How Not To Be A Parent: Part I

I've always believed that you can learn some of life's greatest lessons through mistakes.  Usually they are your own mistakes, but sometimes you just witness that certain level of stupidity or ignorance, and learn from someone else's.  Lately, I have noticed a lot of perfect examples of how NOT to be a parent.  Here are my latest take aways I'd like to share.

What I have seen, and learned NOT to do:

-Leave your children unattended at a store. Especially when there is a lot of things for then to make a mess with, or people who could kidnap them...although, the latter could potentially be a goal of some bad parents...

-Give your toddler your phone to keep them quiet. First of all, it is not healthy for a young child to be glued to a device, unless your intention is for them to be attention deficit. Two, they should learn to entertain themselves without expecting instant gratification 24/7. Patience is a virtue. 

-Allow the television or computer to be their babysitter, instead of you spending time with them.

-Allow them to scream at the top of their lungs in public. For no reason. Like, seriously. Ear-splitting pitches, and they are NOT being murdered or kidnapped. Because being tuned out to your child's blood-curdling screech is such a good idea...

-Allow them to run around, unsupervised in public. Literally run around. So they can bump into someone and get hurt and hurt someone else. And if they can scream on the top of their lungs while running, all the better.

-Encourage them to pretend to be taller when trying to get on a ride, in hopes that they can trick the workers into letting them on, even though they are too short for their own safety. Because those height requirements are not for my kids!

Seriously. You need a license to catch a fish, but not have or raise a child. What us wrong with that picture?