Yesterday, had a young family come in while we were in the midst of putting away our weekly shipment. A mom, a grandmom, and two kids, about 6 and 3 year old girls.

The 3 year old grabs a graphic novel off the shelf by the cover, and starts to wander around the store. I wince, but ignore it. The three year old then drops the book to the ground, and I see that the cardboard cover has been bent in half. I could:

A.) Ignore it, and hope the kid doesn't do any further damage. This is the Walmart solution. Employees are fired if they dare question a customer. Of course, Walmart can return the damaged product for full credit. We Can't.

B.) Get angry, demand that the mother buy the damaged book.

C.) Gently remove the book from the child's hand, and remark to the grandmother, "Comics aren't that cheap anymore. This book costs 8.00."

The mother can then do:

A. Apologize and offer the buy the book.

B. Apologize and tell the child to "Look but not Touch."

C. Get huffy, accuse you of being child unfriendly.

Obviously, since I'm writing this, you can guess what path the parent took.

It isn't surprising. Over the years, we've noticed that the kids who are most out of control have parents who exercise no discipline.