of child behavior and socialization

I just came back from running errands and having lunch at chickfila with the kids. After lunch I took them into the play area, and sat on the bench fiddling with my knitting while they played. Well, Maggie did - it was loud and crowded enough that Jamie mostly stood near me and watched.

There were some kids there who were a bit big for the play area, and who were being way too loud, rough, and bullying. It got bad enough that when one of them came down the slide I made him come over to the door where the "no bigger than this" line was, pointed out that he was technically over it, and if he was going to play in there he needed to be gentler and remember that this was for the little kids. He tried to blow me off about it, I had to repeat it and get sterner to get an acknowledgement. He was later telling the other kids he'd run to to his mother to tell her that a stranger had talked to him - she later came in and asked "if there was an issue". I said yes, explained what he'd been doing and what I said. She didn't give me a hard time, but didn't look like she was going to be any help on the subject, either.

I finally decided it was too much and took the kids out of there earlier than I'd planned. Ironically I think we get a higher class of kid there than the average.

Sigh. I *hate* confrontations, even with kids. But I'm a Mama, and I have to do what needs to be done. I've pretty routinely been stopping kids who ran in and saying "You have to take your shoes off and put them in the cubby."

It really does drive home how many badly behaved bully kids there are out there, and how many lackadaisical parents who don't care and don't uphold standards go with them. It renews my determination to be, by current standards, a very strict parent. And to keep my kids away from bad influences like those kids (Maggie and I had a talk about why I don't want her to act like that), and give them good ones. It reminds me why I want to homeschool. And I'm going to keep this as an example to give to all the people who don't know much about homeschooling, whose first response is always "But what about socializaaaaation??" Fegh. Most of the kids out there, I don't *WANT* my kid socializing with.

As I told Karl on the phone earlier, I want their upbringing to be more like Little House on the Prairie and less like Lord of the Flies.

new knitting equipment

I just got back from buying knitting supplies at Staples.

No, really. Many thanks to tmc4242, who suggested zip ties / cable ties for the flexible stitch holders I wanted. I got a color assorted pack of 50. I'm using two at a time - one holding the stitches, one reversed against it to fasten it. It seems to be working well, and it's certainly colorful. Those stitches aren't going anywhere, I don't have hard rigid stitch holders to deal with, no stray circular points to poke me, and this is good. We'll see how it goes. This afternoon I'm going to start on one of the front yokes!

Stitch holders in use

cflute wanted to see how I'm using the cable ties as stitch holders
( click for picture )

The stuff on white yarn is the underarm stitches. I have one half of the front yoke-to-be on holders, the other is about to get more work knit on it. I knit up the back, and it is now on three sets of holders - the middle set will be worked into the neckline, the right and left halves will get a three-needle bindoff with the front yokes.