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?

Well, no, you can't enforce something like that even if standing desks are supposedly healthier.

You can however choose whether you offer your seat to a portly passenger.

I wouldn't hesitate to give up my seat for anyone I thought needed a seat more than me. I wouldn't need to be asked. I travel a lot on public transport in London on bus, train and tube and my observation is that the people most likely to offer up seats are older women, especially blackp women, and young men.

What rubbish.

Never mind children giving up seats - I got told off for not getting out of the disabled seat (which I needed) for an 8 year old once. His mum kept haranguing me for the entire journey, saying she didn't believe I needed it more than her "little boy". He just looked really embarrassed.

I've also seen mums use buggies as battering rams on buses, to move people out of the way.

People on public transport leave a lot to be desired, in my experience.

It’s not rubbish. It’s gone way too far the other way.

As I would have paid for a seat then I am sitting in it for the journey not giving it up to the group that's well known for barging to the front of the line to get on.

?

I think anyone able bodied should be giving up their seats, not just children. If I was on transport with a child who could be on my lap I'd move them there as soon as it was full, not just for someone who struggled to stand.

I was referring to some of the elderly that when a bus pulls up to a stop move up to the doors so they can get on first even if other people were at the stop before them. So why should I give up a seat that I have paid for to someone who hasn't paid for a seat?

The seat’s been paid for on their behalf. They have as much right to it as you. More if it’s a priority seat.

At the moment I have DD in her pushchair so we have to sit at the front. DS likes to plop himself wherever on the bus but usually comes back to sit with me at some point in the journey. If someone who needs to sit gets on the bus, DS is on my lap in a heartbeat. Same as if a wheelchair gets on, I'm up and moving out of the way before the bus driver's even out of the cab to put the ramp out. It's not hard to be a decent human being

This makes sense because both are somewhat marginalised groups so perhaps likely to have more empathy.

Well I've certainly used mine 50 miles from home, though I've not tried in London. This may be of interest:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travel-truths/is-my-national-travel-pass-valid-in-london/

Maybe it's because they're used to people with manners letting them go first 🤷‍♀️ I would always let the frail elderly people go in front of me. Like I hold the door open for pushchairs in a shop. It's automatic.

If an older person is getting on a bus and entitled to a priority seat it makes sense for them to board first rather than someone else sit there, the older person having to push past everyone standing to get on and eventually get the same seat.
Anyone who isn’t a dick would think the same.

"The measure of a society is how it treats its weakest members." Your attitude is pretty awful I am sure those same elderly people "barging on" would have given their seats up in heartbeat when they were younger but know society is full of selfish twats now so need to get to the front of the queue to get a seat. I think it is more depressing that they feel the need to do this not that they do it.

It's harder for children to hold on when the bus lurches about. Older kids old enough to hold on properly OR adults (assuming they are normal height) should be expected to give up seats. We are (rightly) more safety conscious these days.
Completely disagree with this. A child has a lower centre of gravity so it is a lot easier for them to stay standing as a bus lurches about also they will have a parent with them who they can hold onto or sit on their lap. Far less dangerous for a child to fall over then an elderly person. Stop wrapping kids up in cotton wool they are stronger than you think and the lessons of respect and manners they will learn will serve them well.

My children stood for any adult, from pretty much school age on. There's not an absolute cut off of "less able to stand". My son is 22. He finds it easier to stand than I do at 52. I'd be disappointed if he sat while I (or people like me) stood, in the same way as I'd stand in a bus full of older people. As a default.

When I'm on my local bus I sometimes joke that I'm the only one paying for a seat yet I'm the one standing, as it's full of elderly people and kids. But that's absolutely fine for me as the seats should always be for those who need them most and I'm perfectly capable of standing. I despair reading on here about people who won't give up their seats for people such as the elderly who need them more.

I'm shocked by this post. They're not barging on, (most) everyone is letting them on first as they have the greatest need. Same with wheelcheers and prams. Do you only do something nice is £££ is thrown in front of you?

Why do you think that it's easier for a 3 year old to hold on, rather than a 43 year old? Their hands are too small to fit around the poles, often the poles are out of range from them and they are likely to get trampled on by others if the bus lurches suddenly.

People aren't saying that a 12 year old needs a seat more than an 80 year old, but young children really do need a seat for safety reasons.

Can the 3 year old not sit on a knee?

Yes, their seat has been paid for by me and other working people out of their taxes but some elderly seem to hold a self-important entitlement of themselves. If there are no seats then why can`t they wait for the next bus since they have the whole day free?

Not if the carer of the child doesn't have a seat either or has other young children with them.

A 3 year old can sit on your knee if you have a seat or hold onto a carers legs if you don't. I always do this and child has been fine.