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Around the start of monsoon season summer, we heard from a couple Brooklyn moms who were outraged about Mr. Softee's mission to turn perfectly healthy children into sugar-addicted diabetic amputees. The ice cream truck backlash has only intensified since then, with anti-ice cream moms demanding death to Mr. Softee nationwide. In Chicago, ice cream trucks have been banned entirely from the 18th Ward, and here the group Asthma Free School Zone is urging principals to shoo the trucks away from schools. And then there's Vicki Sell, mother of 3-year-old Katherine and co-owner of the fish and chips mini-chain Chipshop, which doesn't exactly offer the healthiest cuisine in the world. She tells the Times, "I fall into the camp of parents who are irate...I want Katherine to have the full childhood experience and all. But it’s really predatory for them — two of them — to be right inside the playground like this." The "two of them" are the unlicensed pushcart frozen ice vendors who stalk the playground to seduce precious Katherine over to the sweet side. So now Sell calls 311 to defend her child from the peddlers. But still they come, and they've been driving Katherine to an "inconsolable meltdown."
Ice Cream "Predators" Targeting Park Slope Children!
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It's the same media that NEVER mentioned Muslims' hatred of Israel as a possible motive for 9/11.
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These parents suck. All they have to do is say no to their little spoiled brats if they don't want their kids eating that junk...but this is Park Slope. Kids rule with an iron fist here, and their parents succumb to their every whim. This is more about bad parenting than it is about 'predatory' advertising.
"All they have to do is say no to their little spoiled brats if they don't want their kids eating that junk..."
Personally, being told "No!" was an important part of my "full childhood experience and all."
But that was then, this is now.
being told "no" is a CRUCIAL part of disciplining your children. What happens when they go to school and the teachers tells them they can't do something??
"What happens when they go to school and the teachers tells them they can't do something??"
Uh... the parents file a lawsuit. Where've you been?
My wife has a hard time telling my kid no and then sticking to it. So what happens? He doesn't listen to her. When I put him to sleep he knows there's no messing around and he goes to sleep. When she does it it becomes a two-hour project with him running around the house and her asking for my help. She tells me stories about behavior that he just doesn't do when I'm around. Just say no to your kids and stand by it.
These parents are weak and spineless - they forget that they are the adults, and the child is the chid.
They should take some parenting lessons from working class/minority/immigrant parents, who do NOT tolerate that kind of brattiness from their offspring!
It's not the Mr Softee man's fault if you're too weak to say NO to precious little Morgan and Zoe!
Is it really the presence of the ice cream trucks leading the kids down a road of sugar-addiction and temper tantrums? Or is it this generation of parents not being able to say no to their children and really meaning it?
These women need to meet my mother, I swear from the age of 3 to 18 at least 25% of the words she said to me were "No", often followed by "because I said so" or "this isn't a debate".
Thanks for explaining how you grew up to be an ignorant douchebag.
thanks for outing yourself as a Park Slope mommy who will breast feed 'em till their college years
Seriously, have these people taken parenting 101? Ever heard of just say no to your little brat? My parents kept me poor and wouldn't give me cash to go to the ice cream truck. Problem solved.
So why are these kids running around with folding money in their pockets? No money, no ice cream, no problem.
NYC parents might want to focus on more important things, like putting their kids to bed before midnight (seriously).
Just say "NO". And she cries and doesn't like it than that is too bad. I didn't get ice cream every time I went to the park. I definitely asked and was told "no". I am tired of seeing parents trying to make an issue out of nothing. So now just because you can't deal with your own child and their tantrums it becomes everyone's problem. A little bit of crying never hurt anyone especially when they are crying because they aren't getting their way, not because they are hurt.
It should be noted that these kids get breastfed till they're 9 years old, so dairy intake from ice cream vendors should really be limited.
From the Times article:
“Sometimes you’ll see a child in a stroller parked right next to the exhaust pipe of the truck,” said Lori Bukiewicz
So, is that the fault of the guy who parked the truck there, or the parent who later parked the child in a stroller next to its exhaust pipe?
Only a total moron would leave a child in a stroller next to the exhaust pipe of a truck!
That's not the ice cream man's fault (he's inside the truck, after all) it's the idiot parent's fault!
Of course the vendors aren't stuffing the ice cream down their little throats, but can we get just a smidge of compassion here? The sound of children whining is horrible, and having two ice cream carts inside the playground is like having two beef vendors at the dog run. Even if you say no 10,000 times, it makes for a fairly unpleasant outing.
I especially hate it when the vendors come up to us halfway across the lawn while we are sitting on a picnic blanket, and address our children directly, asking them if they want ice cream. It's not fun having your kids hate on you for not giving them what they want, and it IS predatory for the vendors to put us in that position every f'ing day.
Frankly, I'd rather have a benchful of cigarette smokers--that would be less unpleasant.
I don't see why they aren't regulated the same way the other vendors are. You know exactly where to find the hot dog vendors, and if you need to, you can avoid those spots.
All the same, its ridiculous that this is a news item. International news bureaus are getting shut down all over the world, newspapers are folding in major cities, and we are left with mommies vs. ice cream vendors.
Do you write for The Onion?
I'm looking for just the slightest evidence of sarcasm in your post, but I can't find it. Well done.
Listening to children whine is just a part of parenting.
It's up to you, as the alleged grownup in the situation, to show some backbone and keep reminding the child that, no matter how much they whine, scream and bellyache, no means no
It's called parenting and yes, it is very hard to do - but you have to gut up and do it!
And if your precious little brat whines and bellyaches, there's always something called "spanking" - "I'll give you something to cry about!" - which will remind them who's in charge (you, not them!)
