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It has to be pretty bad, because when Laurie and I go out with our kids shopping we actually get compliments on how well behaved our kids are from the clerks, just because they aren't screeming and demanding things. An example happend just the other day, there is a coffee house around the corner and we all walk there in the mornings before I start working. Next to the cash register there is a huge glass case with cakes and pastries, and even as an adult with some self control I have trouble turning down one of the treats. One of my twins (he's 3) sees the giant cookies and asks if they can have one and I tell him "not today, maybe next time we come in." He looked sad for a moment but then he moved along to notice something else and forgot all about it. Then after the owner gave me my coffee she actually pulled me aside and complimented me on how well behaved the kids were, she said anytime that someone brings their kids in the store they just scream and demand things and cry if they don't get them. We get compliments like that a lot. And it always surprises me. My kids are 3 and 5 and they understand that there is a certain way that are expected to behave. I think a lot of it has to do with expectations. I've seen toddlers throwing insane tamtrums, screeming and fighting and hitting people. And their parents just saying "Oh that's just what toddlers do." No, no it's not what toddlers do. None of my 3 kids have ever done that, ever. A lot of people don't realize that parenting is an active process. It's not just reacting to the things a child does. If you, as a parent, create situations where a child can learn the way they are expected to behave they will figure it out quickly. Kids are smart, and their brains are designed to sort out cultural norms through observation, they've been doing it for a million years. The thing is TV can't teach it. And I think that is where a lot of people fail.
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