Children and crowded places

[Mahad]

have you ever been that one person/couple at the (insert crowded, slow or unfortunate place here) that happens to be with a child or baby that won't stop crying? In my latest visit to the DMV there was a couple sitting in the row behind me with a little girl. She cried for almost as long as I was sitting there, although I don't know why. I didn't have an appointment set up, so I was around for while. She was old enough to understand what her parents would tell her ("be quiet already!") but that doesn't always mean much. Some people sitting around there were pretty annoyed. I personally did my best not to pay any attention to it (part of the dmv experience to me), but what do you guys do in this kind of situation? If you're the couple/parent with the child, do you step outside to calm the child? (assuming it is possible to do so). Or what methods have you used that have actually been successful in helping the child calm down?

[Sephex]

I used to work at an ice arena where parents used to let their children act as if they owned the place. The worst is when a child just sat there crying so loud that the child's voice was getting hoarse while the parent was reading the newspaper ignoring the noise. I get why the parent was doing that. The child probably has a history of flipping out if anything doesn't go exactly as planned. However, in public, I think you should actually try to do something about it. I couldn't do anything since I was employed at the place I was in at the time.

[Loony BoB]

I get really annoyed and I really, really want to go up and tell the kit to be quiet or something, but obviously I can't do that without breaking all kinds of Rules. I still think a stranger telling a kid to be quiet would often shut some of them up, though, because crying is a way of getting attention and this would not be the kind of attention that they would be after. But yeah, I would never actually do that.

If it were my kid, I would explain that if they don't shut up, next time I go to McDonalds I'm not buying them anything and they can eat an apple instead. Stuff like that. I would treat my kids when they are good and punish them when they are bad, so that they learn quickly what is and is not okay. Making a scene? Not okay.

[Shiny]

Basically, there are times when I wanted to punch a baby right in the face.

[Pike]

Honestly, being in a big noisy crowd bothers me multitudes more than a single crying baby ever will.

[Sephex]

Honestly, being in a big noisy crowd bothers me multitudes more than a single crying baby ever will.

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[Calliope]

Ugh, I hate children, so, so much. At work I often get children flinging things everywhere, pulling things down from shelves, getting directly in my way, and in extreme cases, throwing themselves down on the floor and screaming for ages while their parents just stand around. There isn't really anything I can do as my role is to be seen and not heard, so whenever I word with the kids I find it extremely agitating and distressful. I can't really put things away when children are running up to me, knocking things out of my hands, or standing right where they are in the way.

The worst part is that I'm sure it's not even really the children themselves but the parents who let them get away with everything. Conversely, there's one kid who comes in several times a week for math tutoring, and their tutor is just abysmal: Telling them that they're stupid, telling them to sit down and that they can't do anything at all, sometimes just yelling at them for not getting whatever it is that they're trying to teach. Isn't there a balance?

[fire_of_avalon]

A few weekends ago we went out for my sister's birthday. My nephew, who is 18 months old, had been having a rough few days and was on the recovery end of things but still very crabby about being in a new place. He screamed about being in the high chair and being held and eventually knocked over a drink because we weren't being careful. So we did the smart, responsible thing and left the restaurant so he could go home and get some more rest.

Because you don't make your kids miserable by with holding the things they want or making them do something they don't want or putting them in unfamiliar situations and expecting them to be okay when they're very young. People make me batshit crazy when they bring their kid somewhere that isn't appropriate for kids and expect them to behave like miniature adults.

With that being said, everything is a teaching opportunity and it's really important to teach kids how to be polite. But when they aren't, you don't fuss at them. You remove them from the situation and let them try again later. So many parents just sit and ignore their kids when what they really need is a time out from whatever stimulus is making them crazy and they NEED you to recognize their frustration.

I could go on, but there are so many parents I want fuss at.

[Pumpkin]

My son has luckily never done this and now that he isn't a baby anymore, he an actually be taught how to behave in public. I plan on teaching him the same way I was taught: stop crying or I am removed from the situation. I learned very quickly to not take fits in public.

The exception being if the child is hurt/sick. Then I wouldn't really plan on bringing him out unless it's something that needs to be done, like groceries. In which case I will do my best to sooth him but if he's in pain and crying and I can't find someone to watch him, then sorry people.