To have asked a 4 year old and 2 year old to let me sit down in the Doctors pharmacy?

[CandyLoo]

At a small, tightly packed, busy pharmacy opposite Doctors surgery.
3 chairs (barely any standing room).
A lady, and the 2 children taking up the 3 chairs.
2 children not ill, in there with their Mum collecting a prescription.
No free chairs, I asked if I could sit in one of the chairs.
Mum moved one of her children, the other moved to stand with her sister.
Mutterings from the lady next to me, and when she left, said rather pointedly to the child, 'Here you are love, sit in my seat'. They left soon after.
By this stage, the pharmacy was very busy, I have no qualms giving up my seat to anyone older than me or simply if anyone needs it.
AIBU? The lady sitting next to me obviously thought I was, rude comments about me to her husband when she was outside.

"If it had been me with the 4 and 2 year old and we were using three seats, I like to think I would have told one of them to come and sit on my knee so someone else could sit down."

If you read the OPs later posts she reveals that the mother was already stood up so could not ask a child to sit on her knee!
The other seat was being taken up by a different lady, not the childs mother.

Actually, 2 yr olds tire much more quickly than adults (hence why many of them ride around in buggies. I'm assuming you're able to walk lonf distances unaided), so unless you're ill or pregnant yabvu.

Even when I was pregnant I was still giving my seat up for elderly citizens getting on a bus struggling to stand.

I get up for older/pregnant people all the time and I would Definetly put my child on my lap to free up a seat. But if someone perfectly fit and well just fancied a seat and not saying you were was rude asking I'd be staying in my seat

Sorry, voiceless, you're right: I haven't read it all yet, but was considering a hypothetical situation. Probably I still would have suggested one of mine stood with me, but certainly then I would have been annoyed at them being told to move, yes.

Glad you all loved the bit of Stefan!

My favourite line from that song is where Stef goes all caveman on us;

"You love me,
And me love YOU"

Candyloo haven't read the whole thread, but it's got fuck all to do with respect.

You sound pathetic.

Why should they respect you, a stranger and move because you tell them to. They weren't disrespecting you by sitting where their mother presumably told them to sit.

So does mine, Everlong

Just out of interest, why does the OP feel she's more deserving of a seat than any of the other people standing around in the busy pharmacy? Ok so the children could stand but why does that mean you get their seat? Are you honestly telling me there were no eldery & no really ill people in this 'packed' pharmacy that might have appreciated a seat but been too polite to ask? At most all that should have been done is a quiet word to the mother, which I would still consider OTT, but definitely no nabbing the seat for yourself!

I assume the OP was the only person standing. If there were others, especially the ill or elderly, already standing, that just makes the children sitting even more rude and ridiculous.

This isn't a 'children's rights' issue, for god's sake.

surely, assuming all are well and healthy (whether adult or child) then the polite thing is that it is 'first come first served'. so YABU OP.

Also, just because someone doesn't look ill, doesn't mean they aren't (whether adult or child).

I don't see why a healthy adult has more rights to a chair than a healthy child, simply because of their age. That seems a very selfish and impolite attitude. In fact, there may well be occasions (busy public transport, busy shop) where it is actually appropriate for a healthy child to take precedence over a healthy adult (e.g. safety reasons in a busy crowd).

It's not right. It's manners. :stuck record:

Nokidshere summed it up beautifully earlier. If you make no effort to move your child then some would consider you rude. (You rather than the child until they're older).

Manners are simply about the adults and how they want to be precieved by society and the things their child does or says are simply a reflection of that. I like to be thought of as a nice, polite person so I move or move my children to make room for someone else - for no other reason than its nice to do something good each day. And if someone wants to sit down for no other reason than they want to or are tired it makes no difference to me.

*rights rather than right.

but why should a child move for a healthy adult?

I would let Stefan Dennis take a seat. Totes.

No one can explain in a way that we all agree on.

So we should just have a Friday dance to Stefan instead I say.

For the same reason you expect a child to say please and thank you, and eat with their mouth shut. There is no external reason, it's just seen as polite. Although in this particular case only apparently in some quarters.

Still I'll carry on making my kids move. Last time we did it was waiting for some glasses at the eye hospital. Limited seats. I made ds3 (age 7) sit on my lap, then a dad sat down and his dd (bit younger) sat on his lap. Otherwise the dad and his dd would have been standing. Polite & helpful isn't it? Makes the world go round in a more pleasant way than 'he was there first, first come first served so sod it you can stand'.

Maybe it's just an example of sharing?

Eating with your mouth open looks horrible and makes me want to vom.

Not so much a seated child!

Best one yet. Though share the toy but give it straight up for a bigger kid is not a good lesson for either?

Yes, but that is cultural.

If you go to a noodle bar in Japan and don't slurp your noodles noisily and to us revoltingly you are being rude.

Same as giving your seat up. Although I think there probably is more reason really for giving up a seat as it makes the world a little bit nicer for the recipient. As in my example of the dad and dd above. 4 people sitting rather than just me and ds3.

Oh I give up. Don't get your kids to sit on your lap or move, some will judge them rude. If you don't care it doesn't matter.

Your making the world nicer for one person and less nice for another so it's neutral

I don't!

I'll carry on using my common sense about it but frankly in the ops example I would not lose not one wink of sleep.