Angry rant about children

Begin rant:

I am sick and tired of other people's children. I cannot stand the way the mothers think the world should step aside and let her children pass. I don't like the way they blame a driver for almost hitting her child instead of chiding herself for not watching her child more closely. There was a death in the area recently where the child ran out into the road and was hit. The parents think lights should be placed at that corner. How about not allowing your young child out of the safety of the yard? How about teaching your child about road safety so the child won't run out into it? How about making sure there is either a capable older child to watch over the younger one or (gasp!) a parent watching over the child outside the yard? How about being responsible for your own offspring?

Or how about parents that are so arrogant as to think their child is the only one of any importance in the universe. The ones that go to the school and say 'we can't have any coconut in today's celebration goodies, my Mary gets such a rash from it'. Seriously. Teach your child to bring her own snacks to the celebration and instruct the teacher that Mary is not to have any treats that may contain coconut. But to expect the rest of the class to cater to your allergies? Prepare your child for the road, not the road for your child. After all, you aren't going to go to Mary's boss one day and say the same thing are you? Teach your child how to live with her allergies safely.

And - oh my god - my biggest pet peeve of parents: talking in third person to your child. Saying "mommy said don't do that, mommy thinks it's dangerous", instead of "I said don't do that, I think it's dangerous." Take responsibility for your decisions and discipline. Putting it in third person makes it so this other person - "Mommy" - is the bad guy when it should be the parent that's the bad guy. Parents can't possibly be all good all the time.

I am sick of mommy groups as well. Every time I turn around I see the Mommy Losing Weight Group or Mommy and Me or Mommy's Night Out. As if by being a mommy you are now placed in some kind of special place. You're not special, you are just capable of reproduction. Big deal.

I am a mom. I have two boys. And there are days I cannot tolerate listening to a parent gush over how cute her baby was pooping in the public park's pool. What's so cute about that? Now the water is filthy for anyone else wanting to go in the wading pool. Or how adorable it was when her son took a 'love bite' on another kid's arm. Your child bit another child! Discipline him! There are days I hate having to be all gushy-lovey over the thousand pictures of someone's baby. Oh and don't even get me started on children who learn how to 'play' their parents. Oh good heavens, the child that screams up a storm because he wants a candy. Then when the parent gives in and says to me 'well, he's just going to keep crying until he gets it'. No. He's going to keep crying until you give in or some other shiny thing catches his eye. Now the child knows his mom doesn't like it when he cries and will use it to get what he wants.

I don't know where this venom is coming from. I know this attitude has always been there but I can usually put it aside or not feel so angry about it. Other people's kids bother me, and the parents that expect me to be in awe of the very existence of their child (yes, there are people I know like that) piss me off even more.

End rant.

*considering changing my dosage of lithium, I should be this flash-angry*