Screaming Kids in Public Places

[Lágnætti]

People who set live animals on fire because for any reason, let alone petty affronts to their big male ego (which is exactly what this is about, because nobody who actually cares about their kids would make them witness such a traumatic spectacle) should at the very least have their kids taken away pronto and rehomed with a family better suited to raising children. I will bet you daddy dearest there has a very interesting record when it comes to violence, actually. Incidents like that don't occur in a vacuum. Studies in the UK have shown that a startling number of individuals investigated/prosecuted for animal neglect have records of violence/abuse/neglect against partners and kids too.

[Kala]

No Children Allowed?

More and more places have decided they don’t want to have children as customers. This applies to restaurants, airlines, stores, movie theaters. Many parents are outraged. They blame intolerant childless people. They blame society as whole who they say no longer value children. They don’t understand how other people would not find their child as precious as they do.

But you know what? I don’t find other people’s misbehaving children endearing at all. I am not childless. As a mother of seven children I fully support these type of bans.

Here is a newsflash, if people parented their kids there would be no reason for places to ban kids completely.

I'm the bitch in a restaurant who will ask to be seated at a table as far as possible from the one with noisy infants/toddlers/small children. And at a movie theater, if I had to sit across the aisle from parents and children from hell I'd either move away where I could, you know watch the film in peace, or I'd walk out and ask for a refund (I've done both.)

[Kala]

Went out for dinner last night with my family and there was this kid two tables over with her parents who was screaming bloody murder - it was a high pitched howling screech that would make a dog's ears hurt and had half the restaurant staring in her direction. Let me make this clear: my beef was with the parents who did absolutely nothing to try and quiet the child and even looked a bit amused at her behavior! So after about five minutes of the constant assault upon my ear drums and nervous system I finally had enough and turned around, looked straight at them, and shouted SHUT UP. My father said I embarrassed him with my outburst but my mom said something like "that's Kala being true to herself." Anyway, immediately thereafter the noise stopped and then a few minutes later the trio vacated the premises. I think most of the patrons were really grateful to finally be able to dine in peace ... and if I have to play the bad guy in situations like this, then so be it.

[inexcelsis17]

Went out for dinner last night with my family and there was this kid two tables over with her parents who was screaming bloody murder - it was a high pitched howling screech that would make a dog's ears hurt and had half the restaurant staring in her direction. Let me make this clear: my beef was with the parents who did absolutely nothing to try and quiet the child and even looked a bit amused at her behavior! So after about five minutes of the constant assault upon my ear drums and nervous system I finally had enough and turned around, looked straight at them, and shouted SHUT UP. My father said I embarrassed him with my outburst but my mom said something like "that's Kala being true to herself." Anyway, immediately thereafter the noise stopped and then a few minutes later the trio vacated the premises. I think most of the patrons were really grateful to finally be able to dine in peace ... and if I have to play the bad guy in situations like this, then so be it.

[Lágnætti]

You're the good bad guy in situations like that. If parents are too stupid or entitled to hush up their kid or take them outside as appropriate, why then, someone else is going to have to move them along the right path. Don't think of yourself as a bad guy, think of yourself as a shepherd.

[Spikey]

How do guys n gals feel about breastfeeding in the middle of a restaurant? I've seen it used as an excuse that it is the only way to shut a baby up.
You know, I usually don't mind, I understand that kids need food too while you're travelling and all, and most moms do it without others even noticing.

However... to do it in the middle of a restaurant... you know, not in a quiet corner or anything, but as an attention absorbing vortex with naked parts... well... now that is another thing. I think there is some sort of etiquette rule that you don't exchange bodily fluids in front of strangers. I don't think it is decent and it highly annoys me. I'm always afraid to talk about it because people see sexist and childhating motives everywhere these days, a lot of my friends seem to actively promote "breastfeed everywhere as much and as visible as possible".

