(cavale)
Some parents think its adorable for their tykes to scream their ABCs in public or use waiting room chairs as jungle gyms. Most others, though, are simply annoyed by the presence of unruly rugrats and would rather not be subjected to their antics while they try to take care of business.
Rants From Mommyland advises parents to keep their little kids away from these places:
* Doctor’s offices. Waiting rooms are hectic enough without screaming children who don’t need to be there. Kids tend to run around the wide open spaces, only adding to the stress level.
* Barber shops and salons. Your kids won’t wait quietly for you as you get a haircut. They’ll be understandably bored and possibly freaked out, looking to draw your attention the best way they know how, by acting out.
* The library. It’s important to read to kids, but make sure to do it in the privacy of your own home. People expect relative quiet inside, including the children’s area, so keep them away unless it’s to attend a storytime event.
5 Places NOT to Take a Toddler [Rants From Mommyland]
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I read this article this morning and right now, I’m sitting in my doctor’s waiting room, surrounded by kids running around. One of the parents is just lazily calling for her child while she ignores her. Wish she had read the article.
Don’t take kids to the LIBRARY? What the hell? Isn’t that half of the point of most libraries?
We were all children at one point, well most of us anyway. Yes they can be annoying but have a little tolerance!
On the flip side, parents keep it reasonable, if your kid’s a lunatic then maybe this article’s right.
This is the worst, what if you have no other choice than to take your kid there? So kids are not allowed in public at all now. Also if your kid sits inside the house all day, they will not know how to behave in public, which will lead to problems later in life and probably worse behavior later on in life while in public. Its best to take them out when they are young, but to teach them how to behave in public when they are young so they don’t become a 12 year old screaming like a 3 year old for a toy in a toy store.
Dear Non-Parents:
Suck it.
- Parents.
Dear parents:
If you had taken that advice in place of intercourse we wouldn’t be in this predicament, would we?
- Non parents
PS: Unleash your kids in a restaurant near my table and see if I bite my tongue or if you go home in tears.
Why do you assume all toddlers misbehave in public? Mine doesn’t. Don’t try to tell me where I can and can’t go in pubilc with my kid. Hence the “Suck it.” to all non parents. See, you don’t like it when i generalize either, do you?
I’m not kid-krazy by any stretch, but toddlers do exist that are well-behaved enough to take to these places – it’s the parent who has to be the objective judge.
I loved the library – I’d hunker down in the kids section quietly and had to be dragged out when my mom said it was time to go.
Wow you guys. RFM is a tongue-in-cheek blog. I’m a regular reader, and Phil’s summary and characterization of this article is really bad.
I’m not going to try to explain it though. Read the source article for that.
Expecting kids to be quiet IN THE CHILDREN’S SECTION is pretty daft. Take your snotty attitude to B&N or your own home’s reading room.
Having raised my own gang of hoodlums and now working on grandkids. Don’t blame the kids. They are just being kids. Blame the part of society that accuses parents of abusing their kids when they are trying to discipline them. Usually those who have never had kids or who’s kids are the problem from lack of discipline. There is a huge difference between a paddling on a diaper padded butt and a beating that leaves both physical and mental scars. The former is a form of discipline, the latter is abuse.
Forcing a kid to sit still can be considered abuse. They have a very short attention span and a lot – a whole lot – of energy. So take your pick, a kid playing on the chairs, or a kid screaming at the top of their lungs because they are being forced to sit still.
My now 40 year old daughter tells me that the whipping she remembers is when I used a blade of grass to switch her legs for running out into the street when she was about 3. She never ran into the street again, and neither do any of her three children
Agreed 100%. It’s ridiculous the things that are considered abuse nowadays. I remember when you had to actually abuse your kids to get in trouble. Now all you have to do is spank them or damage their “self-esteem”.
Clearly this blogger wants you to lock your children in a cage whenever you need to leave the house.
Boy that person will certainly never be considered for “Mommy of the Year” will she? She writes so LOVINGLY of her kids……NOT!
