UNITED STATES—Oh man, kids will be kids. I recently had an outing with my nieces at a shopping mall and I will tell you kids will be kids and they can be a chore especially when it comes to the realm of patience. I don’t mind shopping at times because I’m kind of an in-and-out type of shopper. I tend to know what I want. If I like it and it’s a good deal there is no question about it; I’m going to buy it.

My sister, that is a different beast. She will debate on whether to purchase an item for like 30 minutes or longer. My reply, if it’s taking you that long to make a decision that is a clear sign that it is something you do NOT need. The sentiment can be echoed for kids. One thing I have learned about children is they always want you to spend your money. No matter how much I attempt to teach my nieces and nephews the importance of managing money and spending and saving, they do what they want to do.

So, we’re at the mall, my niece who is a pre-teen on the cusp of a teen says she plans to buy some things. She had plenty of money and it was all up to her to spend it. The thing is she didn’t want to spend it, but the things she did spend it on baffled me. If you watch a kid purchase the things they purchase as an adult it can drive you insane. Why?

In my head they’re wasting money, but then I have to reflect back to the time when I was a kid. Guess what? I was doing the same thing. I was purchasing candy, gadgets and crafty stuff. Stuff my parent’s thought was ridiculous, but guess what, I was still purchasing those items. Kids don’t have patience at the mall, they whine and cry which is precisely what my younger niece did. She is spoiled rotten, and she DOES NOT LIKE TO WALK PEOPLE! She knows if she throws a fit here and there, she can get me to pick her up because I don’t want to hear it and when it comes to kids, I just don’t want to hear the crying.

So, I’m carrying her throughout the mall, and before you know it, I’m carrying all the coats and the bag, while everyone is having a time, and my arms are killing me. When I say my arms are killing me, I mean it fully. We might have been at the mall perhaps 60 to 90 minutes before the kids were already clamoring to go home. When kids get what they want, they are done people, and I mean done.

Restless, whining, annoying, and then getting annoyed when the adult wanted to go to a store they didn’t want to go to. What has the experience told me? Sometimes it is better to just leave the kids at home. Some kids are just not cut out for the mall, they don’t understand it, they don’t want to participate in it, they just don’t like to be part of that chaos.

Also you don’t want to deal with the massive crowds at times. There are people who just come to the mall and they are just literally in the way; walking as slow as possible and with no care in the world about the others around them and who are attempting to navigate amongst the masses people. In the future, kids should stay at home, adults just get the items for the kids, and save plenty of time and that unnecessary headache.

Written By Jason Jones