To think people should control their children?

[grassfedhedgehog]

Am I the only one who thinks parenting has gone down the drain lately?

I was on a busy rush hour train home after work today and two parents with their two children made me rage internally They were all sat in seats two opposite two (london overground, the seats were opposite over the middle aisle) and the bit of floor not occupied by people or bags was being used to push toy truck back and forth between them. Kids kept getting up too leaving seats unoccupied barring their bags for minutes at a time (busy train, no spare seats). Saw one poor lady get her arm used as a road briefly for the truck. The parents seemed entirely disinterested in the kids and more interested in their phones.

AIBU to think the standard of parenting as plummeted lately? Especially in public?

Pp is suggesting anything is better than using a phone.

and I have no idea what the last part of your comment means.

People moan when kids are on tablets, they moan when they play with toys

can’t please everyone. I imagine the adults had a hectic day out with them and needed some time in their heads

This seems like normal kid behaviour rather than out of control children, although yes the parents should have told him off for using the ladys arm as a road, did she mind? Some people don't, if a kid did that briefly I wouldn't be fussed (repeatedly or prolonged/overly roughly I'd tell the kid off myself). I've seen some truly out of control children who's parents don't parent and this doesn't sound like that to me.

You don't know what situation they were in.

Maybe for their particular children, this was being good. Maybe they were completely disengaged due to something else happening in their lives. Maybe this wasn't the battle they wanted to pick. Maybe they were feckless, lazy parents who had no regard for other transport users.

I think jumping to the final one is a bit harsh. Even though other people's children are often a bit annoying.

Adults have become less tolerant too. It wouldn’t bother me if a small child used my arm as a road or track on a busy train, as long as they’re not screaming.
Some children are badly behaved but not in this case.

Re-read the OP - theres no mention of screaming, you've totally imagined that.

Watching peppa pig would surely be more irritating? Listening to that pink prick through a phone speaker vs a child playing with a toy truck... I know what id prefer.

I think everyone’s standard of behaviour has plummeted tbh. I use the tube regularly and am often aware of adults drinking beer, playing music out loud, putting feet on seats, shouting down their phone when there’s clearly no signal. When I have DS with me there’s almost always a conversation about why X behaviour is not acceptable when he tries to copy grown adults also doing it on the train!

So in short, children probably should behave better in public but adults should too, and lots are setting a shitty example 😂 I’m not really going to worry about a child clearly just wanting to play like a child, when there’s far more anti-social behaviour to be annoyed over by people who should actually know how to behave like adults.

The OP did not say they were screaming or running around. She didn’t suggest they were making much of any kind of noise.
I suggested that screaming and running or cartoons on loud speaker would have been much worse than playing with their toys on the floor.
Very few things are more irritating than being forced to listen to someone else’s phone.