Places where children shouldn't be.

[Morgan]

I get SO annoyed when I see kids in:

Expensive theater productions
Nice restaurants that do NOT have children's menus.
art openings.
Concerts. especially all day long festivals. Which kid REALLY wants to see the Pixies in 100 degree weather?

Where do you hate to see kids?

[Julie]

Not just expensive theater productions, ANY production that isn't explicitly "children's theater" if they're not old enough to appreciate it.

[Morgan]

I will admit that I am pleasantly surprised when I DO see kids in these places who are very well behaved and who don't cause a big commotion. But such is rarely ever the case.

[Julie]

Children are like cell phones: most everyone has them, most everyone doesn't know how to use 'em politely.

[Alex]

I get SO annoyed when I see kids in:

Expensive theater productions
Nice restaurants that do NOT have children's menus.
art openings.
Concerts. especially all day long festivals. Which kid REALLY wants to see the Pixies in 100 degree weather?

Where do you hate to see kids?


helleaux. yes.

I want to add movies rated R. WTF? Why are you bringing your children to my movie about repressed alcoholic British people in the countryside so they can cry, kick the seat, etc?

I also think airplanes are a big problem. I am sure there are kids on airplanes who are fine, but there have been too many times where I've had juice spilt on me and stuff. I once asked a mother if she minded sitting between me and her child that way I can avoid having juice flying at me and the mother screamed at me told me "HE'S JUST A BABY!" I had to reiterate and say, "I want you to switch seats with your son so I don't have to have juice spilt on me. I understand he's 3 and hyper, but it doesn't absolve you of being considerate to me."

[hollerskates]

haha, i love this. being a nanny, it's gotten to the point where i hate seeing kids anywhere outside of my job. i just have to make it to april 19th. then i really will be 100% childfree.

[Julie]

Yes. I was at THE ARISTOCRATS for god's sake and there were children there. BLAH.

[diary of wood]

Last semester a bunch of my friends and I went to a bar/bowling alley on a Tuesday night. There aren't many classes scheduled for Wednesday mornings at my school, so Tuesday often becomes 2nd Friday. :)

Around 1:30 a.m., we realized that three young boys (none of them looked older than ten or so, the youngest looked about seven) were sitting a couple of tables over from us.

We all felt kinda uncomfortable about it. I mean, a bowling alley is a fun place for a little kid -- on a Saturday afternoon, maybe! Not at 1:30 a.m. on a school night when the place is full of smoke and bar patrons. These kids weren't even bowling or doing anything fun. They were just sitting at a table while the adults in the family drank and talked. It was just weird to me.

[HangTenHoney]

Where do you hate to see kids?

Anywhere, really. I have to be prepared for them mentally.

(Unless they're really cute and not obnoxious.)

[hollerskates]

^^yes. i often go to walmart or the grocery store really late at night. often as late as 1am, and kids are there, too. i realize life is hard and childcare isn't easy to come by. it's not so much as an annoyance...more that i just feel sorry for the children and parents.

[diary of wood]

^^ Yeah. I wasn't irritated by their presence, but I just felt sorry to see little boys in such a smoky, loud place so late on a school night.

[HangTenHoney]

^^yes. i often go to walmart or the grocery store really late at night. often as late as 1am, and kids are there, too. i realize life is hard and childcare isn't easy to come by. it's not so much as an annoyance...more that i just feel sorry for the children and parents.

Exactly. I think I just come across too many parents in my local grocery store who have no skills to be parents. I swear, every single friggin' time, there's some lady three aisles over who is screaming for the entire store to hear, "I'M GOING TO BEAT YOU IN A SECOND IF YOU DON'T SHUT UP!!!" Never fails.

It's a great reminder that we have a reason for waiting until we're ready for kids.

[eurotrash]

I saw a couple of kids with their parents at the Galleria Borghese a few weeks ago and I felt bad for them. I know that it's good to expose children to art and culture, but seriously, these kids were, like 5 and 7 at the most. They were just kind of wandering around while their idiotic mom pulled them away from trying to touch things. And if the older one would ask questions, she'd blatantly make up answers, which were always wrong. If you want your kids to enjoy, then take them to one of the many big museums that has special children's tours and activities. Don't make me feel bad for your damn kid while I'm trying to enjoy my Bernini.

[Master Shaman]

Children are like cell phones: most everyone has them, most everyone doesn't know how to use 'em politely.

I wish there was a way to turn children off. Or at least put them on vibrate.

