Parents that take their children EVERYWHERE .....

Granted I may be stirring up something here but I don't really care.

Here's my bitch.

I took on a 2 yr nursing contract job in South Texas. Mcallen TX to be more specific. Coming from Toronto Canada when the Walmart phenomemon had just started entering the Canadian borders I was shocked (and later happy) that the Walmart there was 24 hours). In fact, many of their stores were 24 hours and 24 hours drive through for that matter.

What appalled me was the number of young children, babies, toddlers, kids, kids, kids, that were up at 11pm, 1am, 2am and 3am at Walmart and eating places like TGIF's and Applebee's.

In Canada, Toronto anyway, it was seldom you saw children out and about in the city after 10pm if you even saw them (and as long as they weren't tourists). It would be a form of 'child abuse' if you let your children stay up that late and have them with you in places where there was alcohol and people smoking.

Well, it was like that in McAllen Texas.

I started to realize (DOH) that the hispanic/Mexican culture was definitely different. Maybe it was because they were so *family* oriented that taking their children everywhere was so natural. Maybe it was because they didn't HAVE someone to look after their kids when they'd trek to Walmart at 2 am. (I was there because my aunt worked nights and when I was off, she would let me accompany her to pick up odd things).

Maybe they just wanted their children to be with them when they were at Applebee's at 11pm drinking and where other people were smoking. (they didn't have a no smoking indoors law - yet).

Maybe ....

But what really got to me was that the parents were kids themselves. They were usually between 16 - 19 years old. I kid you not!

I'll never forget this couple that were young teenagers. How could I tell? Believe me, you could tell. They had propped up their infant, that must've been only 4-5 months old inside the front of the shopping cart. The infants body was drooped over the cart with his head (he was dressed in blue) on the railing asleep!

I was livid! Meanwhile, that parents were gropping one another in the music section looking over CD's! And THIS was a common occurrence and not just amongst young teenage parents but with the older ones as well.

I guess it was a cultural thing. But culture or not culture, children need to be safe and they need their sleep and they certainly don't need to be around an adult environment like a place where they sell alcohol and where people smoke.

I felt really sad for the children. It almost seemed as if their future was locked into the same cycle as their young teenage parents.

Grow up, however you grow up, get pregnant and married by 16 - 17. Don't finish school and work at a gas station or a 24 hour place.

I wish they would've instilled laws then. What? Am I wrong for feeling like this and thinking like this?

And did you think I kept silent when I saw this? HELL NO!.

They must've seen me as some crazy bitch when I would approach them and tell them to keep their children at home. Oh well.

Pitches