at August 17, 2006 6:17 AMA friend emailed me this article that was very interesting and fairly unsettling in that we actually need an article to tell us what is common sense…Growing Up Healthy: No brats allowed! - Growing Up Healthy - MSNBC.com
The column starts off with people complaining that kids these days are brats and (oh! horrors!) their parents are letting them get away with it. Get this, parents even want to go outside of the house with their kids…Waaah!
Josephine Charlton, a public relations consultant in West Hollywood, Calif., says she loves children but feels they are becoming public nuisances nonetheless. Her local Whole Foods has been overrun by “breeders” with an oversized sense of entitlement, she says, museums are now inappropriately clogged with strollers, and even first-class travel has morphed into “Romper Room” in the air.
So, to want to expose your children to culture by taking them to a place like a museum is considered overrunning it now? Hey lady, here is a newsflash - we “breeders” pay for the museum upkeep as much as you do and what etiquette requires that there be absolute silence in a museum or for that matter in a Whole Foods Market?
Now, I have traveled around with my son - I have been to restaurants, on airplanes - all sorts of things. He can be awesome sometimes and dump all the salt on that table other times. I try my best to calm him down, but a little help is appreciated in moments like that. For example, in the packed sardine can that was the airplane we were flying on, I would have appreicated a little baby room where my tot could safely run a little bit or stretch his legs out without bothering anyone. I prefer to go to places where there are baby-areas that let my son vent all he wants before the tired, little guy wants sit down calmly again. It is really that easy!
I am not asking for millions in government-grants to create child-friendly places, but think about this - how much money is spent in making all places handi-capped accessible? Couldn’t we have asked the handi-capped to stay home? Why not extend the same kind of courtesy to our future citizens and do them the favor of a little kid-friendly area in shops where they can scream to their hearts’ content while the parents end up spending tons of money in your establishment? win-win, right? Instead of that, I see vile people like the woman above who actually thinks children are some kind of a disease and would rather complain than lift a finger to help.
There are a lot of good points made in the column, so read it all…
Here is more fun stuff in the reader responses -When I go to a restaurant, movie or other public places, I do not want to hear crying babies, and children. I want peace and quiet! Carol, Pearce, Ariz.Sure, Carol - that is exactly why people leave their homes and go out - to find peace and quiet in public places. Posted by shanti at August 15, 2006 11:46 AM
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But you must admit that hearing a kid wail throughout a movie, especially desi movies can be pretty irritating. I encounter at least one every time when I go out for a desi movie.
Posted by: Patrix at August 16, 2006 9:37 PM
There, I completely agree with you, Patrix. Parents do tend to forget that they really cannot take their children everywhere with them and expect others to put up with it. While I didn’t like the overreaction of those mentioned about children in book stores and groceries (what is so holy about these stores?), there are definitely some areas that should be strictly taboo for children, the first of them being movies meant for adults.
Posted by: shanti at August 17, 2006 6:17 AM
Some of us parents get a babysitter so we can go to a nice restaurant or a museuem and relax. So yes occasionally you do go outside the house for peace and quiet, only to have someone adored little darling misbehaving , yelling and screaming. Not fun.
A friend let her kid run around at a crowded buffet, sure enough, someone tripped over him and dumped a bowl of hot soup on his head - guess who she considered at fault - of course the evil adult.
Yes, kids need to travel in airplanes and may cry, but for pete’s sake don’t let them go around pestering other passengers, your kid maybe cute ot you, but others may not agree. Or worse kids that kick the seats in front. My little ones know there will be dire consequences to that sort of behavior. Kids can be taken to nice restaurants, museums, and but they must be taught to behave, all too often parents are happy to push the blame outside.
And as for the comparison of rights of the handicapped to children, give me a break. Children don’t HAVE to be in a restaurant or a museum or a store, but likely the handicapped person needs to at least be able to get to his/her job and a grocery store.
We as parents get overly defensive, helps sometimes to see the other side.
Posted by: mommy1 at August 21, 2006 2:52 PM