Children on train seats!

[gg45]

It drives me mad when I see children over c6 yrs old not offering train seats to adults (esp older adults) standing in aisles on commuter trains (I have no problem with longer journeys when people have booked seats- but several commuter options you can't). When I was brought up we were expected to stand for elders. What is wrong with the world? AIBU??

@BashfulClam think you missed the point of my post

What I’m saying it’s easy to judge the person sitting when you’re the one standing but everyone has a good reason to be on the train and there are many reasons why you may need to take up a space or seat.

Tutting and huffing at someone for using a space they are entitled to won’t get much sympathy from me though.

When my 2 children are on a bus /train seat I often get them to move over so another child can share their seat so 3 on the seat they often make a friend on their journeys.

God no, I'd never be so entitled as to assume someone else, child or not, should be expected to give up their seat for me based on some ideal of "respect" alone. I make a point of offering my seat to those who can stand less comfortably on journeys - elderly, disabled, pregnant or very young.

That there are adults out there who think a 6/10/12/16 year old should be offering them a seat for no other reason than they exist, and have existed on this earth longer screams to me that they missed a few lessons on respect and consideration for others in their own upbringing.

Any able bodied person should offer their seat to a more vulnerable person.

Adults who think they are superior humans just on the basis of age are a bit pathetic though.

Which is the opposite of how it works in practice on most trains where booking in advance gets you a seat and buying a much more expensive flexible ticket does not 🤷🏼‍♀️.
Railcards aside seniors are entitled to free local Rail travel in some areas with their bus passes. Since they go free I assume they always have to stand 🙄

I used to travel on a regular commuter train into a London interchange and then into London too. There were quite a few children of various ages (always impeccably behaved) who sat on seats with tables or on a seat. I wouldn’t have expected them to have given up a seat. A few times at a packed station on the way you’d get parents with kids and it was expected they’d stand. One time I got bashed in the leg really hard by a father carrying his son's scooter, no apology.

One time travelling home by tube (not packed) I wad berated by an elderly but very mobile couple for using the priority seat. I pointed to my bandaged foot as i was just back to work having broken my foot.

It does slightly irritate me if on packed london tubes at rush hour a child takes up a seat when it could go on a lap. But i admit that's a me issue.

I fail to understand why you don’t understand that a young child is more vulnerable than a healthy adult. In what way can a young child stand more easily than a healthy adult in their 30s?

You could argue that the 8-10yo might benefit from a seat more than a 18-20yo…

I think nowadays the rule is not anymore for children to give up seats but for anybody to give up a seat to anyone who needs it more.
The notion that children are ‘lesser than’ is not accepted anymore.

Also, if the argument is that children pay less/don’t pay therefore should give up seats, this doesn’t make sense as lots of other peoplr benefit from free transport.

How the train companies choose to charge for their tickets makes no difference to the fact that children are more vulnerable than healthy adults.

The old thinking used to be that if you pay half price, you give up your seat to adults who pay full price, but now we have the child king so...
Where I live we have trams and they really do break very suddenly sometimes so I understand parents wanting their children to be sitting down.

As a complete stranger what have you done, that makes you think, that a child who has never met you owes you that respect? Your granchild or child, yes should definitely offer you their seat if they are old enough to stand throughout the journey. But having that expectation from a stranger, some one who knows nothing about you, no just no. You could be on parole for all we know.

If you havent reserved your seat, why are you insisting that they should? All your upbringing has done is turned you in to an entitled, self serving adult. Not a good look.

People aren't saying the child has precedence, they are saying why does an able bodied adult have the right to another person's seat. The fact that you think that you have MORE right to this seat because it is allocated to a child (generally more vulnerable than adults) is just weird.

Yup!

"In what way can a young child stand more easily than a healthy adult in their 30s?"

Because while young children can get tired easily, there's no way they've done an 8hour (or 12 hour!) day at work standing up all day.

Loads of adults don’t stand for work all day either. Lots sit on their asses all day.

Well said. Wish I had been as articulate.

"I think this generation of young people has been asked to shuffle up, sacrifice and ‘be kind’ for older generations quite enough already!"

Seriously? In what way? They always got priority in lockdown with children's activities opening up before adults', being exempt from mask wearing, etc.

Yeah sorry, i used to work long days in retail on my feet all day and I don’t agree. I could still stand up more easily than my young child.

I thought adults thinking they had more rights than children disappeared somewhere in the 1800s. Perhaps you’d prefer they were up your chimney sweeping it out instead?

Are you serious?? Nah you can't be 😂

"Loads of adults don’t stand for work all day either. Lots sit on their asses all day."

Yes, I do and I'm much less tired now in my 40s than when I was in 20 doing a standing up job one summer, having to give up my seat to old people on the bus (as is right of course). I often ended up sitting on the floor because I just couldn't stand any more. I wouldn't have coped with having to give up my seat for children too!

"Yeah sorry, i used to work long days in retail on my feet all day and I don’t agree. I could still stand up more easily than my young child."

Maybe you were used to it and very strong. When I did one summer job with lots of standing, I was fit to break by the end, probably because I wasn't fit enough for it to begin with.

Have you seen their other post about kids being exempt from mask wearing during lockdown lol

"Have you seen their other post about kids being exempt from mask wearing during lockdown lol"

Are you denying it?

How different people were treated during a pandemic is not comparable and totally irrelevant to this thread.

Children are more vulnerable than healthy adults. Fact. If you are jealous because kids could have access to parks before you, then you should be ashamed. It’s also already visible how much the lockdowns have impacted child development. Maybe start a different thread about that.

"How different people were treated during a pandemic is not comparable and totally irrelevant to this thread."

It's not totally irrelevant because I was answering a post that referenced it, or at least that's what I think they were referring to.