I'll admit, this is something that's been bugging me for a long time now. I saw a clip about this family just now, who got booted off a flight because their 2 year old threw a temper tantrum. The girl wouldn't stay seated, was constantly agitating her sibling, and the parents couldn't get her buckled in. When they finally did manage to, they were told by flight attendents that they'd taken too long to do so, and the pilot had already decided to turn the plane around, and they got kicked off.
This is an issue that I'm personally pretty fed up with, having taken public transportation every day, for several years. There is almost always some family who feels the need to bring all five of the hell spawn brood along with them on a train or bus. These little monsters will then spend the entire trip (they're always going to the very last stop on the line, likely the very same one you are) screaming, shouting, running around, and generally misbehaving. On the occasions where I've spoken up and asked people to take control of their children, I'm usually given a reply similar to, "Oh, that's just how children are, you can't understand because you don't have children. You're obviously a horrible person who thinks parents should have no social life, and just stay at home with their kids all the time."
To be fair, no, I don't have kids. I don't care to, either. These self-righteous parents seem to treat rights as a one-way street, though. Often I hear about how they've got every right to be on the train, bus, or whatever, and that I'm attempting to be some sort of tyrant. Just as parents with small children have their right to be on a plane or train, other paying customers have some rights they should reasonably be able to expect. I shouldn't have to deal with your 3 year old kicking the back of my seat the entire trip, after I've asked you four times if you'd please stop him, and you give me an evil eye and keep chatting on your cell phone about who's sleeping with who at the bar. We, as a whole, shouldn't have to cope with your children running up and down the aisle, intermittently stopping to scream and shout at the top of their lungs. If I did the stuff a lot of these kids did, I'd get me and all my friends kicked off the train after two stops. There's no way in hell we'd be allowed to stay on from one end of the line to the other.
I understand little kids will have a hard time sitting still for two or three hours at a stretch. Really, I understand that. If your kid has a couple outbursts, I can deal with that, as long as you take control of things, and get him to calm down. What I can't deal with is the kids who misbehave horribly the entire trip, while their parents give you a look that clearly says, "What do you want me to do? It's not my fault, that's how kids are." I think my mother did a pretty good job of solving this dilemma. Until I demonstrated that I was able to sit still and behave myself for long enough, she didn't take me on public means of transportation with her. Sometimes I stayed at home with my father. If he had something to do, I'd go over to my aunt's house for the weekend, or stay with a family friend. Being reasonable and willing to compromise could go a long way here towards all the passengers getting along. Do mom and dad really both need to be on this trip? Maybe one could stay home and watch the little kids for the day. Can you maybe get a friend to watch them for a day? Get your friend a case of beer or something, and he'll probably be willing to help you out. If you can't find anyone to watch the kids, and both parents need to go (or maybe it's a single parent), actually do some parenting. Take some control over your kids, instead of sitting there looking helpless and glaring at anyone who asks you to do so.
For the family in the linked article, I have a hard time feeling much sympathy for them. If you can afford a vacation to the Turks and Caicos, you can probably afford a baby sitter to watch your kid for a week while you're gone. Anyone else who's bothered by this? Any parents who'd like to tell me I'm an inconsiderate monster? I really think a little consideration both ways could do a lot of good to resolve this.
This is an issue that I'm personally pretty fed up with, having taken public transportation every day, for several years. There is almost always some family who feels the need to bring all five of the hell spawn brood along with them on a train or bus. These little monsters will then spend the entire trip (they're always going to the very last stop on the line, likely the very same one you are) screaming, shouting, running around, and generally misbehaving. On the occasions where I've spoken up and asked people to take control of their children, I'm usually given a reply similar to, "Oh, that's just how children are, you can't understand because you don't have children. You're obviously a horrible person who thinks parents should have no social life, and just stay at home with their kids all the time."
To be fair, no, I don't have kids. I don't care to, either. These self-righteous parents seem to treat rights as a one-way street, though. Often I hear about how they've got every right to be on the train, bus, or whatever, and that I'm attempting to be some sort of tyrant. Just as parents with small children have their right to be on a plane or train, other paying customers have some rights they should reasonably be able to expect. I shouldn't have to deal with your 3 year old kicking the back of my seat the entire trip, after I've asked you four times if you'd please stop him, and you give me an evil eye and keep chatting on your cell phone about who's sleeping with who at the bar. We, as a whole, shouldn't have to cope with your children running up and down the aisle, intermittently stopping to scream and shout at the top of their lungs. If I did the stuff a lot of these kids did, I'd get me and all my friends kicked off the train after two stops. There's no way in hell we'd be allowed to stay on from one end of the line to the other.
I understand little kids will have a hard time sitting still for two or three hours at a stretch. Really, I understand that. If your kid has a couple outbursts, I can deal with that, as long as you take control of things, and get him to calm down. What I can't deal with is the kids who misbehave horribly the entire trip, while their parents give you a look that clearly says, "What do you want me to do? It's not my fault, that's how kids are." I think my mother did a pretty good job of solving this dilemma. Until I demonstrated that I was able to sit still and behave myself for long enough, she didn't take me on public means of transportation with her. Sometimes I stayed at home with my father. If he had something to do, I'd go over to my aunt's house for the weekend, or stay with a family friend. Being reasonable and willing to compromise could go a long way here towards all the passengers getting along. Do mom and dad really both need to be on this trip? Maybe one could stay home and watch the little kids for the day. Can you maybe get a friend to watch them for a day? Get your friend a case of beer or something, and he'll probably be willing to help you out. If you can't find anyone to watch the kids, and both parents need to go (or maybe it's a single parent), actually do some parenting. Take some control over your kids, instead of sitting there looking helpless and glaring at anyone who asks you to do so.
For the family in the linked article, I have a hard time feeling much sympathy for them. If you can afford a vacation to the Turks and Caicos, you can probably afford a baby sitter to watch your kid for a week while you're gone. Anyone else who's bothered by this? Any parents who'd like to tell me I'm an inconsiderate monster? I really think a little consideration both ways could do a lot of good to resolve this.
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