Lynda Loveland: Disciplining other kids???

What those kids did was reprehensible. I think we’ve all thought about what we would do if we witnessed it happening. That’s an extreme case of misbehavior, if you can even call it that. (It’s far too mild of a description, but you get my drift.) But it brings up a question: Is it OK to discipline other people’s kids when they’re misbehaving?

I know some parents who get bent out of shape if anyone else “corrects” their children. They want to be the sole disciplinarian.

I get that, to a point. Discipline starts at home. But … parents can’t be around their kids 24-7 and kids aren’t perfect. I don’t have any problem correcting kids in my house. And I definitely don’t have a problem with other parents correcting mine.

If my kids screw up, they should be called on it. If safety is an issue, then it’s a given. You hope you’ve instilled right and wrong in your children so they can make the right choice, but again, they’re kids and they’re learning.

It gets a little trickier if you’re out in public, say a mall or restaurant. If a kid's behavior is really bad I would say yes, put on your disciplinarian hat and say something. But what if it’s just bad and not really bad? It’s a fine line.

You can’t be a parent to everyone, or can you?