802015-07-23T22:53:35.535-04:002015-07-23T22:53:35.535-04:00Vance Holmes, I wonder the same thing. When I writ...Vance Holmes, I wonder the same thing. When I write an account, I use language differently than if I were speaking extemporaneously. I suppose it would depend on the audience to whom I was writing, or perhaps the type of report (i.e. annual Christmas letter describing a funny incident, or an accident report for a fender bender) At least, I assume so. What do you say, Peter?VLWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13450976652481254870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7164794708270892518.post-85862599948103626362015-07-23T22:04:55.194-04:002015-07-23T22:04:55.194-04:00I teach my English students to vary their nouns. I...I teach my English students to vary their nouns. I emphasize -- don't keep telling me about "the baby, the baby, the baby." Find synonyms! . . . not just so the reader isn't put to sleep by the repetition, but also because it is an efficient way to further describe and characterize "the toddler," "the two-year-old" -- "the little stinker."<br /><br />All language use is artificial and, in some sense, meant to achieve effect. Speaking to police or giving a formal account is one thing -- but in a prepared written letter, couldn't changes in language simply indicate solid writing skills?Vance Holmeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09262207340508517379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7164794708270892518.post-52022296265599746842015-07-23T21:23:18.507-04:002015-07-23T21:23:18.507-04:00'It was then that I turned to my daughter and ...<br />'It was then that I turned to my daughter and said calmly, “This is exactly how I’m raising you not to be.” '<br /><br />I imagine this was said for the "benefit" of the other diners and not for the little girl. Ego! VLWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13450976652481254870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7164794708270892518.post-25279637998767709852015-07-23T20:42:03.008-04:002015-07-23T20:42:03.008-04:00Jen Ow -I knew you weren't faulting the baby ...Jen Ow -I knew you weren't faulting the baby - I honed in on 'herself' because I am hyper-sensitive when anyone seems to imply that anyone else caused something to themselves when they didn't, which is due to an unfortunate experience, in the distant but not yet distant enough past, with a newly qualified and totally inept dentist Well, I'm sure he wasn't totally inept, just somewhat inept, but I didn't stay with him long enough to find out. He had put in a temporary crown on a back tooth which was difficult to reach, but overlooked to remove some material he had used, and within a couple of days an abscess developed round it. I went back, in agony, a few days later, saying there was some foreign body lodged in there which I could feel and which was causing agony, but he couldn't find it, and insisted there was nothing there. A week passed, by which time I wanted to die, as you (I) do, with unrelenting toothache, so I went to one of his colleagues at the practice, who took a look, mumbled 'dental cord' in the direction of the nurse, followed by a derogatory remark about the other dentist, and got it out, to my immediate and great relief. 'There,' she announced, as though I hadn't heard her mumbling,'you've given yourself an abscess -I'll prescribe some antibiotics.' To this day I am indignant at having been accused of causing it myself, and discovering that dentists close ranks against their victims :) - but there,I was so relieved to have had it taken out, that I let it go, besides they all need someone to practise on. <br /><br />Yes, the adults were all as bad as each other, so my vote goes to the baby for best victim of the day. :) <br /><br /><br />Julietnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7164794708270892518.post-13991409606005256472015-07-23T19:28:09.059-04:002015-07-23T19:28:09.059-04:00Anon @5:07
I don't have children, but if I ev...Anon @5:07<br /><br />I don't have children, but if I ever do, I will TOTALLY use the goldfish/cars trick! I come for the statement analysis, I stay for the comments!kimisan03noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7164794708270892518.post-32084036635615636162015-07-23T18:10:06.359-04:002015-07-23T18:10:06.359-04:00As far as I've been able to ascertain, nothing...As far as I've been able to ascertain, nothing has been said about the way the baby behaved during the thirty minute wait before the parents and baby were seated. Personally, I'm not believing this child hadn't already tired out and became irritable, cranky and more than just a little fussy long before they were seated. <br /><br />Beginning during the thirty min wait and up to the seventy minutes total is an unbelievably long time to expect a 21-mon old toddler to sit and/or stand comfortably without having already begun to create havoc due to needing attention even during the wait. This child would have still been wearing toddler diapers when out of the home for any length of time and would have needed a change. <br /><br />I'd lay odds this baby needed a diaper change which went ignored for a this entire time, as well as being thirsty and in need of a drink, and hungry. Nothing that I've read has said anything about the child being tended too at any time these parents were in the restaurant. Was this the childs' first feeding of the morning, had it been given any snacks? This child was terribly neglected the entire time.