Code of Conduct & Parental Guidance

It's Sunday morning 8am and I'm woken up by a screaming child. At first I thought it was someone passing by on the footroad outside my house on their way to the parking lot. It wasn't. It was my closest neighbours who had their, I think, grandchild on a visit. The child continued to scream in the garden and making irritating noises which made it impossible to go back to sleep.

I don't think that's at all an acceptable behaviour, to let the child go all crazy in the garden that early on a Sunday morning, many of us like and need to have our sleep on weekends. Our houses are so close to eachother, as are our gardens, and a bit of common sense and respect is of course fundamental when living like this.

I don't let the dog out to bark at unearthly hours. I'm sure that wouldn't be appreciated. And no, neither is a screaming child.

But somehow this is a bit too common, too typical Swedish nowadays; let the children run free, no strict rules, well really, no rules at all, no boundaries are set, not the very least bit educative upbringing to be found. This is one of the things I often - and sadly enough, my experience is that it's also one of the things foreign visitors comment on regulary when visiting Sweden or Swedish families with children visit other countries - associate Swedish child rearing with, the frequent and obvious lack of good behaviour and parental guidance.

I'm not sure when everything went the wrong way in Sweden - and I'm sure in some other countries too... - , when grown ups, and mostly parents of course - since they are the ones who chose to bring children to this world and therefore are mainly responsible for bringing up caring, wellbehaved, moral citizens with love AND rules of behaviour - stopped caring about this.

The most annoying thing is that so many, far too many parents get really defensive when someone else actually gives a s*t and calls attention to unacceptable behaviour. If parents for some reason, or not, are uncapable to take care and look after their offspring someone else obviously has to be able to have a say. When freeroaming children for example are disturbing paying customers at a restaurant, hotel, concert... It's just not acceptable in any way or form.

I heave a deep sigh, no wonder the world's a mess when it's so easy to have a child and siblings, and then neglect the aftermath that's called upbringing...

I read a really poignant and well-formulated article about code of conduct when at restaurants with children, and otherwise in public, only in Swedish and you'll find it here

But I must say, and sometimes it's the littlest things that makes a day, I did get a bit of a revenge last night. At about 3 am I woke up and headed for the toilet. Malte wanted to have a pee in the garden so I let him out - and he's well aware of the fact that one really doesn't bark or roam around at that time of the night.

But there were intruders, large, scary intruders in the garden i e crows and he upheaved a bark, and then some more. And then of course I had to do the right thing and give a dogental guidance - I came running stark naked, half asleep out in the garden trying to silence the dogloaffie down and get him to come inside.

With all the wibbly-wobbly parts for everyone to see - at that moment the two thoughts in my mind were: Ha, ha, vengeance is mine at this unearthly hour and oh my, am I grateful that there aren't any paparazzis hanging aroung in this neighbourhood! At least I think there aren't...

intressant.se