corollary: Few people know how to conduct themselves in public these days, and it's only getting worse with their kids.
This is the time of year when people are everywhere and they drag their feral beasts with them. 99% of their handlers are raising them to be completely oblivious to their surroundings.
This was demonstrated last night at the botanical garden. I'm a member at this garden, and they light the place up during December. DH and I like to go there at least once before Christmas. It worked out for us to go there last night and we went right at dusk. We knew it would be crowded because it was a weekend night so we got there early.
Feral children started pouring in. People allowed them to run amok all over the sidewalk without regard to anyone else on the path. Now that I've had an orthopedic injury and a bad knee, I'm constantly on the lookout that I'm going to be plowed over by one of these little demons.
One woman's three kids, ages maybe 5-7? were running around all over the sidewalk, then they went into a grassy area and they were running all over that. She said to them in that ineffectual manner, "boys, you need to stay on the sidewalk." I said to DH, "If they are going to run around like feral beasts, they shouldn't be on the sidewalk either," loud enough for her to hear which got me a dirty look.
My DH is a pretty even keel, low key guy and even he said, they need a night for adults only with no toddlers and no strollers. What's the purpose of dragging your kid somewhere to "see the lights" when they are as sentient as a houseplant? A lot of parents were insistent on showing their kids something, in that performative parental voice, only to have the kids scream bloody murder. Give it up already.
People and their kids kept touching shit too, even though there are signs advising them not to. DH saw someone picking a rosemary plant.
We walked around for about 45 minutes and ONE TIME at one of the indoor exhibits, I heard a woman tell her child to look where he was going and she meant business.
DH and I both commented how shitty parents are these days. They are so lazy. Parents of our generation (60-70's) had a LITANY of pat phrases to keep us in line in public:
Look with your eyes only.
Keep your hands to yourself.
Do not run.
Be quiet.
Watch where you are going.
They chose to raise a human. The unsocialized human is a feral ball of selfishness and they have to be constantly reminded how to behave.
My side rant is that we went to my mother's beforehand. She lives in an assistive living type facility for seniors. Doesn't anybody know how to get in/out of an elevator anymore? So many times when I'm trying to get out, people barge right in and kids are the worst offenders. I've had to say, um, I need to get out, excuse me please so many times. John Rosemond made this observation in one of his books too.
tldr: going out in public sucks now, thanks to zero parenting.