"having two ice cream carts inside the playground is like having two beef vendors at the dog run."
Only if you can't manage to get your children to more well-behaved than the average dog.
This is a perfect example of why I loathe Park Slope. I can't wait to move.
People! Don’t you see the EVIL behind these ice cream trucks! What does this world expect! I mean is my wife supposed to leave her friends at the Tea Lounge every time one of our kids NEEDS a double swirl cone with chocolate crunchies? I mean do you people REALLY think she can just excuse herself from her duties at the co-op and run down to JJ Byrne and police our nanny!?!? And what about me? Am I expected to shut down my 42 inch Mac Book, lace up my converse (there hi-tops and you know those just don’t slip on), run down from my fourth floor study in our brownstone to buy junior a sugar filled ice cream cone! Suppose he spills some on my faux vintage CBGB’s t-shirt! Summer time is not a time meant for frolic in the sprinklers at the park or for climbing monkey bars and being a “NORMAL CHILD” it’s a time for us to rise up against average happy kids, drink our soy milk latte’s and wave our holier than thou fingers at people!
Tell your kids NO and be miserable like our parents were when we acted LIKE CHILDREN & I am NEVER eating at the Chip Shop again, dumb ass.
Okay, moving the trucks from schools, that I kinda get... but you can't seriously expect them to stay away from PUBLIC PLAYGROUNDS?! Mr./Mrs. Softee's gotta make a living too...!
I also detest this use of the word predatory in this context. It makes them sound like pedophiles/child molesters when they are simply selling ice cream. Vicki Sell needs to chill.
Vicki Sell needs to stuff one of her fried Twinkies you know where.
Ridiculous. Why on earth should a kid not have an ice cream cone from a Mr. Softee truck in the summer? Isn't that a part of childhood?
There is something seriously wrong with parenting today. One ice-cream cone does not lead to obesity/diabetes, if it is balanced with a healthy diet and plenty of exercise.
I agree this is a ridiculous story, but I am getting tired of this vilification of Park slope. Chicago, Wisconsin, Cambridge, and Portland are also mentioned in the story. Are there a lot of families in Park Slope? Yes. But are they any different from families in the aforementioned cities? No.
Gothamist, I get it, Park Slope=spoiled children/over protective children, Williamsburg=arrogant hipsters etc. Maybe you can get some original stereotypes now?
Um, there's a reason this site is called "Gothamist". If we wanted to comment about other cities we'd go on their sites.
If eugenics were to reemerge as a serious scientific pursuit, it would be in Park Slope.
These parents need to be put on time out.
My daughter is four. We're often at the Harmony Playground after camp. Occasionally I buy a $1 icy. But, my daughter has been taught the meaning of the word "no." Sure, I get protests and whining. In response I threaten, and make good on the threat, to leave.
Weak willed parents who don't have the fortitude to discipline their children are far worse than the icy-man. They set a poor example for well healed children. Making life more difficult for everyone.
Oh good, Gothamist commenters give advice on how to raise children.
I am the person quoted in the Times story and I don’t feel my point of view was accurately reflected. My complaint about the ice vendors is that they are unlicensed and illegally sell to children in a place they are not allowed. They have had the scoop out and are about to serve my 3-year-old before I make it to the scene. I called 311 once (not multiple times) to inquire about their legal standing. They do not have sanction from any health authority to handle food and there’s no telling where their product comes from. I had hoped that would be played up in the article. And yes, I do feel that bringing these carts into the playground is predatory. They are run out over and over by the police or parks people but come back time and time again. I don’t have any problem with legal vendors outside the playground in areas they are licensed for -- despite what the article says. I’m all for people making a living and for people to choose the time and the place to buy treats for their children. We eat plenty of ice cream and I don't have a vendetta against Mister Softee. I did discuss these points for the article but I don’t see them there. In fact while I was being interviewed we bought ice pops for our children from a licensed vendor. Vicki Sell
They don't deserve to live!!! You better shut them down like the little girl with the lemonade stand!
Why does your 3 year old child even have money to buy ice cream with?
Because you gave it to her!
If your kid didn't have money in her pocket, the ice cream man wouldn't serve her, because he makes his living selling ice cream, and he's not going to give it away.
Basically, YOU are responsible for your own kids - not the City, not the ice cream man, not anybody else but you.
So woman up and learn how to be a real parent and say no to your little brats - rather than trying to take money out of the pockets of hard working vendors!
***And then there's Vicki Sell, mother of 3-year-old Katherine and co-owner of the fish and chips mini-chain Chipshop, which doesn't exactly offer the healthiest cuisine in the world***
Nor the best-tasting either.
I would think that the owner of the Chip Shop would be a little more understanding. I'm sure that there are plenty of people out there that are hooked on their fried food. Should they be run out of the Slope too.
I'm guessing that the kids in Park Slope which tend to be over privileged and under disciplined, are starting to actually annoy the parents. Who's the boss people..... You or your kids. Do you really have nothing better to complain about.
Ms. Sell might very well be a cool person; did it ever occur to any of you that perhaps she was wildly misquoted or misrepresented in the article and it's the journalist who's a douche-bag? Could be. In any case, the REAL issue is why all you Brooklyn bloggers and commenters are so dang mean-spirited. WHY DO YOU CARE? Why do you give a rat's ass about Ms. Sell's parenting technique and/or her attitude toward ice cream vending? If you have this much time and energy to spend on publicly hating someone you read about in a goofy NYT article, you need to get either a job or a hobby. Find somewhere to slosh your inane venom other than on a perfect stranger.