Someone Needs a Time-Out

©Lisa Barker

I took my son to the post office today. Little did I know that we had somehow stepped into a parallel universe. Apparently, the same scene was taking place at the University of Florida.

My son didn't want to abide by the rules. A number of times I had to pull him to my side and remind him what they are.

He didn't like it. He didn't like the rules. He didn't like that mom said "Enough," and that was to be the end of it. He had his own agenda and he wasn't about to abandon it.

So I grabbed his arm to keep him from running off and into traffic and he started screaming. He wrestled with me. He cried out. I had to restrain him. People gave me looks...especially when he started howling.

And I told him to be quiet. That's right. I revoked his freedom of speech because he wasn't following the rules, he was out of line and he was making a scene.

No kid of mine is ever going to grow up and get tasered by the police.

That's where the parallel ended because some people have made it to adulthood and they still don't get it.

What mother didn't cringe when she heard Andrew Meyer screaming "Ow, ow, ow, ow!" on the radio and television when police tasered him after he wrestled with them and refused to cooperate? Meyer ("Don't tase me , bro!") stole the show on September 19, 2007 at the University of Florida where John Kerry was speaking...by throwing a tantrum.

Mothers around the world have now lost a bit of power over their children whom they had, until this point, been carefully molding into responsible men and women. It used to be that a mother could use a bit of guilt. There was shame in making such a scene.

But thanks to the indiscretion of the media, children are bound to hear this guy and he'll sound just like they do when they don't want to do what their parents say. How will that encourage them to obey their parents? I can see mine now, waving picket signs in the front yard claiming I have killed their freedom of speech. "What did we do? What did we do?"

But if children don't respect their parents and the house rules, how will they respect the police and the rules of society when they grow up?

After our trip to the post office my son went to his room (in-house arrest). Then we talked.

"I didn't behave."

"What are the rules?"

"No running around."

"And?"

"Listen to Momma."

"And?"

"No talking back."

"That's right."

My four-year old gets it. Why doesn't Andrew Meyer?

Somebody needs a time-out.

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Jelly Mom™ is written by Lisa Barker, mother of five and author of "Just Because Your Kids Drive You Insane...Doesn't Mean You Are A Bad Parent!" and is syndicated through Parent To Parent™. To publish Jelly Mom, buy the book or leave comments, please visit http://www.jellymom.com. Sign up for the complimentary Jelly Mom™ weekly newsletter and receive a BONUS GIFT!