Children should be told to give up their seat on a bus if there's an adult who finds it harder to stand.

[DesolationRow]

I was on a packed bus today with my friend who's in her late seventies. She's not frail but is clearly an older woman who walks quite slowly and hasn't got the best balance. We were going to the seaside and as it's the first day of the school holidays there were lots of families with young children on the bus. Many of the seats were occupied by children from toddlers to early teens and absolutely none of them offered her their seat and their parents neither told them to nor offered their own seats.

Do most people now really think a child should have a seat of their own when there's someone who needs it more? If so, why?

I realise there will be some children with disabilities/ conditions that mean they do need a seat of their own but most preschool children can sit on their parents lap and most children over five can stand for a bus journey can't they?

The accompanying adults should be offering their seats

Other adults or older teens should give up their seats first.
Not children or smaller teens.

I think any able bodied person should be considerate to someone with greater need and offer their seat... Doesn't have to be the children. The children seeing that this is the kind of considerate thing that is helpful to do, by one of the suits doing it, would also be as worthwhile a lesson of both now because you're testing by your actions not just your words.
But yes, if someone in need was there and no one gave as monkeys and all pretended not to notice, or worse, were too oblivious to notice then that's a shame.

Adults should be offering their seats. From a safety POV, an able-bodied adult is more able to safely maintain their balance on a moving vehicle than a child is, an adult can reach the support straps/poles for one thing.

I agree with PP. Able bodied adults and older teenagers should be standing not children.

Urgh riddled with typos, you get the gist.

I don’t see the need to distinguish between children and adults here. Anyone able-bodied should offer their seat to someone more in need. Children will model the behaviour they see. The fact the adults didn’t bother is testament to that.

The parents / accompanying adults should give up their seats first

People should offer their seat if someone needs it more than them. A young child may be too big to sit on a lap, or their caregiver may be holding a younger child, but they may be not old enough or tall enough to stand. Adults should lead by example and offer their seat.

Why shouldn't younger teens offer their seats?

A person who is more able to stand should give up their seat for a person less able to stand.

That generally means that the very young and very old need a seat, anyone in the middle who can stand, should offer their seat. It's not about children giving up their seats specifically.

Why didn’t you ask someone if they minded moving?

Adults should give up their seats first & I don’t think small children should have to give up their seats.

How tall do you have to be to comfortably hold an overhead handhold? Younger teens may be 5ft nothing.

If I've paid £6 or whatever for a ticket then I'm sitting in a seat if I got there first. If you have a problem with the lack of seating, take it up with the bus company and their CEO on six figures a year.

The highly paid CEOs can sacrifice a bit before I do. You're having a go at the wrong people. Which is exactly how these companies and many others get away with what they do.

I think able bodied adults should stand before children. I won't allow my 6 year old to stand, he isn't stable enough.

Yet over on gransnet, you have people screaming “ageism” if anyone dares to offer them a seat cause they look old

Able bodied adults first thanks

When I was a child we always gave up our seats for adults, or perched on a parents knee until we were about 10.
im not sure when or why that changed.

When I was a child it was unheard of for a child to take a seat while any adult stood. Never saw a child get injured.

Wow don't think my child at i could perch on my knee! Probably not since about 6 or 7 .

I really think children should have some priority in general. Why on earth would you expect more vulnerable/smaller people to stand
I agree if someone is old or frail it is polite for an able bodied person to offer their seat- but wouldn't expect a mother or kids to!!

Times have changed. Children are allowed to be seen and heard now thankfully.

I feel like a shit, but agree. Paid £6 for a return today, 3 miles.each way, of a full bus I would have been the only person paying for the journey, everyone else under 21 or over 60!

When people became more aware of safety maybe? Babies and toddlers can be held by a parent but otherwise the people who are safest to stand should stand.