Don’t bring your kids to the laundromat unless they’re old enough to help!

This is the thing that irks me about laundromats more than anything in the world: parents who bring little kids, then don’t supervise them. There was this group of kids at the Laundry Station today that just about drove me and Chaz up the wall. The older ones (about 7 or 8 or so– certainly old enough to help mom, auntie, grandma, etc. with the laundry) were pushing younger ones (the ones I saw were maybe 18 months to two years old) in the carts that are provided for the patrons (yours truly) to put their laundry in.

They’re going round and round the laundromat while people are trying to get their washing and drying done. One girl pushing a younger child almost ran into Chaz’s ankle, until she saw me look up and start to say something, then she backed off as she saw the obstacle (namely, Chaz) she was about to hit. I guarantee you that Chaz would not have been happy about that one single bit.

Of course, you can’t say anything to the parents in cases like this, lest you tell them how to parent their children. More than likely you’d be told to “fuck off” or something.

And Chaz has no patience for little kids anymore. The way he sees it, he’s raised his kids (who are closer to my age than I am to Chaz’s), he shouldn’t have to worry about other people’s children. And the fact that a lot of parents don’t watch their children in public concerns me greatly. What if something dire were to happen to them? These parents would probably sue whatever establishment they were in at the time little Susie or little Johnny were hurt, molested or (God forbid!) kidnapped. It’s not up to me to watch your kids. That’s your job! I’ve done mine. It only took one time of being upbraided by a concerned person for me to keep my eyes where they belonged…. watching my children and making sure they behaved themselves.

My kids can do their own laundry, trust me. When they were younger, they all (except Marc until he was about 3) had jobs to do: Daniel sorted the clothes; Jeff loaded the machine(s); Scott loaded the dryer(s) he could reach. Then they had to fold the dry clothes (except for my intimates… I’d never make a young boy fold my panties or bras… oh the horror!) with me.

If I can do that, so can other parents. Thing is, other parents are busy talking on cell phones and smoking ciggies to pay any attention to what their kids are doing. And, NO ONE who works at the laundromat tells these parents that their kids are disturbing other patrons unless someone complains.

I came awfully close today, let me tell you!

We managed to get out of there without getting maimed inside or rained on outside.

We rock! LOL

That’s all from where I sit.

–MorelaterZ–