h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

How proud,
your mammy must be.

You charming young man.

She is, and ooh,

thank you!



H.

In the public arena, I regard children as similar to mobile phones.

With a little care from the parents and a little understanding from those around, kids in public are generally fine. If they scream, take them away from the crowds. If they run around and cause mischief, restrain them. Prams are not weapons.

There are however, some places I feel they should be banned!
Restaurants - especially romantic ones. Many a candlelight dinner has been ruined by a screaming brat. (Obviously this does not apply to "family" restaurants.)
Movies and theatres. (Same proviso, if you go to see a Disney film then kids are expected.)
My house.

I can understand some of the feelings in this thread, I've seen badly behaved parents allow their children to do all sorts of things. I've even despaired of my own friends who tell their kids to stop doing something, but never make a move to get off their backside to make them stop. Then they say 'they never do what I tell them'.

But it would be nice if adults - who have the experience and good sense that children don't have - could be a little more tolerant. I do agree that there are a lot of parents who could try a little harder, but the best way to deal with noisy tantrums *is* to ignore them.

"the best way to deal with noisy tantrums *is* to ignore them"

Ignoring it probably is the best way - for the parent. After all, it's certainly the least effort, and the sort of parent who tends to ignore a screaming child in public looks, in my experience, like the type to avoid effort wherever possible.

That may be acceptable in the child's home - but taking a child prone to such behaviour out into a public place is simply inconsiderate. It is the parent saying "my convenience - my Bod-given right to shop - is more important than your right to walk around in relative peace and comfort", where "you" is every other person out that day.

If someone went into a shop where you were browsing for books and started playing a Rammstein CD at top volume on a stereo the size of a suitcase, would you ignore them? Would you expect the store management to ignore them? Or would you expect them to be told in no uncertain terms to shut the racket up or get out?

All it takes is for the parents to appreciate that they aren't the only people in the world, and that while to them their little darling is, I'm sure, a precious and unique snowflake, to me it is indistinguishable from every other screaming stinking sack of racket in a pram.

SOME parents do show that basic level of courtesy and consideration - at least one such has posted to this thread. It's just a shame the rest aren't as well-mannered.

H.

To be honest, if someone put Rammstein on I'd start rocking out.....

Whilst it is true that all children have an off day, even the best behaved ones, that doesn't alter the fact that there are some parents out there who do nothing to discourage bad behaviour. I was in a changing room a couple of months ago and two little boys ran in and out of my cubicle several times until I lost my temper and shouted at them. Their mother in the next cubicle, who had been studiously ignoring them, appologised and sent them out to their father who should have been watching them in the first place! There is no need for very small children to be running around in shops, often well out of sight of their parents. When something happens to these children (ie, they fall down an escalator or run headlong into someones trolley) their parents, who usually didn't even witness the indcident because they were too far away, blame everyone except themselves.

I know parenting is difficult, which is why I haven't got involved with it myself. Most parents do a good job and most kids are really not that bad, but the ones who get in your way when you go shopping this week will be the same ones that got in your way last week.

"taking a child prone to such behaviour out into a public place is simply inconsiderate"

Because children can't be controlled like robots they shouldn't be taken out in public?

I get the feeling that all the people without kids posting to this thread are seeing this as black and white, whereas all us parents are seeing different shades of grey. Of course kids can't be locked up all day on the offchance that they will kick off, but then again if your child does start acting up, then it is your responsibility to sort him or her out.
I think that that has pretty much summed it up.

I could be wrong though.....