[Steve SFM]

Yes. I was at THE ARISTOCRATS for god's sake and there were children there. BLAH.

Recently, I went to a movie called Running Scared. This was an EXTREMELY violent action thriller that featured many sequences of children in danger, including an extended sequence about some spectacularly creepy kiddie porn serial killers. This was the LAST movie kids should have been at. And yes, there were some kids - and I'm talking like five to eight years old - sitting in front of me. :r

I have a friend who loves to tell a story about when she went to see Blue Velvet. She came out, and saw a guy with his young daughter in line for the next showing. She went up to him and explained that this was NOT a good movie for kids. He responded that she was mature for her age, but my friend would not let it go; she essentially badgered the guy until he went back and chose another movie. ;l

Oh, and great idea for a forum. :)

Steve the Sweet Fat Man

[Bea]

When I saw the South Park movie, in Salt Lake City, there were lots of children with their parents. It made the movie better, in a way, because in the movie when the parents get disgusted over Terrence and Phillip and walk out, in our theater there were at that very moment parents getting disgusted and leaving. It was beautiful.

But no, I don't like children anywhere. Can't we raise them on inland farms, like livestock? I wait tables on the weekend and I cringe when I see a little bouncing child at one of my tables. They always want crackers, for no other reason than to make a huge crumbled mess on the floor, and to indicate their parents are poor tippers.

[Fox in Socks]

public.

[Kari]

But no, I don't like children anywhere. Can't we raise them on inland farms, like livestock? I wait tables on the weekend and I cringe when I see a little bouncing child at one of my tables. They always want crackers, for no other reason than to make a huge crumbled mess on the floor, and to indicate their parents are poor tippers.

I was a waiter on the Upper East Side of Manhattan for two years.

The children there were fucking appalling. and their parents were even worse. Children served no purpose other than to get ketchup on the floor, scream at the top of their lungs, cry, and basically be huge pains in the ass. Plus, why the fuck do you need a stroller the size of a small SUV?????

[Bea]

Waiters are sometimes used as babysitters. :(

I await a presidential platform that says to America: STOP MAKING GODDAMNED BABIES! Everyone complains about traffic and overcrowding, yet NOBODY wants to stop busting out the fucking ugly replicas!!!!11

[Kari]

;l
This country has too many cars and children.

[Bea]

^Exfuckingsactly! There should be a child lottery or something even more sinister and fascist...like a form you have to fill out before carrying a child to term. Or a test, even! I mean, you can't get into college without being somewhat smart, right? But bring another child into the world as you please.

[Lord_Rask_of_Trevdale]

Tori M&G lines. . I have friends who bring them, and it's their choice, but it just always ends up seeming like a bad idea.

Sm**chies!

Jacob.

[Kollins]

Damn, and here I was looking for a good recipe for Garlic-basted Toddler to make for supper tonight.

[Amy!]

Last night we went out for dinner at a restaurant with a kids menu so I normally don't complain too much about seeing rugrats there. It was pretty empty, mostly older couples and then the "Can I get some ICE CREEEAAAAM!" started. 8 kids at two tables without an adult in sight. The oldest was about 15 but the rest were around 10 or 11. They were completely obnoxious and ordered four tons of food. Everyone was so caught up in catering to these shitheads that it took 20 minutes just to get drinks and our food was cold by the time it got to the table.

While we were waiting 10 minutes for the check we overheard our waitress complimenting them all on being such well-behaved young gentlemen. The smallest one elbowed a melted ice cream sundae onto her shoes during this speech.

[Kari]

While we were waiting 10 minutes for the check we overheard our waitress complimenting them all on being such well-behaved young gentlemen. The smallest one elbowed a melted ice cream sundae onto her shoes during this speech.

I was once reading specials at a table, and a 4 year old child took the opportunity to throw half a buttered mini scone at me, which stuck to the middle of my forehead.

I was homicidal. The parents actually LAUGHED and didn't scold him for it. So there I am, already in a demeaning job, with a mini scone plastered to my head. I remove it, and have a nice greasy butter spot on my head. Nice. I almost quit.

It is funny thinking of it now...but I was ready to kill the little bastard. And his parents.

[hollerskates]

I was once reading specials at a table, and a 4 year old child took the opportunity to throw half a buttered mini scone at me, which stuck to the middle of my forehead.

I was homicidal. The parents actually LAUGHED and didn't scold him for it. So there I am, already in a demeaning job, with a mini scone plastered to my head. I remove it, and have a nice greasy butter spot on my head. Nice. I almost quit.

