Parental example

[abstibus]

I saw a family walking along the street this evening. The young boy was eating a takeaway and threw the container onto the ground. The father turned back, and I thought he was going to lift it.
He didn't - he took the remaining sausage from it, put it in his great gob and walked on.

[MarkRae]

Unbelievable! If I'd done what the young boy did, my late father would have gone berserk on me. How on earth have we allowed our country to get to this...?

[annie0000]

Me too Mark. I may moan when I find my kids pockets stuffed with all manner of rubbish, including orange peel!! But I prefer that to the thought that they would drop stuff in the street.

[erin-x]

That's gross! I just don't understand these people...

[welshlibranr]

Oh! How disgusting!......no wonder lots of youngsters these days don't have any manners or social graces!.......

[annie0000]

What I find astounding too is that they have kids on litter duty at school where they have to go round picking up litter during breaks and lunchtimes......they have bins and kids should know not to drop litter. What is it actually teaching them if they have others just picking up after them?? My method would involve issuing baseball bats to the kids instead of litter picking sticks and whenever they see a child drop litter, they deliver a swift blow to the back of the legs and continue until the miscreant picks up the item and deposits it in the bin........it may sound harsh, but it would work i think :o)

[MarkRae]

I think that would just encourage the bullies, Annie.

My parents brought me up not to drop litter because I wasn't better than anyone else, therefore I had no right to expect anyone to pick up after me.

[Mick-Talbot]

I have my kids well trained.

My eldest son called me out of the house two days ago.
A taxi was dropping someone off two doors down.

"dad that taxi driver has just thrown a tissue and a bottle out of his car"

I went out picked them up and threw them back in the car straight on to his lap
I politely ( ok maybe a tad sarcasticly too) said.
I think you have dropped something .

He was. Speechless.



Litter bugs should be shot.

Ps
Smokers should be tasered

[parkie]

On the obverse side, my OH and I went for a walk yesterday with four old friends which took us along a narrow path on a sea wall. A group of about eight lads aged about 12-15 years old were going back and forth on some kind of exercise, (I think they were scouts but weren't in uniform), and their manners were impeccable.
They said 'excuse me please,' 'thank you,' and were an example to whoever they represented.
I should have asked which organisation they were from.
The only thing is, I said to my wife afterwards how surprised I was at their beautiful manners. I think it is an indictment of things this day and age that we are surprised when we come across good manners.

[boxtops]

MT, my friend did that with fag-ends when some lowlife tipped his ashtray out of the window outside her house. Brilliant.

[sherrardk]

My children don't drop litter, they shove it in their pockets and it goes in the washing machine instead (originally typed wishing machine which would be so much better!).

[boxtops]

we went to an outside event a few months back and the whole family next to us - adults and children - threw everything out of the car window as they finished eating and drinking. It was disgusting, they just drove away from it.

[Dee Sa]

I was walking the dog and had to pick up his "whoopsie" a little girl passing by said - dont do that leave it for the council thats what my mum does.

[factor-fiction]

I saw a woman's umbrella blow inside out and break. She just threw it down on the pavement and walked on. I don't know who she thought would clear it up.
I often see people throw empty cans/plastic bottles or crisp/sandwich wrappers on the pavement. I sometimes pick them up and say 'you dropped this' but often, rather than lose face with their mates, they'll simply toss it on the floor again.
Maybe this has always been a problem though- do we have rose-tinted glasses on these issues?