I think the world has become two polar opposites when it comes to parenting. On one side, you've got the parents who do nothing with their kids - the hands-off parents whose kids you see roaming the streets at dusk - and the way too hands on parents, who stop their kids from breathing too loudly. Those parents, though trying hard to make sure their kids don't end up in the "what do you want to do now?" roamers who eventually end up doing something illegal, are actually doing harm to their kids as well by being too strict. If too many fences are put up, human nature tells us to knock the fences down! And once the fence is down...the animals roam free. That's not the way.

You need to give the kids some leash. Let them go a little bit. Let them be kids. Who cares if you get a few dirty looks from stuck up Grandma in the cereal aisle? She can be indignant. She can think "those kids aren't well behaved." That's her OPINION. In my opinion my kids are perfectly behaved. Not too wild. Not too boring. Just right. And that knowledge makes me smile while they are dumping out the captain crunch on the floor.