<br /><br />The owner of the restaurant finally snapped and I don't blame her. Somebody certainly needed too! Just throwing some little light-weight carry out containers at the family table is the least I would have done. As a patron (or the manager/owner) having to endure the hell-breakfast these parents inflicted on me and the rest of the customers, I would have already been in a fracas with these idiots, and if that hadn't gotten them rooted out I would have called 911 and had them served up with a 'disturbing the peace' citation, removed, and let the chips fall where they may. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7164794708270892518.post-9013192378787168442015-07-23T17:43:31.596-04:002015-07-23T17:43:31.596-04:00Hi Juliet,
Yeah, I didn't mean to make it so...Hi Juliet, <br /><br />Yeah, I didn't mean to make it sound like the baby was at fault, I was just imagining how once she was so upset, she likely wouldn't be consoled by much, other than maybe a change of scenery, and a few minutes of distraction to forget what she was crying about. <br /><br />Like Peter said, even if they had just held her, or tended to her, it likely would have helped. I also don't understand why they didn't have snacks, toys, etc. Surely they had a phone, why not set her up with a youtube video to watch?<br /><br />I actually read the owner's rants first, and I found her to be so over the top ridiculous that it was easy for me to take the side of the parents at first. I was disappointed when I read the Mom's response, because I was in their corner up until then. I even doubted the owner's claim that the crying was as bad as she claimed, and that it lasted 40 min, because it seemed like such an exaggeration. (How could the parents stand to listen to that for 40 min!) <br /><br />Then the mother spoke out, and sure enough she confirmed it was at least 40 mins, and that it was a tantrum! Now all I can say about the parents is shame on you too!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02680510856590830567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7164794708270892518.post-86478693757727664102015-07-23T17:07:00.222-04:002015-07-23T17:07:00.222-04:00This analysis is interesting. Its seems neither th...This analysis is interesting. Its seems neither the parents or the owner have any shame so it's not surprising the situation escalated to the level it did. I feel bad that this baby has such a self-absorbed, stubborn parent(s). It seems everyone was waiting for the mother and father's commonsense to kick in and were probably shocked when it never did. <br /><br />My son was almost two-and-a-half when we moved across the country. He had a passion for cars so I used that to my advantage when we would fly back to visit family. Before the trip I would purchase new Hot Wheels cars he had never seen to present to him; one every half hour as the flight progressed (it was usually around a three to four hour flight one way). Thanks to the cars and Goldfish crackers (the best travel snack for kids, ever IMO), we had pleasant traveling experiences. The cars held his attention. Some of the cars the Goldfish could actually ride in. This little "travel ritual" gave him something to look forward to throughout the trip and he focused on a pleasant expectation rather than restless boredom. I guess I was lucky he didn't demand them all at once on subsequent trips, mainly because I think he enjoyed the excitement of each new "reveal." It also helped him understand the concept of how much flight time was left as he knew how many cars he would have by the end of the trip. He enjoyed this tradition into early elementary school years. This article brought back these memories to me. He is now 17.<br /><br />Part of the joy and the difficulty of being a parent is embracing the challenge of trying to find ways of helping your kid adapt. This fundamental responsibility rests on them first and foremost. It's sad that this mom or dad couldn't or wouldn't try to do this for their daughter and the situation turned into such a bad scene. