To think that parents should be more responsible for their children’s behaviour in public?

A 19 month old must be physically retained not to run. I wouldn't tell such a small child off, just try to distract him or simply pick him up. However older children can be told to stop running around. Then again parents need to think about children's needs as well. Going to a café? Well, walk there or go to the playground first because children need to move about in order to be able to sit still.

I'm with you OP on that parents should be held accountable. But parents also need to make allowance for their children's needs before bringing their children to places where they ought to behave like adults (sit still).

Often parents don’t want others saying anything as their child does no wrong. I think parenting has got worse - parents want to be their child’s friend, for there to be no consequences and then we wonder why we now have children hitting teachers, rudeness, refusing to do as politely asked etc. It’s a real concern for the future.

Also I do suspect kids were better supervised in the past as there were no smartphones to gawp at!

I don’t think being annoyed at kids behaviour makes someone a judgemental “child hating prick”. kids are kids - it’s the parents I get annoyed with and a lot of people would massively overreact if you said anything however polite. Just ask most teachers!

Perhaps it's not kid-friendly because parents no longer control or discipline their children...

Not wanting children running around a cafe doesn’t equate to things not being family friendly.

I think that’s part of the issue some parents seem to be of the impression that family friendly = let them do whatever they want!

I think people should control their own children. Unfortunately standards of what is acceptable in public spaces differ greatly and many people are just lazy.

Agree with the village

The UK society and culture doesn’t cater for families… compared to the other places. It’s not kid friendly

Modern parents are rubbish at disciplining their kids… I can testify as I’m one too!

I do however have some help from my parents with discipline… but yes my 19 month old son did running around the hotel lobby including behind the reception desk! Much to the dismay of my husbands parents :(

When I was a kid I remember this time when myself and a group of kids were running around in the bar where our parents were having a drink. (Kids not allowed in bars these days, so a long time ago). Anyway, if any adult was finding us irritating or if we were in the way they’d tell us in a nice kid friendly way or redirect us.

It takes a village. Not a village of parent shaming, judgemental, kid hating pricks, or people crossing the line and taking it upon themselves to discipline other peoples kids or undermine parents in front of their kids. Or people who have unreasonable expectations of age and stage of development aka kids behaving like kids. No!

It takes a village of reasonable people who recognise that public spaces (that don’t have age restrictions) are for sharing with everyone and who actually know how to communicate respectfully, kindly and effectively.

I look back and think parenting must have been so much easier in many ways for my parent’s generation. They were allowed to relax and enjoy adult activities and not be expected to micromanage their children, control their children, and could send their kids outside to play without having to go out there and constantly supervise them.

Yes, I know the world has changed. I have noticed that as the years have passed. But, this incessant nitpicking of parents is not a good change. This pretending that parents in the past were better than the parents in the present is also not good. It’s rubbish. There has been and always will be parents who could do better. No parent is perfect and it is a hard job.

If we want to see better parenting then we have to be a better village. And that ain’t happening with this current climate of contempt for parents and their kids.

It's not only the annoyance to others but a safety aspect as running in a cafe could hurt others,the children themselves hot drinks being spilled on them etc.