It is funny thinking of it now...but I was ready to kill the little bastard. And his parents.

ha! reminds me of samantha on SATC getting pelted with noodles. "seamus, that wasn't very nice!"

die!

[Rinky vs.4.0]

In the UK you will NEVER see a baby or child in an adult film. Why? Because we have age restrictions for films which are enforced strictly. An '18' film like Blue Velvet or The Aristocrats can only be attended by people eighteen or over or who at least look eighteen. Same for '15' certficate films and even PG13 films are reasonably strictly enforced - an eleven or twelve year old might squeak in but they'd never let in a kid who looked a lot younger than thirteen. I think there would be an outcry here if they started letting people take little kids into adult films.

I think it's incredibly selfish to other filmgoers for parents to take a small child into a film just because they want to see it. The kid will get bored or frightened and therefore disruptive in some way and as filmgoing is a communal activity this will ruin everyone's experience. As for babies - there is NO excuse to take a baby into a film, ever. Babies can't understand or gain enjoyment from theatregoing or films. If the parents want to see a film they can hire a babysitter or rent the dvd later on.

What really riles me up is seeing small children in pubs - not for pub meals - that's acceptable - but left in prams or to roam the bar while their parents drink and smoke. I just think it's disgusting and remarkably selfish to take a little kid into a place designed for adults to get intoxicated and let them breathe smoke just so the adults can get a drink down their necks.

I don't mind kids anywhere if they can behave well, and not become disruptive. If they can sit through a play without whining, crying, needing to get up or down every ten minutes or having every plot point explained, fine, let them come. If they can sit in a restaurant and eat from the menu and display proper table manners and respect the ambience of the restaurant, no problem. If they can't, they shouldn't be there.

[Charles:]

Speaking of leaving kids alone somewhere, I was at a place called Ale House, which is somewhat of a bar, but serves food and has a dining area...anyway, another aquaintance had her son there and asked if I minded watching him while she ran an errand. No problem, right? yeah...3 hours later, as I'm livid after having to buy her son dinner cause he was hungry (which I totally didn't mind feeding him, but the fact that his mom left no money knowing that he hadn't eaten, pissed me off) and literally about to take her son home with me only cause I couldn't get in touch with her, she calls to tell me that she's running a little late. She had to stop and pick up some coke. Nice! WTF???

[Bea]

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/145/HRF0239~Coca-Cola-Polar-Bear-Cub.jpg
^This kind of coke, or this kind:
http://corky.net/albums/work/cocaine.sized.jpg

[Charles:]

the latter...

[Bea]

Ugh...either way it's bad...but wow...that's scary.

Makes me wonder what kind of crazy shit my own parents had going on in their lives when I was just a youngster....

[Master Shaman]

Speaking of leaving kids alone somewhere, I was at a place called Ale House, which is somewhat of a bar, but serves food and has a dining area...anyway, another aquaintance had her son there and asked if I minded watching him while she ran an errand. No problem, right? yeah...3 hours later, as I'm livid after having to buy her son dinner cause he was hungry (which I totally didn't mind feeding him, but the fact that his mom left no money knowing that he hadn't eaten, pissed me off) and literally about to take her son home with me only cause I couldn't get in touch with her, she calls to tell me that she's running a little late. She had to stop and pick up some coke. Nice! WTF???

Did you make her pay the child's dinner bill? I totally would have.

[Charles:]

I didn't even care at that point, and the whole situation was shady, so I just left. Like, I said, I didn't mind buy the kid food, and I didn't care to be reinbursed. It was just that evidently all she cared about was getting her coke in the end. I mean, I work with her and I have a son, but she doesn't really know me know me...yet she's leaving her kid with me for 3 hours in a bar/restaurant to go get high. I mean...at least she didn't take him with her. :r
I was tempted to call CFS but the kid actually seems normal.

[madworld]

I was once reading specials at a table, and a 4 year old child took the opportunity to throw half a buttered mini scone at me, which stuck to the middle of my forehead.

I was homicidal. The parents actually LAUGHED and didn't scold him for it. So there I am, already in a demeaning job, with a mini scone plastered to my head. I remove it, and have a nice greasy butter spot on my head. Nice. I almost quit.

It is funny thinking of it now...but I was ready to kill the little bastard. And his parents.