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7164794708270892518.post-46239896431169058352015-07-23T15:45:53.939-04:002015-07-23T15:45:53.939-04:00Jen Ow - yes, the same here, so that does sound re...Jen Ow - yes, the same here, so that does sound reasonable. I wouldn't say the baby had worked herself up, though, more that she had been worked up by the parents, who created the tantrum, by not attending to her until it was too late. I suppose I just preferred the owner's take on the situation - it does make a good disastrous parenting story better, and I already didn't have any sympathy for the parents. :-D Julietnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7164794708270892518.post-19067010422616888202015-07-23T13:25:10.703-04:002015-07-23T13:25:10.703-04:00The Diner owner states that she does not have kids...The Diner owner states that she does not have kids. There is no excusing that the parents allowed this tantrum to continue for 40 minutes, and that they weren't more prepared, and in tune to meet their daughter's needs, but I feel like the parents setting the plate out of the baby's reach is possibly being misinterpreted.<br /><br />Until my son was about 2-3 years old, I didn't place his plate in front of him in a restaurant. Babies push their plates off the table. This is fine in a high chair at home, but not ideal in a restaurant. I'd cut up his food on the plate, and then give him bites, or place bites on the silicone table cover I kept in my diaper bag for this exact purpose. He threw lots of food on the food, (which I always cleaned up) but luckily he never broke any plates. <br /><br />I'd say as agitated as the baby was, she likely refused bites of food when they offered them. It's pretty normal for little ones to refuse the very thing they are crying for once they have worked themselves into a tantrum. Just speculation on my part, but it makes sense to me. It doesn't excuse them ignoring her hysterics, and causing a stressful situation for all involved, but I can see a situation where them appearing not to feed her, and leaving the food in the middle of the table would be reasonable, (and not necessarily because they didn't care, or were too engrossed in their conversation.)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02680510856590830567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7164794708270892518.post-56977467612093291122015-07-23T13:24:51.052-04:002015-07-23T13:24:51.052-04:00I'm with Rob. I would have used different word...I'm with Rob. I would have used different words than the owner but letting your kid go on for 40 minutes is inconsiderate. The kid and parents needed to be called out on it.Buckleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04087082956705159705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7164794708270892518.post-78502643310193897372015-07-23T13:21:16.810-04:002015-07-23T13:21:16.810-04:00I picture a diner as being a smaller, close type o...I picture a diner as being a smaller, close type of place. Obviously crowded, every seat filled, people waiting. And in the mix, a screaming 2 yr old. For 40 minutes or longer!!!! If I had been there, I would have had to leave. When you are not used to a tantrum, it puts you over the edge. (think ice picks in the ears)<br />Parents don't seem to raise their children the way I was raised or raised my own. If you know that the outcome will be negative, it is a deterent. In the middle of a serman, we'll have a screamer, parents do nothing, and we have 2 fully staffed nurseries available. <br />I like that the owners scream shut the baby up. All she wanted was a little attention, and when she got it, she was over the problem.<br />I also think the mom thinks she is going to get something out of this, and it may not be what she wants.robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7164794708270892518.post-90817479263183166322015-07-23T13:13:33.116-04:002015-07-23T13:13:33.116-04:00Thanks, Peter - I'm looking forward to being a...Thanks, Peter - I'm looking forward to being able to use my new laptop soon, and to be able to flit between lots of browser windows and so pay more attention to the original post, read and check quotes, cut and paste and find links as I write. I'm pretty useless with a tablet, but it just has to do to be going on with. :) Julietnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7164794708270892518.post-30351582930229262382015-07-23T12:33:06.741-04:002015-07-23T12:33:06.741-04:00The video of the diner owner may lead some to thin...The video of the diner owner may lead some to think that yelling at a child is not far outside of her norm. <br /><br />I think this may have added to the clash of cultures with both sides. <br /><br />Juliet, in twenty-one months having not picked up on the art of distraction, is a telling point you have made. <br /><br />The mother's writing shows she is intelligent. <br /><br />This suggests to me that she knows, as would even a 12 year old babysitter, that distraction was needed and that she just DID NOT care. <br /><br />Good points,<br /><br />PeterStatement Analysis Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13607372649929274491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7164794708270892518.post-52404497569382691092015-07-23T12:23:37.162-04:002015-07-23T12:23:37.162-04:00I read the owner's response, too.