Even if this post didn’t misrepresent the article it links to, #1 isn’t news and the rule has nothing to do with children misbehaving. Many doctors’ offices ask that adult patients not bring along children (unless another adult is accompanying the patient), and it’s a safety concern. Clinical and support staff of a medical office aren’t able to provide child care while the parent is undergoing examination (although I did hear about an ophthalmology practice that had child care in their waiting room — and they got the parents who can’t always line up a sitter to get their eyes checked). Don’t forget about exposure to germs or, if the parent has to receive a CT scan or X-ray, radiation. But this obviously doesn’t apply when the child is the patient.
I read the blog site an was appalled. All those kids need is some discipline. No means no. Be quiet means shut your mouth. Say it. Mean it. Parents don’t be afraid to punish your children for acting like little brats. They need to learn right off the bat. My son grew up knowing that there is a time and place for loud playing. This is not when we are out and about doing things. Parks, yards, at home, at a friends house. . . these are all places for having fun and playing. Business is business. When it is dinner time is a restaurant, sit down and eat. Manners are pushed right off the bat. Society’s kids today are rude, inconsiderate, self absorbed, little assholes. People are terrified to discipline their children. Either that or too lazy.
Since the public library is now the creepy man jerking off to tranny porn on the computers all day hot spot, we already avoid it! Seriously, a good friend is the reference librarian at a really quaint neighborhood library branch that now employs a security guard and has increased costs for more frequent bathroom “clean up” since the free porn and free computers met.
Your tax dollars at work Chicago!
i wish my picture hadn’t been used for this horrible terrible disgusting article.
As a greater public service, especially for the users of this site, I would recommend that Phil be prevented from posting anything further until it has been vetted by someone with at least an ounce of common sense.
All of those with the possible exception of a Fine Dining Establishment are certainly places that it is perfectly reasoanble to take children of any age to. Perhaps some remedial training in family life would be appropriate.
Most libraries these days have a children’s area. Some of the areas are designed to reduce noise.
Lets add Coffeeshops! I was at a Starbucks attempting to read a good book when this rabble of PoFDoA showed up (That is ‘Parents of Future Delinquents of America’ in case you are wondering). Their toddlers were running and screaming through the whole place like mad little creatures. And we all know that someone was run into by these kids and spilled coffee on them which would hurt, it would be the person that spilled the coffee holding the fault.
Keep kids under control in the coffee shop…or better, get in your adult time without them. I have not been back to a Starbucks since (corp does not have a policy to correct children running mad throughout the store).
Is this a sick joke? Seriously?
Shame on you Consumerist!
Children are part of our world, society and LIVES. Just because the modern ideas of child care and baby sitters has SHAMED parents into keeping their children out of site does NOT make it right.
1. Children will NOT learn how to behave if never given the opportunity to practice in public situations.
2. We all use to be children and children have as much right to be in public space as adults do. How did you learn to sit still at the Doctor’s office? Why aren’t 30 year-olds running around? Because our parents took us there when we were little and we LEARNED how to behave in society.
Instead of complaining about where you think children shouldn’t be why don’t we as a society improve our public spaces so that children are more welcome?
As a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom, I take my three children (8,5 and 2) just about everywhere I go, and you know what? With a few exceptions they are REALLY well behaved because they are use to being in those spaces. My family and I get compliments all day long when we are out about how well behaved our children are.
Those little ones “going crazy” are probably kids use to being cooped up in daycare centers and public schools where they ONLY ever interact with children their own age and never have any time to interact with adults. Hence when they are unleashed upon the public they have no real skills for dealing with it.
Be part of the solution. Interact with these children. Distract them, encourage them to talk to you, play games with them and help them develop their social skills. We are all responsible for the next generation.
It sounds like she needs to gain some control over her children. If they are having meltdowns everywhere and every time she takes them out, then maybe there are some other issues here. Most good mothers can anticipate when a child is going to have issues. Taking your kid out when he/she is tired, hungry, or both, is a recipe for disaster. Just because her kids are ill mannered doesn’t mean everyone else has the same problem.
1. Airplanes
2. Restaurant and all fun establishments + pubs
3. Book stores and libraries
4. Any place where people don’t like to hear screaming
5. Any place where small things running around could cause havoc, except maybe dog park