Safety last
A 30-ish father is having something of a rough time corraling his 5-year-old daughter on the Red Line north during rush hour.
She won't sit where he tells her. She wants to stand on the seat. She wants to kneel on the seat. She wants to stand in the aisle.
Finally, getting exasperated, he threatens her with a timeout and lectures her: "Remember, safety first." She slams back into the seat and taunts him:
"No! Safety last!"
I shake my head at this. When I was a kid, if I had acted like that my mom would've spanked me right then and there. She then would've sat me down and told me not to move or I would get some more. And if I had talked back, I'd get some more from my pops when we got home.
The crazy thing is no one would think that she was abusing me. My mother was big on discipline, and wasn't scared to light it up in public.
My sisters and I learned pretty quickly to behave ourselves when we were out.
Parents today seem to be too worried about protecting their child, and how they might be perceived. I see stuff like this and I think: "Bad Parenting."
Posted by: Cliff | March 15, 2007 at 08:45 AM
That wouldn't happen on the south side. That kid would have gotten a spanking.
Posted by: Levois | March 15, 2007 at 10:32 AM
Fast forward 10 years -- yikes!
Posted by: Kevin B. O'Reilly | March 15, 2007 at 11:23 AM
"Fast forward 10 years -- yikes!"
...to when she's an L conductor?
Posted by: quack | March 15, 2007 at 11:44 AM
Conductor? That kid has upper CTA management written all over her. :)
Posted by: Flynn | March 15, 2007 at 02:14 PM
Speaking of safety, I've got a story to share. A friend and I were transferring to the Orange Line at Washington on Wednesday when we overheard a CTA attendant talking loudly to another, "Did you hear? An Orange Line train pulled into Pulaski with no brakes!" They both laugh. That's not exactly what we wanted to hear, but hey, gotta love the CTA!
Posted by: Kate | March 15, 2007 at 10:24 PM