I wondered ...I read the owner's response, too.<br /><br />I wondered if the couple were maybe about to open their own diner business, and set up the incident to attract other parents via social media to what would surely be the ultimate 'child-friendly' eatery, where no-one would bat an eyelid if a toddler wasn't the best behaved, and where an hour long episode would be considered perfectly reasonable. <br /><br />If that's not the case, it was still a set-up for publicity, and I would tend toward the diner as target because it was one the father 'knew of'. He maybe also knew the owner to be bad-tempered and foul-mouthed, and likely to freak out sooner or later at the disruption - it was later, so they had to hang around ignoring their baby for quite some time before the owner really kicked off - anyone else would have left when she threw the boxes, but that wasn't enough drama, someone wanted more. I think they knew that three pancakes, plus omelettes, would be a problem order on a busy Saturday morning. The father may have related stories about the owner to his wife, and she maybe thought that sounded just the place to cause a scene worthy of national attention. No doubt they were told they would have a lengthy wait, and chose to wait. Who doesn't keep an on-the-go emergency supply of snacks for their toddler for that sort of eventuality - and why couldn't one of them have nipped out and got something for her from somewhere else during all of that time? Even when the pancakes arrive, they leave them untouched, out of her reach, when their reason for being there is, allegedly, to give her breakfast. Instead, they wind-her up even further, tease her with the sight of the pancakes, ignore her for longer. Ridiculous - It has to be a set-up. In twenty-one months they haven't picked up on the simple art of distraction, or even how, eventually, to placate their hungry baby with a pancake? It's too absurd. Did the owner say they didn't even eat, or want the food when it came? Seems like they weren't there for the food.<br /><br />The owner also is too much - I can't help finding amusement at her outrage at someone having the audacity to order three pancakes for a table of three, in a diner. <br /><br />I really question why they 'figured it would have good service and be family-friendly'. How does one figure that out of thin air? They don't, as the father already knew the diner, and what the service and attitude towards children there was likely to be. Even if he didn't know the owner to be somewhat off-the-wall, he would likely know they don't have the ability to fulfil some orders quickly, If he'd eaten there even just once before, he might well have learned of the perils of asking for three pancakes, it might even have been a source of amusement between him and other members of the Coast Guard. <br /><br /><br />Julietnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7164794708270892518.post-14327862731622769392015-07-23T12:06:21.515-04:002015-07-23T12:06:21.515-04:0040 minutes of crying in a restaurant was about 39 ...40 minutes of crying in a restaurant was about 39 minutes too long...Deejaynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7164794708270892518.post-30218392961054700012015-07-23T12:02:57.283-04:002015-07-23T12:02:57.283-04:00To stop my small children from throwing fits in pu...To stop my small children from throwing fits in public, I used every trick I had. (although an airplane is tough, since you can not 'step outside'). I took them out of restaurants and spent as long as it took standing in the parking lot. If they kept up a tantrum they got a spank or two. Or I shut them in the car to scream and stood directly outside, looking in, telling them we could go back in when they settled down. Sometimes, I counted slowly to bore them. While driving, I would pull over and park the car, explaining we were going nowhere until they chose to behave. Sometimes I put my son in the back of the pickup and stood next to it- this worked especially well in the winter.' My -it is cold out here. We can go in the store when you behave---' Your child has no right to scream, and no right to run around. The thing is it takes persistence- sadly lacking in many parents. Also, it is your job to entertain them- bring books, color pictures, play rock, paper, scissors, etc.- not to chat obliviously to your significant other about the weather.... These tricks don't work every time- but over time the kid gets that their behavior directly affects their quality of life. In this case, the diner owner should have politely asked the parents to leave. Pack the food up to go, give it to them free, whatever it took to get them out of there... (Over time, the offending parents will get that their lack of taking responsibility for their child affects their quality of life.) :)Deejaynoreply@blogger.com