You dealt with such horrendous things when you were a waitress. [hugs] You're one of the reasons i have such a TREMENDOUS amount of respect and patience with waiters/waitresses...If i'd been you i would've walked right out.
How about retail? At work i see people letting their children scream and throw fits because they want this or they want that... And when they see me looking, they say "You better behave yourself, or that lady over there is going to get MAD!" Sure, use ME instead of being a parent and telling them to behave themselves! :r Not all the parents are like that, but it's so strange how some of them do it.
When they throw clothes on the floor and make a mess i try to remind myself that they could be great kids most of the time.. Maybe they are having a bratty moment..
I think this is an awesome forum. [post77] I am actually quite phobic of the idea of getting pregnant. At least in THIS decade. I hope my feelings change in the future, but for right now i'm thrilled to not have children. My job just REMINDS me of how lucky i am to be child-free.

[Sarah.]

I was once in the sex toy section of Ann Summers (ahem) when a middle aged man brought his eight year old daughter into that part of the shop and stood her in front of the display of rampant rabbits as he looked at the cock rings. When the sales assistant told him he'd have to take her outside because it's against the law for under 18s to be in that part of the shop, he looked like he had no idea what the problem was. Ick.

[Alex]

^I saw that once at the Pleasure Chest in NYC. My ex and I went in to get some gag housewarming gifts for a friend and this woman walked in with her daughter. The woman needed a vibrator and was asking the sales clerk if the vibrator had special clitoral stimulation because she really needed that. Meanwhile her little girl, seeing pink jellied colored dildoes and windup vag with feet toys was running up to her mom with objects in hand asking "MOMMY CAN WE GET THESE?"

I WAS LIKE WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT??????????????????????????????

[Kari]

WHAT????

Um.

Ew.

[jeth]

I really, really hate when parents bring kids to age inappropriate movies. Five year olds at a PG-13 flick - when the kids aren't screaming in terror they are talking loudly behind you. And the parents have the nerve to get upset when the ushers tell them to shut up (after the person in front of them mysteriously returns from the bathroom, that is). ;)

But mostly it's the R rated movies. I see parents sneaking kids in there all the time and it pisses me off. Kids aren't ready for that kind of stuff at the age of 7. Seriously.

Oh, and concerts. Some shows might be cool, but last year we went to see a show and a young couple had brought their baby. I'm talking, at most, a one month old baby. Each time I ran out to the bathroom I saw either mom or dad standing in the hallway, where the music was still extremely audible and very, very loud, rocking the screaming infant. Hello? Kids have delicate ears! If you don't want your baby to be upset maybe you should think twice about bringing them to a rock show!

[queensiefaerie]

In the UK you will NEVER see a baby or child in an adult film. Why? Because we have age restrictions for films which are enforced strictly.
Unfortunatly, it's not really enforced here in the States. I can never understand why parents take infants or children to movies not suitable for the children. Haven't they heard of a babysitter or mother-in-law? But I agree that these things should be enforced here in the states.

[Charles:]

Ha...I had TWO experiences last night. One was in the grocery store. A lady had her hellion kids with her and at least 2 or 3 of them were always fighting over something. Screaming and yelling the whole time. You seriously could hear her kids throughout the whole store. Not just a quick yelp but a long drawn out scream. Great parenting skills!!
Then, I went to a concert last night and noticed a lady had her daughter in her arms. she could have been older than 4, and this was around 11pm. Show ended after midnight Yeah, bring your 4 year old to a packed show where Jared Leto (ok, ok, so I saw 30 seconds to mars...don't judge!!) is dropping F bombs left and right. People are drunk and slamming around...and she's right by the speakers. Nice work mom!!

[chloe dancer]

For some reason I am always incensed when I go to a late movie and there are children in the theater. Even if the child has some major sleep disorder, and like say they don't sleep ever and even if I am at a midnight screening of SpongeBob (which would never happen) - I don't want to be around your kids. I am at a late movie because I can be, because I arranged for someone else to take my kids overnight. I do not want to be around your kids when I am taking a break from mine.

Take them home, give them a bath, and put them to bed. Now.

Unacceptable!!

[chloe dancer]

I just read through this whole thread and my blood is boiling. Really, at what age is it appropriate to throw food at someone? NO AGE. I don't care if it is a baby with reflex problems - I would be MORTIFIED if my child whipped food at someone - I would clean the waitresses head, grab my kid, slip the waitress a twenty and get the fuck out of there.

A five year old throwing food?! FIVE?!?!? Five year olds are in school. They KNOW it is not ok to throw food.

(I used to really cast a lot of judgements on other parents - than Loki started working with autistic kids - so I am casting my judgements assuming they have 'normal' children. Which I am entitled to do. I am an American for god's sake.)

