to think children are far bolder these days

[inmyshoos]

Im not sure if it a regional thing as we live in a different area from where we grew up but i remember being 10/11 and if i was at a friends house would only really speak to the parents if spoken to or to politely ask something like to ring my mum to come pick me up.
Dd had friends over for her birthday and i am shocked at how cock sure they are. I see it at school too. They address teachers in a very bold familiar way.

For example i walked through my lounge with my phone in hand and one kids says 'who are you phoning?'

Took one with us to town today and she told me twice she was bored and asked could she have money for the vending machine. Aibu? I would never have asked someone elses parent for money or said i was bored! Id have thought twice even with my own parents!!

It is good that they feel they can speak confidently to adults but i feel they are bordering on bloody rude!

[MammaTJ]

I would curl up and die of embarrassment if my DC behaved as you have described!

DD2 might, but I only let her go to people who understand her! DD1 never did and DS better not!

[bauhausfan]

I'm N.Irish - bold means naughty to us.

[Aeroflotgirl]

It does seem as though kids are very forward and confident nowadays. Back in the day, they seemed more introverted and shy. Even dd 7 years who has ASD is very confident, and asks me all manner of questions. I was meant to be snuggling with her at night, I got caught up in something else, she came to find me 'mummy your meant to be snuggling with me, what are you doing? I did not expect that from her, and was very pleased.

[Waltermittythesequel]

Yes those kids were very bold.

I'm Irish

[Pollyteacakes]

I was in a shop in Ireland once and I heard a little girl saying to her little sister "you're being very bold" because she was being a bit naughty. I thought it sounded really sweet, especially in her lovely little Irish accent.

[batgirl1984]

Those the have experienced undue boldness, do you just tell them? I expect all children in my home to stick to the rules. And if you choose not to discipline your child for rifling through my bag, I figure you have left it to me and would have a word with the child. Not a mean word, but would include the phrase 'very rude to open someone else's bag'.

[championnibbler]

Yes - the Irish call naughty or cheeky children 'bold'. An Irish guy I know says there's nothing worse than a bold child. I agree with him.

[TooManyMochas]

Another Irish person dropping in

I'm usually not a 'it was better in the good old days' type, but the whole pre-teen concept didn't exist in my childhood old giimmer My English friends seem to assume that its perfectly normal for nine to ten year olds to indulge in the kind of gobby back chat I associate with fourteen year olds. Its like that phase drags on for ten bloody years now.

[inmyshoos]

Thanks for all the replies. Scottish but lived in Ireland so maybe that is why i use bold in that way!
I think there are lots of very confident assertive kids here in our village. Known as a very 'middle class' area and i think that is a huge factor. We are from and lived in a very 'working class' area previously and children there were far less precocious. Parents would not tolerate any of the behaviours i mentioned.
It starts young too. My 5 yo had a birthday tea with a few friends. One child followed me around asking 'what are you doing?' (I was preparing food and Dad was doing games) then he asked me 'are we actually getting goody bags?'. He is doted on by his parents. They 'adore' him (their words) and tbh i find him unbearably rude.
Other girls age 10/ 11 have asked me infront of their parents if they can play on my phone. If that had been my child they would have been told off but the mum said nothing, which is a shame because I like the Mum!
My dc are far from little angels but compared to the few i have encountered they at least have good manners.

[BertieBotts]

Curious now - is it "bold" just as a standalone meaning of "naughty" or is it that being confident/bold (English meaning) in itself is naughty/rude because children are expected to defer to elders and not speak unless spoken to?

If it's the latter I think that is very much a generational/culture thing. I definitely don't expect my DS to defer or be quiet, I like the fact he is confident to speak to adults, but I wouldn't expect him to be rude. Rude to me would be asking for stuff not offered, making negative comments e.g. "your hair looks stupid" "This party is rubbish" etc (hard to define "rude" without using the word "rude"!) not using please and thank you etc. But asking a question isn't rude to me and neither is saying their own feelings (A friend told me a story that her 5yo was considered rude for saying "No thank you, I really don't want to" at a swimming lesson when he was scared. I think that's awful.)

[pointythings]

I think riffling through someone's bag, asking if there will be goody bags and asking to play on someone else's phone are pretty rude, but asking an adult what they are doing really isn't. If a child at my house shows an interest in food preparation, I get them to help me - they generally love it.

Thinking it is rude of a child to initiate conversation with an adult shows a tragic 'children should be seen and not heard' attitude that belongs firmly in the past. We should be teaching our children to initiate conversations politely and appropriately, including how they should respond if the adult in question does not wish to engage in conversation - that's equipping them for adult life.

[TooManyMochas]

BertieBotts

I'm Irish and to me 'bold' just means 'badly behaved' (its a little stronger than 'naughty'). I think the children in the two incidents specifically mentioned in the OP were definitely bold.

[squoosh]

In Ireland 'bold' just means badly behaved/naughty. It isn't making any reference to confidence.

[squoosh]

I can't say the word 'naughty', it feels so foreign in my mouth.

[bringbacksideburns]

I'd put up with a fair amount of rudeness to keep the confidence.

Totally disagree. A confident child can be assertive but polite. I've had a Birthday Sleepover with six 12 year olds. Some quiet, some much more confident.If anything my child was the pain, they were all well behaved. It's just basic good manners at the end of the day. I have come across some very spoilt and rude kids - they were never invited back.

[ChickenMe]

I think Steve Biddulph has written some interesting points about the erosion of adult authority, the reliance on "official" sanctions and the media/tv/adverts undermining adult authority ie the "aren't adults stupid?" approach to market things to pre-teens.
I don't tolerate rude children. The majority I know are well-behaved. Discipline is one of those things - it hurts while you do it but if you opt out it's harder later!!