Children on trains / tube

[uneffingbelievable]

It is half term and everyone is out and about which is great to see, the tubes and trains are busy for everyone. However, the behaviours of some of the children and by that - I mean 9-12ish are simply appalling. Likewise the parents / grandparents with pushchairs.
Exmaples:
Pushchairs do not give you the right to ram then into a fellow passengers legs, on a busy train, park the wheel on their foot and not utter one word of apology to the injured party.

The two mothers on the Metropolitan line train to Amersham last night you should be proud of how you are bringing up you children. That you let your two 10-11 yr old boys think it is OK to physically push two women out of the way who were about to sit down on two just being vacated seats, speaks volumes on your manners. Your little darlings then proceed to swing their legs kicking the people infront of them, until you pushed the women out the way and stood infront of your entitled little brats. Not one word of apology. That you let two boys sit whilst quite clearly pensioners 70+ were forced to stand the whole journey shows yours and your childrens manners are appalling.

There is not hope for your children when two adults allow such appalling behaviour and do not have the grace to apologise to those people your children assaulted.

Your both need a lesson in manners and social etiquette because your children have no hope of learning anything from your current standards. My 14 year old was appalled!

Has everyone lost the power of communication?
”Please stop kicking me”
”excuse me, I was about to sit there”
”had you noticed that that is a priority seat?”
”your pushchair is on my foot”

Kids will lose sight of the fact that they are in a communal space if people don’t speak up.

No need to be impolite, aggressive or confrontational, just normal interaction.

Brits are so bad at this.

She should have plugged him into Peppa Pig on the ipad - with headphones of course 😂. Then he wouldn't have disturbed the people round about him. The best small child to travel next to is the one rendered hypnotised and inert by technology.

Of course, then you'd have more 'Oh what a shame...' threads about the evils of screen-time for travelling children (for everyone else glued to their phones, screens are fine, apparently).

Because the children should have been prompted by their parent to offer their seats to the older women. Children should not be sitting down while adults are standing.

I find this attitude so odd, I'm in my mid thirties and I have given up my seat for a child before and I have seen others do the same. I couldn't imagine sitting there while a child gets thrown about or knocked into just because I have paid and they have not. In this situation I would have stood for one of the elderly people.

I remember commuting when pregnant, a woman almost pulled me over because I was slow on the stairs, she physically pulled my shoulder back. There are badly behaved people from all walks of life on public transport.

No matter how badly behaved these two children and their parent appeared to be YABU for using this to prove that all kids who travel on the tube are badly behaved/ have feckless parents these days.

Small (under 10) kids should always sit down on the tube or bus as should pregnant, disabled and elderly (over 65). The rest can perfectly well stand if they need to.

@Goldbar children must be silent but not entertained by an ipad, god forbid you give them a snack to keep them busy instead because someone will post a thread moaning about snack culture, if its an unhealthy treat jesus don't even bother, but if its a peach its performance parenting so thats also out...

Also, if adults around them model good behaviour (all adults not just parents), children are more likely to follow.

You start off with a big rant about pushchairs then segue straight into a story about 10 year olds. At some point when you’re issuing long (and I strongly suspect exaggerated) complaints about anyone and everyone to the internet you have to consider that you might be the problem. And if your 14 year old really gives a shit about kids being a pain on the tube, as opposed to just pretending to to placate you, you should perhaps sign them up for a new extracurricular because that is truly sad.

This. In my 20s I had an extremely painful condition in my ankle - the amount of shit I used to get from old and pregnant people was insane. I could barely walk!

In the end (after months of explaining myself) I’d just keep my headphones on and ignore them.

Even silent isn't good enough for some people 😂.

My DC and I occasionally play the "silent game" - whoever is silent for the longest gets a bit of chocolate. Extra points if you don't move. And we've had weird/concerned looks because DC has sat in silence, not moving or smiling at anyone, for a whole bus trip.

Ridiculous comment.

Apart from the elderly/disabled, no one has more of a right to a seat that others, especially older children in the OP. Toddlers/babies should be on laps if it's busy, but I know some people don't like compromise and it's all or nothing.

We share the world with other people and there should always be compromise

Oh and forgot pregnant women of course

I agree sissynova. I hate that attitude.

I would never allow my child to sit on the manky floor of a train or tube.

Some people just hate children.

Why? I've done it myself on long train journeys when the train is full. Or sat on my bag. If the alternative is a tired child standing for an hour, wouldn't you let them sit down?

This has reminded me of a trip on the Met line a few years ago.

Man walks on with a buggy and his toddler in it. There's no seats, so he stands in the area designated for wheelchairs and buggies and leans against the side, pointing the buggy down the carriage.

Toddler makes eye contact with a man sitting down and says "Daddy. Sit.", to which the man says "oh, terribly sorry, of course" and stands up for Dad to sit down.

The Dad was absolutely mortified and was saying "no, no, no, you mustn't say that"!

There are some good parents too OP!

It’s another classic MN post where OP doesn’t get the flood of agreement and support they expect so they gradually drip feed info and change their argument to get it, they’re honestly my favourite threads 😂

I have children and have commuted on the tube with them since birth - daily basis to get them to nursery. As someone who commuted when pregnant - I stood on many occasions, i get bad behaviours from everyone. Half term and school holidays does see a different type of behaviour where Little Lord Fauntleroy and Princess Freya are exempt from any manners and no learning of public transport etiquette.

This was not picking on parents and not blaming other commuters there are plenty of twunts on the tube at the best of time.

This was the behaviour of 2 x 10-11yr old boys, who seeing 2 seats becoming free, physically pushed people out of the way to get to those seats. That their mothers did nothing to admonish them or make them stand up for the pensioner who they pushed aside is the issue here. If the mothers think this is acceptable behaviour.
These boys were not first come first served, they physically pushed people out of the way
I did speak up - I pointed out the pensioners to the mothers, they shrugged their shoulders and turned their backs to everyone and carried on talking. I followed up with the comment that there was no hope for their chidlren to be polite when the parents were so ignorant!

Have seen it all on the tube but this surprised all of those around including other children.

'children should not be sitting whilst older people are standing' why not, their muscles hurt too, i had a chronic illness and that meant i had to sit on a bus, oh the dirty looks i got from older people was astounding, would you require me to tell you the details just so i could use my seat on the bus that i paid for

Agree

Where have i changed my arguments.
2 rude boys enabled by pig ignorant mothers with no manners.

My 14 yr old had the manners to realise there were older less able people who may need a seat before him. He was the closest to one of the seats and said to me, I think the old lady needs it more than me.

Just pleased my child is considerate and aware of those around him who may be less able, and yes a little drip feed - he is chronically sick, not that you would know to look at him. Would rather an older person doddery on their pins got to sit down before they fell and broke something, serious.

Sad that bad manner are so well accepted by parents on mumsnet rather than basic courteous, considerate behaviour.

He said aloud to you on a tube “I think the old lady needs it more than me?” At 14? He’s chronically something.

ummmmmm its called respecting your elders - something we were taught at school ! We were taught to stand if an adult wanted a seat on the bus

So at a social gathering with more guests than seats, would you expect the children to be on the sofa and armchairs with the adults sat on the floor?

Completely different situation, where kids aren’t likely to fall onto the people sitting on the sofas.