Go play in the street

My paternal grandfather always used to tell us to go play in the street. I forget what context he said it in, but I think it was when we were at their house and bored.



So today at the supermarket parking lot I saw some really neglectful parenting. I put my bags in the car and got into my car to back out. But the "parent" in the car next to me was so preoccupied with loading her bags in the car that she didn't notice her son running around in the parking lot, standing behind my car (which was turned on and had my lights on). Now, this is a very busy lot and is adventurous just to drive in. If I were a parent, I'd have my child wait in the car while I was loading, especially if I knew they were that active. Or she should have at least said something to him and told him to settle down. Someone more impatient than me, and I was feeling impatient today, might have said something to her, but I just waited for the 5 minutes for her to put her bags away while her kid ran all over in the parking lot.