To think a train is not a playground

[lastqueenofscotland]

Travelling home for Christmas woes!
Booked a train well in advance, two women with 6 children between them get on. Firstly they haven’t reserved seats (long haul train) and are quite shitty when people aren’t willing to give up their seats for them.

Then th kids spend most of the journey running riot with the mums just chatting to each other the whole time.
This is literally running up and down the carriage the whole time, including when the refreshment cart was coming down. Playing a game which involved seeing which one could scream the loudest.
Eventually one of them ran into a man and fell over, cue crying, cue mum having a go at him telling him to look where he was going. Man snapped and said maybe if they had bothered to parent their children it wouldn’t have happened.
Mum stops kids running riot but gives man daggers for the rest of the journey.

Why are people this bloody selfish?!

Parents like this are the worst!! YANBU.

Not sure a kid on a scooter has actually killed anyone in a supermarket

Knocks over elderly person. Person breaks hip.
Elderly people have been known to die very shortly after a fall.

@masterandmargarita
It just seems a bit mean spirited to constantly complain about kids on scooters.

If they were scooting around their local park I'd agree with you.

Scooting along busy pavements or in supermarkets or anywhere else they shouldn't be, then I'll definitely complain.

Yet there was a kid around 11-12 with his scooter, scooting around and doing jumps.

I'd go and find a manager.

@GhanaGirl I'm surprised none of the flight crew called them out. I've seen them deal with obnoxious men who refused to out on their seat belt so I'm sure they can deal with a child.

Oh and in the supermarkets I use if the security guard at the entrance catches a child on a scooter they are told to get off or leave. And sometimes you see the security guard randomly go down an aisle say again "get off or leave". I think the kids and parents haven't worked out the CCTV in the store actually works. Oddly the kids always get off.

These new cinema screens with child play area don't help. They don't teach children to sit down and watch a film.

I lived in Poland for a long time and yes generally polish kids are well behaved. There is a lot of work in kindergartens/schools on appropriate behaviour in different situations. There is none/very little anti social behaviour too interesting for a country that banned corporal punishment in schools in the late 1700’s and physical punishment is banned in the home too.

However kids are respected a lot more than UK and there isn’t the same parenting guilt/angst about stuff we have in the U.K.

Yanbu
Grim

DH takes his agile and sprightly 94 yr old Mum to Tesco every Thursday for her weekly shop. She pushes her own trolley because it gives her something to hang on instead of her walking stick. A few weeks ago, a child (DH reckoned about 8, off school) careered into MIL's trolley as they rounded an aisle. MIL was fine but it could have been very, very different. Cue DH taking the scooter in temper, and
Marching away with the Mum in hot pursuit shouting at DH (6'5", retired Headmaster). He ignored her and gave the scooter to customer services, told them why he was giving it and that he expected them to keep all their customers safe, including the child who could have easily hurt themselves in the process.

The mum called him a cheeky fucking twat and a bully but DH doesn't give a shit. He doesn't know what happened after that as they just cracked on with the shopping and they didn't see the Mum it child around the store. Security Guard gave him a wink when they left though.

Astounding that some posters think this is ok behaviour.

The amount of times I've seen parents stood smiling watching their toddler run round a restaurant. They seem to think it's cute. They don't see the poor staff carrying plates piled up and hot food ready to fall on their child.

It doesn’t take much to give everyone a bit of consideration and stop and think ‘is this the right place for this activity’. I like kids and enjoy seeing them play but not everywhere is a playground and they need to know when to stop and talk and walk calmly. My DD is terrible for getting over excited and I’m always having to tell her off for skipping through busy shops and generally getting in the way because it’s not cute it’s annoying for people.

There does seem to be a real lack of distinction between when it’s ok to play (Park, garden, home etc) and when you need to sit still and quietly read/colour/talk (train, restaurant) and when you need to walk nicely and calmly next to your parents (sulermarket, pavement).

These ‘cute’ little 6 year olds aren’t going to be so cute at 16 when they still haven’t learnt how to behave appropriately.

This really annoys me. I have a 3 year old who due to hearing issues just isn't very perceptive of what's going on around her, so I spend every shopping trip asking her to watch what she's doing as she inadvertently gets in someone else's way. However skipping, dancing, running, scooters etc are all off limits and if she can't not do that then she has to hold my hand/hold onto the trolley or sit in the trolley.

Parents who don't parent make my child think that I'm being mean not allowing her to run riot, which can sometimes lead to a tantrum because 'that girls doing it.....' makes me so angry.

@AmyDowdensLeftLeftShoe
The flight crew were strapped in for landing the parents deliberately waited, I was tempted to call them back though.

I saw a child scooting up and down on a BUS once. I kid you not. Very sensibly, the driver pulled over and refused to continue until the parent put a stop to it and sat the child down.

Most nerve racking incident I saw was a parent allowing their child to ride a balance bike close to the edge of a railway platform. Another traveller said something to the parent who reluctantly had their child get off the bike and stand closer. Really, I get that there are people who don’t care others, but not even trying to keep your own kid safe?

I have a dd 8.5 who has Add and Is now being assessed for Asd she struggles with impulse control at times and can be noisy, supermarkets are hell (trains and buses oddly not so as she seems entertained by the surroundings) and I am that parent on the odd occasion we have to brave them rather than online shop. Worse she winds up dd2. I try to involve her in the shopping, I bribe, threaten and cajole. Still hell.

These new cinema screens with child play area don't help. They don't teach children to sit down and watch a film.

What new horror is this???

I try to involve her in the shopping, I bribe, threaten and cajole. Still hell.

But you're doing something about it.

That's all anyone can ask.

Loyaultemelie
You’re not ‘that parent’ because you are trying your best and that’s all anyone can ask.

Sorry to repeat almost verbatim above poster( it’s worth saying twice )

So even skippings frowned upon now? Hell, even I like a little skip around now and again!

YANBU!

I hate this lazy and selfish parents who pretend that running riot is a "normal" behaviour. It's not, it has nothing to do with the personality of the child, people will just hate your little darling and you.

I hate it even more when I am with my own children and the feral turds running around are keeping them awake, threatening them and ruining their day out.

Your children are not born rude, entitled and feral. You are making them that way.

Not sure where you are encountering these 'feral turds' you speak of but i guess if your kids are sleeping you could keep them somewhere quiet.

Where in a plane, a train or even a restaurant do you want me to keep my own kids when they are sleeping?

The last little shits feral turds I saw was 2 days ago when having lunch with friends. A busy restaurant full of stressed out waiters carrying drinks and hot food is obviously the best place to let your kids run around.