[Steve SFM]

I find it disturbing to hear the Mr. Leto feels he needs to use foul language in order to be "cool".

:D

The worst thing like that I saw recently was this couple who had a tiny baby inside a PACKED Joanna Newsom concert. OK, a punk band would have been much harder on baby's ears than a harp, but in all other ways, it was still fucking (as Jared might say :p) stupid. What was really bad, though, is that Joanna commented on how cute the baby was. She should have stopped the show until they took the baby out!

Steve the Sweet Fat Man

[Charles:]

Well...he was in a priest's collar, so saying fuck was probably the least of his worries

[Kippy]

I am going to cream myself in child hating ecstacy. This is a brilliant forum!

My top hated places for kids to see, as I assume "everywhere" is probably not a valid option:

The Cinema. UK is more strict than the US, but they have this new-ish 12a certificate which means it's suitable for 12 and over but an adult can bring a child under 12 so long as they are accompanied. The type of movies that get this certificate are Fight Club, Harry Potter, King Kong, etc. There's a big fucking difference between a 12 year old and a 5 year old (I don't think anyone below the age of 10 should go to the cinema anyway unless it's a specific kids performance, because they can't sit still and it's not fair to expect them to), and King Kong is certainly not suitable for the latter.

Grocery Stores! Okay, fair enough if you're a single mum or you don't have anyone to watch your kid and you need food, but why oh why must the entire bloody family go shopping together? Surely it would make more sense for dad and the 3 chitlins to stay home? Especially as everytime mum turns her back, dad's throwing looks that could kill.

THE GYM. Our gym has two pools, one for laps and one that's smaller and open. A lot of older people and less fit people use the second pool, and it's completely off putting when parents bring their children in there for playtime. It's a gym, not a leisure centre. Take your kid to the leisure pool in the town if you want to play. I don't go to the gym to get a headache from the toddler shrieking.

Nine times out of 10 it's the parent I am more annoyed with than the child. I realise having a kid is a stressful thing and you need a break, but don't take that break with all your friends in the middle of a shopping centre while you're kid is running amok in the shop across the way. Children under a certain age, while they should have manners, do not have an understanding so much between right and wrong, and of boundaries. Adults need to step in and set them. And when the adults are too busy using their prams to carry the shopping and chatting with their girlfriends, well... $%£$"^%$"

[toriwannabe]

At weddings! I know if there is a kid at a wedding, at the most inappropriate moment, the child will make noise. They can't help it...the little dears.

At my own wedding, I specifically did not state the child's name on the invitations. To me, that implies no children. But hey, a friend called up asking if she could bring her daughters and I politely said no. Another guest brought their baby without asking. Another guest was my husbands sister, so unfortunately I had to let her bring her young child.

During the vows: "waaah"
During the speeches: "waaah"

I had to grin and bear it, on my own wedding day. Damn kids.

[hollerskates]

^^oh hell! i never even thought about that. and you can't break into a full on tantrum as you're walking down the aisle. jesus.

[Julie]

I did not include children's names on my wedding invitation and made sure my mother emphasized that the wedding was a COCKTAIL PARTY and children under 12 (my youngest cousin's age) were not welcome.

My eldest cousin is STILL not speaking to me because I wouldn't allow her *newborn*. My mother (who always bingoes me about kids) actually said, "She just wants to show off her damn baby. I'm payin' for this, you're my only kid, and you're the only one being shown off!"

Sometimes I just wanna high five my mom. :)

[toriwannabe]

At another friend's wedding, someone not only wanted to bring their 2 year old, they wanted a full adult meal for the kid too.

[Julie]

I actually had people suggest to me that I just hire a babysitter.

I looked at them like they had six heads.

[queensiefaerie]

At weddings! I know if there is a kid at a wedding, at the most inappropriate moment, the child will make noise. They can't help it...the little dears.

At my own wedding, I specifically did not state the child's name on the invitations. To me, that implies no children. But hey, a friend called up asking if she could bring her daughters and I politely said no. Another guest brought their baby without asking. Another guest was my husbands sister, so unfortunately I had to let her bring her young child.

During the vows: "waaah"
During the speeches: "waaah"

I had to grin and bear it, on my own wedding day. Damn kids.

Oh My god!! Thank you for mentioning this!! It sucks that you had kids at your wedding, but I'm not married ( not sure if or when) but if I do, it is a great idea to make sure it's a Child-free event. ( Tori's was child-free ;b ) I will keep this in mind in the very-important-not-to-forget-file-in-my head!!

