Are People Who Hate Kids Jerks?Article

[mooncat]

No one would even ask these questions if they had to live next door to my neighbors.

Here's the way I look at it: Noise is noise. It doesn't matter who's doing it - ear-piercing shrieks will still give me a headache. 50 kids running around the churchyard sounds like a riot, and makes it impossible for me to enjoy peace and quiet on my own front porch. Don't I have the same right to that peace & quiet that anyone else has? Especially when those kids could be driven to a nearby park where they can run around & scream all they like, without disturbing the entire neighborhood?

When I was a kid, my parents taught me and my siblings not to scream or throw tantrums because other people would be bothered by that. That's called consideration for others. It didn't warp us or make us crazy to learn that the world didn't revolve around us.

I do understand that babies cry when they need something; and little kids cry when they're scared, and get fussy when they're bored. If the parents actually make an effort to calm them and give them what they need, I'm fine with that. It's the idiots who ignore their kids' meltdowns that I can't stand. If I screamed at them, I'd be considered rude. So why would it not be rude for them to let their kids scream? And unfortunately, because the majority of kids I see out in public are behaving badly, I tend to look at all kids with a jaundiced eye and steer clear of them.

I would LOVE a mall or restaurant that didn't allow kids. There will always be places that allow kids to be there, in fact the majority of stores, restaurants, theaters, you name it, allow them, so what's so terrible about a place that caters to adults only? (And I'm not referring to X-rated movies or adult "toystores").

And yes, I agree that people should also control their pets. If I recall correctly, the thread about the dog and the girl who wanted to fish did not state that the dog was bugging the girl - I don't think she even got out of the car, she just saw the dog and wanted to leave. But she may have had bad experiences in the past with dogs, I don't know.

[blas87]

I don't see it as a double standard with pets. I don't force my pets on anyone and even though I do broadcast how great they are, I never force anyone to come over and they are never out in public with me.

And I see no issue whatsoever in finding animals more adorable and more fun to be around than bratty, dirty, smelly, loud children.

It's cute when my kitten gets on his hind legs to beg for a treat. It's annoying when little Johnny screams at the store that he wants a candy bar.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Exactly that. Plus, having worked in a pet store before, I'd take the pets over the nasty, badly behaved brats that used to frequent the store.

Here's two examples of entitlement from parents. One; this was a frequent event. Mums would turn up at half an hour before closing time to take their kids to "look at the animals". Better than the zoo, cuz it's free! Unfortunately, this coincided with me trying to close up my section. A lot of parents were fine about it and made sure that they and their kids kept out of the way. Some parents however got into strops about it cuz I was "ruining their kid's time out" and made no effort to control their feral offspring.

Two, there were the people who arrived during the day and left their kids in the pet section while they shopped in the main garden centre. Again, there were well behaved kids who'd be quietly looking at the animals and not making trouble. Then there were the demon spawn who'd be racing around screaming, banging on the fish tanks, rattling the bird cages and trying to open the rabbit and guinea cages.

Sometimes I wished I could shove the kids in the cages; they were the ones who needed to be there, after all. And then clout their stupid parents with a clue by four.

[protege]

[QUOTE=mooncat;92677It's the idiots who ignore their kids' meltdowns that I can't stand. If I screamed at them, I'd be considered rude. So why would it not be rude for them to let their kids scream? And unfortunately, because the majority of kids I see out in public are behaving badly, I tend to look at all kids with a jaundiced eye and steer clear of them. [/QUOTE]

Up until this year, there were some of that across the street. The couple who lives there, has a 5-year-old son....who is a tad spoiled. Most days, especially in the summer, he'd be screaming his head off for no reason. His mom would try to get him to shut up...but he'd just scream louder. Got so bad one night, that the guy next door to them...flipped out. He works nights, and the screaming had awakened him. Tired of it, he came out and said something along the lines of "Lauren, shut your damn kid up, or I'm calling the cops." To the child, he said "thanks for waking me up, jerk."

Apparently, that did the trick--there's been very little screaming from him lately. His younger sister, is another story. But, considering that she's only a year old, everyone's more understanding. She's a baby, she's going to cry.