I saw a small kid, maybe 2 or 3 years old, riding a kiddie scooter. An adult woman, maybe his mom, maybe not, trailed just behind the kid. The kid approached a wide driveway where a car was poised to turn into it. Though the driver had stopped and was patiently allowing the kid and the woman to pass, the woman seemed to want to warn the boy to watch for cars and not just cruise through driveways in such a carefree manner.
Though she was speaking a foreign language, I could tell from her looking at the car, her tone and body language that when she spoke out to the kid,
she was telling him to stop and look for possible cars.
The kid did not acknowledge whatever it was she’d said, and just kept riding.
As she was only a few feet behind the kid, the adult woman took a coupe jog-steps and physically restrained the kid by putting her hand on his chest. The kid, none too happy to be restrained or admonished, sent a high-pitched grunt at the woman. The woman, not to be owned by a 3-year old in public, admonished the kid — louder and more forcefully this time. The kid grunt-screamed back at her, louder also.
The woman punished him by taking his scooter.
The kid cried out loudly, though there were no actual tears, folding his arms and lowering his chin to his chest and refusing to walk — I guess this is what we call a temper tantrum. The woman knelt down and said some things to the kid, who was literally unmoved by her words. She gave him a hug as he continued to wail and draw attention to himself. As the kid still wouldn’t budge from his spot, just out of the path of driveway now, the woman had to grab his hand to get him moving, holding the kid-sized scooter in her other hand.
I laughed at the whole scene. The woman, clearly embarrassed, avoided looking toward the benches where I and another woman sat watching this unfold.
The woman led the tantrum-throwing kid to the front doors of Starbucks, opening the door for the kid to go in first. Only thing was, the kid folded his arms and refused to walk into the coffee shop. The woman had a hard time getting him inside, as she held the door with one hand, and had that kiddie scooter in the other, she couldn’t physically coerce him this time. It took some creative maneuvering by her to get him in the Starbucks.
I wonder what kind of adult this kid will grow to become.
#WorkOnYourGame