Okay, so I definitely have a rant. I'm pretty sure just about everyone who has worked some level of retail will agree with this.

So, I work at Wal-Mart. I also happen to be the Toys Associate. My issue is this: Parents who bring their children into the store, and send them off to my department like it's the freaking Ronald McDonald play place or some department store daycare while they shop. This bothers me on several levels, and I'm going to list every single one of them right now. First of all, your child isn't my problem. Yes, it is my job to look out for my customer's safety, and you shouldn't just leave your child to their own devices in a public setting like Wal-Mart. Not only do we have loads of dirt bags, idiots, rednecks, and obviously ignorant and stupid parents, we also have pedophiles and registered sex offenders that come into our store all willy nilly. Now, this man/woman could walk up to the kid, look me in the eyes and tell me they were the kid's uncle/aunt, and off they go with your child. I'll think nothing of it because I don't know you, I don't know your child or your child's abductor. There you are, short one child, and an irreconcilable mess because you just let your child wander off without supervision. This is on you, and you get to live with that. THIS is the primary issue I have with parents leaving their kids in my department.

The second issue I have is that it heavily hinders my workflow. Because they are "customers" and they are also children, I have to keep an eye on them because I don't want them to TEAR INTO MY MERCHANDISE and play with every toy they see, which is considered theft, by the way. Granted, when they do this, I'm gonna call you to have you take them away from my department, and now we've both wasted time with this fiasco. I am not your child's babysitter. I am here to make sure my department looks clean and professional, as well as put new toys on the shelf for your little mongrels to tear up.

The third issue coincides with the second issue, and that's the attitudes. The ones that I get from children from, and even better, the ones I get from parents after I call them over to retrieve their misbehaved child. This is where I spout my "terrible parenting" rant. I won't do that, here. But, if your child comes into my area, starts tearing stuff open like it's perfectly normal, then throws a fit about it when I scold them about doing it, there's something wrong there. Even worse, when the parent comes at me with the same kind of disrespect and attitude the parent had. Okay, your child was tearing open a product, or making a huge mess, or upsetting other customers, and I asked them to stop doing that. When I asked them to stop, they mocked me, screamed at me, or threw something at me. So yeah, I called you to come take care of them. If it was my kid, I wouldn't be exchanging word with the adult, I'd be exchanging words with the kid, and probably be some level of discipline when we got home. Look, I get it, you want to defend your child's honor or whatever. But, there were actual illegal things happening that an adult could get arrested for and even face jail time for, and you're perfectly okay with that happening.

This is just my every day, and people wonder why I'm so stressed, or why I hate my job, or why I'm "so angry all the time." This is one thing. One thing I deal with out of my entire day. If any of you are parents, or planning to be parents, don't be this kind of parent. Don't let your children do whatever the heck they please. Thanks for reading.