[Lágnætti]

I don't care at all as long as they're not being a hostile or deliberately ostentatious arse about it. It's easy to be discreet about it so people don't even notice. Case in point: I once looked up from a plate of soup in a museum cafe to meet the full-on, nasty glare of this bint who was titleeeching her kid at the table opposite me. I hadn't even SEEN her before that moment, let alone known she was breastfeeding, and she was glaring at me with such grand have-at-it hostility that I assumed she actually wanted to start a fight with someone. Ugh. I surmised she was a psychotic hosebeast of epic proportions, finished my soup and sauntered out, safe in the knowledge that I have better and far more interesting things to do in life than try to provoke people with my tits in a restaurant.

[Ryan]

It doesn't bother me really. Most mothers aren't making a spectacle of it. Usually they throw a baby blanket over their shoulder to cover it and you don't even realize they're breastfeeding.

[Spikey]

Some even wear special clothing for 'easy and discrete access' while in public. You never even notice. So most people think like that; perfectly fine as long as it is done in a respectful way. Discussions about it online often explode in ridiculous shitstorms, heh, but okay, it is the webs. Toilets are definitely not an option. I agree Kari, that there is something intimate about it. It can even be a most beautiful thing to behold in that way!
And no, it is not the naked boobthing per se. It is just general nakedness I guess, that rubs me the wrong way, as if having a child puts you beyond etiquettes like "don't make too much noise while peoples are eating" (and there are ways to breastfeed discretely). I was always taught that it is disrespectful to wear clothes that show too much nakedness to a place where other people are eating; for men even more so than for women. For example, like how tanktops show your armpits. Fortunately, most people seem to agree.

[inexcelsis17]

Well I had a Kala moment tonight. We'd made dinner reservations at a smallish, cozy restaurant. On the opposite side of the restaurant from where we were seated there was a table of maybe half a dozen adults and half a dozen children, I'd guess aged between 2-6. They were pretty noisy from the moment we got there. My annoyance turned to anger, though, when the 4? year old stood in front of the waiter with her fists clenched at her sides and started screaming at him at the top of her voice, "I WANT SCAMPI!! I WANT SCAMPI!! I WANT SCAMPI!!! " I felt so sorry for the guy; if I were in his shoes I'm sure I would've gotten fired that night. For a little kid to treat wait staff like that indicates some truly terrible parents/ parenting both at home and in public. The fact that none of them felt outraged enough by her actions to jump up and immediately correct her and apologize profusely to the waiter absolutely disgusted me. I marched myself over to the table.

Me: Hi. We don't eat out very often, but this is a special occasion for us. Your children are completely ruining the evening.
Table: Well we're almost through. We'll be leaving soon.
M: Oh, are you? (checking their plates out) That's wonderful.
T: We've been trying to tell them to be quiet, if you hadn't noticed.
M: Yes, we've heard you telling them. And the fact that we're still hearing your children behave so badly shows just how ineffectual you all are.
*silence*
M: Yeah, so, fix that.

A couple of the parents took their children outside of the restaurant and must have tried to take some corrective measures, since when they returned the children looked like they were crying. They all left soon after, thankfully.

[Mori]

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[Kala]

Not quite screaming in public, but just as bad. I was at a local nature preserve looking for early spring flowers and found a lovely patch of crocus blooming ... Except there was a family there with two kids who'd already discovered it. And guess what the kiddos were doing? Running all over the blossoms and PICKING THE FLOWERS. The mom and dad didn't do shit to try and stop them. So I walked over to them and in as nice a voice as possible said "If you pick all the flowers then there won't be any more left for other people to see! And when you step on the blossoms you are ruining them." The mom and dad gave me a dirty look but piled the kids into their SUV and took over.
These parents don't seem to be instilling into their children any kind of healthy respect and appreciation for nature in all its magnificence. They also aren't teaching the kids about the concept of sharing for all to enjoy nor are they educating them about boundaries: this was a public preserve not their backyard garden.

[MTC]

^do not get me started. Watching idiot parents let their kids daily desecrate our garden area. Seeing parents let tbeir kids destroy and climb over clearly marked no trespass areas in state parks. So infuriating.

[Spikey]

Parents, please, don't take your 3 year old kid that can't keep silent to Jurassic World IMAX3D? Silence is not f**king optional. Yes I could have texted security or leave to get them, but that would also ruin the experience.

[Spikey]

Momma gorilla is doing a much better job than momma human.