About unruly teens and that mum at theatre

No you were not wrong. They are just people who have never heard no in their lives in all probability. However you can have some sympathy for the boy since it's pretty clear his mother is the origin of the issue....

The law is based on a trial not the opinion of one person.

I would generally try to avoid touching any stranger but sometimes it’s necessary to get their attention.

I would stop short of a “sharp” tap though (which the OP concedes might have been sharper than she intended). There’s a difference between tapping someone to get their attention and physically reprimanding someone, and OP may have slightly transgressed that line.

I actually think this is really strange. You are a grown adult and instead of using your words you.... ate sweets? Seems a bit immature

I bet this 'child' was bigger than the OP...

It is indeed. I thought you were replying as if my previous post was aimed at you personally.

My mistake.

Strong morals? Which bit?

Punching someone in the face for tapping you on the shoulder? Or punching the school child?

And "traditional values" is more bull.

'Traditionally' we used to drown and burn people accused of being witches. Great traditional values they were...

What on earth is wrong with tapping someone to get their attention?

Talk about over-reaction!

I don’t disagree with tapping him and asking him to be quiet but you probably got his and his mother’s backs up by telling him he was really annoying.

I have not. I'll look it up.

As I said though, my dad always said we were bright enough to make it anyway. And we did. I'm on the mumsnet fabled 'six figure salary' and my sibs aren't far off. And I wouldn't change my childhood for anything. At least it opened my mind a bit to other ways of living.

Realise this may not be appropriate or applicable for many kids, but it was for us.

Sign me up as another who'd like to get off this planet, please.

In my day we'd get two tellings off for behaving like that - one from the public, the second from our parents. Had we even raised the fact that we were tapped on the shoulder, it would've been a third telling off (because to get to that point, we'd have had to be behaving really badly).

Now parents ignore their children's behaviour and if anyone dares to admonish it they scream at them and accuse them of assault. And MN backs them up. That's modern parenting for you I guess.

No wonder we're losing so many teachers!

@Alwaysalwayscold you sound utterly ghastly and more than a little pathetic

Don't be sad for us, we all have pretty decent lives! Just maybe a bit different from the standard. My DB and DSIS are very successful in their field too. I'd rather the younger life I had than being forced into mainstream education.

I went back to uni because I had no skills to make it otherwise (practical etc) and despite being from the background I am I have ambition.

But the casual racism against gypsies is something I will always call out.

And I was responding? Isn't that the point of online forums?

...law-abiding citizen aside from the punching in the face anyone who dares tap you on the shoulder?

Yeah of course you would

While I wouldn't have tapped him (because I could predict an overly hysterical response from someone claiming assault/violence/abuse) I would have either told him to shut up or stood up and got an usher.
I went to a play last year and a teenage school group were a nightmare. Loud talking, giggling, throwing food, phones on flasing away. Everyone gritted their teeth for a long while until a big bloke stood up, pointed his finger and shouted SHUT THE FUCK UP! There was a total silence from both the audience and the stage for a few moments, then the two people supervising the kids ushered them out. While it wasn't perhaps the most diplomatic and sensible of solutions, it worked. Big bloke was spoken to by the ushers, but remained for the rest of the play. I felt sorry for the actors, but the two seconds of swearing was better than the kids ruining the entire play for everyone.

What belief system doesn't allow sex education?

And females raising their voice is very much frowned upon in our society

Presumably OP tapped him because otherwise she would have had to raise her voice which would have disturbed the audience further.

Unfortunately we are now living in a time where the children are the ones threatening violence, and often carrying it out.
So what do you suggest to stop it?

How is that a low bar? Having strong morals, traditional values and not tolerating bullying?

And I'm a law abiding citizen. I'm productive, have children, attend church. Oh and I pay tax so I suppose that makes me valuable too.

Your society is brainwashed to think that your (appalling and failing) education system is the only route to success. It very much isn't.

I wonder if this was the performance my DD went to. (The Scottish play??) She mentioned something happening which was funny

They should but I think the problem is the noisy twats know there's not actually anything the staff can do about it. They can't physically throw them out.
I was in the cinema once and a big family of about 12 came in. All loudly talking and carrying alcohol etc. One child around 12 who looked embarrassed. Two of them started arguing just as the film was starting. They were full on shouting at each other over the start of the movie. Two staff members came in and said they needed to be quiet or leave. The people just replied "yeah try and make me." In the end the film was stopped and we were all told to leave. We just went and got a refund and went home. No idea what happened with the family. They were still shouting and swearing telling the staff to put the film back on. I don't know how that would work in a theatre.