Disgusting!!

Today, for the second time in recent months, I had to hustle Amelia out of a fast food restaurant playground because some other child contaminated it with bodily fluids.

The first gross-out incident occurred back in January at McDonald's Playplace in Gadsden. Play was halted when a young boy came and told his grandmother that someone had thrown up and it was really stinky. Overhearing this tidbit, I moved nimbly to snatch Amelia from the playground as did other parents who'd become privy to this knowledge.

However, the culprit who was responsible for said mayhem saw no need to tell his mother what had happened and had continued playing. Poor child, it likely wouldn't have mattered if he'd told his mom because she couldn't be bothered to stay off the phone long enough to check on his well-being much less be concerned he was yakking all over the place.

An employee was dispatched to deal with the mess, and we bolted out of there as if someone had announced a radiation contamination alert.

Today I agreed to take Amelia to McDonald's in Guntersville after dance class. She loves this playground best of all and was thrilled to discover a little girl about her age was already there when we got there. The two little ladies hit it off and were having a bang up time together, which made it even harder to interrupt their play because of another contamination.

I was alerted to today's incident when a young girl about 12 came down and told her grandmother that her brother wouldn't come out of the playground because he'd stepped in poop and was embarrassed. Yes, you read correctly, I said POOP!

The grandmother immediately swung into action, managed to coax the youngster down from the heights at which he'd positioned himself and discovered he had indeed stepped in excrement and had it not only on his socks but also on his pants. I felt so sorry for this kid. He was so embarrassed and had every reason to be.

The grandmother, who was livid, immediately went to find an employee, and I went to find Amelia. I caught her at the bottom of the slide, explained our predicament and escorted her back to our table.

The mother of the child responsible for the mess overheard me telling Amelia what was going on. She knew her kid, who, by the way, was only about 2, was at the center of this debacle, and I knew it too. This child, aside from being too young to be turned loose on her own in this giant play area while mom chatted on the cell phone (again with the phone! You are not so important you have to be available 24/7!), had been exhibiting signs of potty trouble from the time they walked in. Twice I watched her stop playing, grab her crotch or bottom and get very still as if waiting for either her bowels or her bladder to perform.

Had mom been paying attention, she would have recognized this little girl's signals and taken her to the bathroom. But, alas, being too consumed by her scintillating phone conversation, she couldn't be bothered to attend to her child, which resulted in the little girl doing her business in the playground and then toddling off for more fun.

When word got out about what had happened, she found her kid and flew out of there as if her legs were on fire and her ass was catching. Worst of all, she didn't seem embarrassed or even remorseful but instead loudly proclaimed into her cell phone how aggravated she was that she had to end the conversation in order to deal with her little girl.

These incidents have left me disgusted with both the situations and the parents of these ill-trained children. If you are going to bring your kids to a public restaurant where they will be playing among other children and adults, then you have to prepare them to be mindful of others and to understand there are some things that ARE NOT socially acceptable!

I've done my job! My kid knows if she throws up, she should find me, her daddy or another grown up to help her. She also knows to go to bathroom to poo-poo not drop a deuce on the stairs of the indoor playground!

Raising kids keeps me on my toes around the clock, which is why I get so pissed at parents who shirk their duties to the detriment of others around them. What pisses me off even more is that these poor children don't stand a Popsicle's chance in hell of growing up to be of any value to society if this is the start they are getting. Instead they face a lifetime of the same white trash lifestyle their parents are living (or should I say suffering?).

Ugh! I feel like I need about three baths now.