What Does This Say About The Future Of American Society?

Today’s U.K. Mail online reported that there has been a spike in fights recently at Chuck E. Cheese restaurants. Now I will admit that it has been a few years since I was in a Chuck E. Cheese–my youngest child turns 39 this year–but I don’t remember fights being part of the entertainment.

The article reports:

The elements within the environment can stimulate aggressive, impulsive behaviors,’ Dr. Dean Leav, told HLN. Not to be underestimated, Leav said, is the indulgence of alcohol.

‘Situations that involve a group of excited people and alcohol can often lead to acts of violence. A classic example is the fights that frequently break out during baseball games,’ she said.

But Chuck E. Cheese hasn’t always been a place where fights routinely happen. According to the company, in its more than 35 years, there has been a relatively small amount of violence.

In 2012, 99.99% of approximately 65 million guest visits at Chuck E. Cheese’s occurred without incident and resulted in smiles,” the company said.

Leay said that witnessing these types of incidents can be harmful to children long-term.

‘Many adults have poor impulse control,’ he said. “They frequently fail to consider the consequences of their actions even when kids are present.’

The last statement above is a bit scary–if adults have poor impulse control, how can they teach their children to have good impulse control.

No one is a perfect parent–they don’t exist, but there are many resources available to help parents with their own impulse control and to help parents become better parents to their children. Chuck E. Cheese should be a place to have fun–fights are totally out of order.

Just a note–as I said–I’m past the Chuck E. Cheese stage, but when I retired, my boss allowed me to have my retirement party at Dave & Busters. I told him I was retiring–I wasn’t dead–and wanted to have fun. That was a wonderful way to retire!

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