Leave your kids home

You’re welcome, but leave your kids at home?

You’re welcome and so are your kids if they’re disciplined! Is probably truer.

I was a Caravan Park Manager in Australia, for 15 years, (RV Park Manager in U.S.A). and find the second to be the truth everywhere.

At a particular family friendly hotel in Bunbury, Western Australia, a few years back, my wife and I were having a nice breakfast until a tear away child decided to use the entire restaurant as a launching pad for his boisterous enthusiasm and jet screamed his way around the tables. Arms spread to visualize the plane he was loudly vocalizing. The looks from customers were classic, but it wasn’t until my wife grabbed a close swung arm and growled for him to sit down that he did so, much to his parents disgusted looks. I was surprised they did not approach us and complain.

Within the Caravan Park we suggested parents do not leave their children unsupervised… But they do. We have banned certain groups from Parks that we managed due to past indiscretions off those groups, and those groups have kids. One of the major culprits was the BMX club (on two occasions and in two different Australian states). Children were let run riot around caravans and cabins alike, while their parents drank and loudly carried on until I finally managed to close them down just before midnight. The second lot rode their bikes around the park until I received a call at two in the morning… No apology, nothing. When told the next morning they would not be welcome back, one arrogant father said, ‘well, we’ll just go elsewhere.’ My response, ‘if you keep it up you will run out of elsewhere’s.’

When we contacted the state administrator for BMX clubs, he said they receive these complaints regularly when their groups travel. So why not do something about it? ‘Parents won’t listen.’

After attempting to control some unruly children another time, the father came up to me abusing me stating that our signs say, ‘Children are parents’ responsibility.’ He emphasized the fact that they were not mine and therefore I had no jurisdiction over what he allowed them to do… Threatened to punch me one and stormed off, his kids following. Thank you! I gave him an eviction in writing with one hour to vacate and had the police standing by watching him as he and his feral tribe departed.

This is not discriminating against the kids, left to their own devices kids will do what they can get away with, and why should they listen to a stranger? … It’s the parents at fault not supervising or caring what their dear little children are up to. I don’t think companies have issues with children; businesses certainly would not if those children were supervised and controlled. Businesses make money from children and would be happy to continue to do so if allowing the children of one or two particular feral groups in did not alienate other patrons and send word of mouth careering around the country about an unruly place to hang out.

I, nor other Managers, of Caravan Parks, Hotels, Motels, Restaurants or Shops are paid to be babysitters. If we wanted that job we’d be in schools or Child Care. Some Caravan Parks, Hotels and Shops supply that service so use them if you are the kind of parent who feels that the minute they are out with their children they can allow then the freedom to disrupt the lives of all around them.

As a kid I remember going out to places and having to stay within site of my parents and behave, a big ask for 4 young boys, but we generally did, and never would we leave our seats at a restaurant or disrupt others around us… Discipline!

Parents these days have difficulty in believing that outsiders do not find everything their darling little feral children do to be cute or acceptable, and even when it is bought to their attention… ‘But their only kids.’

In that case… ‘You’re welcome but leave your kids at home.’