Kids behaving badly (in public)

[Kitsa]

I almost saw a toddler off himself yesterday.

I was behind them going into a hospital to pick something up, and you could see how it was going to be from the beginning. Kid was running around wildly, a good 10-15 feet from the mom at all times, and she wasn't paying a damn bit of attention. In front of the hospital, the kid actually darted into the street, and the valet had to shout and call him back. The mom just kept on walking.

So inside the hospital, the mom is still just moseying around and the kid is going berzerk, jumping on chairs and running into people and climbing into the registration ladies' cubbyholes to snatch stuff off their desks. He'd grab files and throw them on the floor and laugh. Everyone waited for the mom to say something and she never did. You could see people looking at each other like, "Should I?" A couple of patients told him to stop and get off the chairs, but he'd just laugh and do it more. Then the employees started on the mom, telling her she couldn't just let him run around like that. She only responded once, lifting him by one arm and swatting him on the ass, saying he couldn't "go bye-byes" with her "no more". He kept on, and soon employees and random old ladies were chasing him around.

The area we were in was on the second floor and the layout is kind of like a shopping mall. There's a cutaway with a short glass-bottomed railing, then a shelf with plants, then a good 20-25 foot drop to the marble floor below. Of course this kid climbs the railing and balances by his waist, head down, trying to reach the plants. There was a collective gasp. It was like one of those "Amazing Videos" clips about to happen. Now everyone is up and at the railing, even people who were hobbling, wheeling, or dragging themselves over. Everyone except the mom, of course, who is asking the registration woman questions like nothing is happening. A cleaning lady is shouting at the kid, trying to talk him down. People are trying to reach for his leg without knocking him over. People are running for the elevator and stairs.

The registration woman finally gets the mother's attention off herself and points. The mom just sighs, grabs the kid by the leg, drags him back and plops him in the chair at the registration desk. "You sit here while momma goes to the bathroom or else we won't go bye-byes no more."

No one could believe it.

Best part....she was about 7 months pregnant with another one.

What would you have done?