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I find it weird that no one has commented on public versus private. Children need to be taught the difference between public and private behavior. I find a 10-year-old boy's insistence on sitting on his mother's lap not, on the surface, offensive, but I would certainly give it more than just a passing look in a public coffee shop.
One of the greatest gifts we can give children is the distinction between private feelings (which are OK no matter what) and public behavior (which may have to be explained as having not so much to do with feelings as with consideration to those around us). Judging from a lot of kids' behavior, I think we confuse the two. Ditto for behavior inside versus outside the home. Why indeed should we be as repressed inside the home as we are on the sidewalk? And why, conversely, should we let it all hang out in public?
