crying babies on buses

[RosieWithTheGoodHair]

I know IABU but I HATE it. I dislike buses at the best of times but it drives me mad to be basically stuck in a small space with a crying child

Babies crying is one of the most annoying noises there is. It's meant to be. We are biologically programmed to hate it so that we do something to stop it.

Those of us not in a position to do anything to allay the distress just have to put up with it. And be grateful we aren't the person in charge.

If there's a crying baby on a packed bus I usually tell them, 'Me too, kid,' because buses are the worst and they're just saying what everyone's thinking.

No need to flame the OP she knows she's BU but needs to vent.

A PP has said that her DS self harms when hearing babies cry. They may be part of life but they can have severe adverse effects on people with mental health problems (who have as much right to make journeys as anyone else).

Adults with MH problems can usually develop coping strategies but said strategy could be to vent on MN. I'm not saying the OP has MH problems BTW but they are very common.

☕ OP

OP, when your children were crying toddlers and you took them on the bus how did you make them stop?

maras

Should have got off the bus and waited for the next one then shouldn't you?

Read them a book op. Distraction methods stop crying. My son likes Hairy McClary: Muffin McClay like a bundle of hay, Bottomly Potts covered in spots etc

Thank you so much for starting this thread. It really helps my PND and anxiety to think I can't leave the house lest my child cries and annoys someone.

Should have got off the bus and waited for the next one then shouldn't you?

Says the woman who wouldn't even get off a bus for a wheelchair user...

These kinds of threads are the best. Women who feel anxious about taking their babies out in public because they might piss off strangers by being normal babies will read it and then maybe not go out today. Right on OP.

As much as the general public might not like it, you can bet your bottom dollar that the mother or father or the child likes it even less, would love to stop their child crying and is internally crying and embarrassed. (This was me x2 with two babies who cried a lot whatever I did).

YABVU

Lots of things can't be helped at all and most people understand 100% - but they are still annoying things. Babies crying fall into that category!

I'm always very paranoid when DD cries (actually it's worse than that, she's not really a crying baby but she does this god awful eldritch screech that finds every nerve I have and shreds it) but in fact I am usually surprised by how lovely and understanding people can be. Far more than I was before I had her!!

Quite right, maras.