[Kippy]

The wedding thing is horrible! I can't believe anyone would expect someone to have children at their wedding when it's explicitly requested otherwise.

Sometimes I swear that people have kids just to have something to show off and make themselves feel fulfilled and needed.

[Jenn.]

- Grocery stores
- anywhere where you have to sit and pay attention quietly longer than 10 minutes (movies, theater, church) mainly i'd say this applies to kids 5 and under
- anywhere (except the emergency room) after 9pm at night.
- weddings
- work
- restaurants (fast food is ok)
- walmart
-concerts

[Kari]

I wanted no kids at my wedding. Unfortunately, I had to have my 2 nephews, but they were 8 and 6 so they were pretty well behaved. I think their mother put the fear of god in them. ;l

If any kid interrupted my vows with screaming...well...I dunno what. I would have bugged the fuck out.

[Kippy]

I would have marched right over to them and started screaming right back. One of these days, I'm going to lose my shit in public and do that to some poor kid (the parents are which are otherwise occupied). If they can throw a tantrum, so can I?

[jenniferblaufrau]

Sometimes I swear that people have kids just to have something to show off and make themselves feel fulfilled and needed.
Agreed.

WHY would anyone take a baby or toddler to a wedding? What does anyone possibly stand to gain?

[chloe dancer]

at my wedding i put on the bottom right hand corner in fancy dippy do writing 'adult occassion'. tacky? i didn't give a fuck. the last wedding i had gone to was almost ruined by a mob of children running amuck running and sliding across the dance floor. their parents were too shitfaced to keep control over them.

the only children in attendance were my son and goddaughter who were in the wedding and taken home shortly after their meal and show stealing dance moves.

i am divorced now but that's for another forum ;)

oh and i recieved TONS of backlash - my response to it all was ' I'd completely understand if you couldn't make it'

[nirak]

I was once reading specials at a table, and a 4 year old child took the opportunity to throw half a buttered mini scone at me, which stuck to the middle of my forehead.

I was homicidal. The parents actually LAUGHED and didn't scold him for it. So there I am, already in a demeaning job, with a mini scone plastered to my head. I remove it, and have a nice greasy butter spot on my head. Nice. I almost quit.

It is funny thinking of it now...but I was ready to kill the little bastard. And his parents.

Good god. My parents would have KILLED me. My mom would have been mortified. WTF is wrong with some parents!?!

[Kippy]

Getting invited to a wedding is a pretty big deal. You can figure at least $20 is being spent on you to be there for those few hours if you have a big wedding (and in reality, a lot more). If someone invites me to their wedding, I feel honoured they are willing to spend that on me. I would never consider arguing with them over why it's not fair my kid wasn't invited, because it's essentially a smack in the face.

"I realise you're spending over $50 on my husband and me and gosh, I think you're a real fucker for not spending an extra $25 on my kid also. How could be you so mean!?"

[hollerskates]

just to show that not every post is negative...i'd just like to say that there were no children present when i went to the grocery store last night. thank you, parents of charlotte, nc. thank you.

[Kari]

Good god. My parents would have KILLED me. My mom would have been mortified. WTF is wrong with some parents!?!
I would've gotten a hard smack on the ass and put in the car!!! I'm serious!

[Rinky vs.4.0]

I used to get dragged to family weddings when I was little. I hated, hated, hated every single moment of them. They are SO boring for little kids. I didn't misbehave because a)I wasn't that kind of kid and b)my mum would have fed me to the cat on our return home if I had, but I can see why other kids who aren't supervised or discliplined do - they're bored out their skulls and are entertaining themselves the only way they know how. As an adult, I've sat through ceremonies ruined by wahwahWAHWAHWAHWAAAAH and MUMMYIWANTTOGOHOMEWAHWAHWAH at the crucial moments and I just can't believe that people think it's a good idea to bring babies or little kids to a formal church occasion. It's quite idiotic.

[iciclespark]

Ahhh..... let's see (complete with @bullets for hotness):

Late night movie showings/movies completely inappropriate for the child's age (both in content and/or length of film). My brother is odd; at 8 he could sit through the extended FOTR without a peep (but maybe a bathroom break). If he's interested, he will shut up and be virtually silent. I never mind taking him to films. And late night showings.... look, I know Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was aimed at kids, and I grinned and bore it at the 3pm saturday showing. But when I went to see Monsters Inc at 11pm, there shouldn't have been five year-olds in the audience alrighty!? Nor should a toddler have been at a showing for The Bone Collector! (That one, I was actually so horrified for the child I left the theatre, told an usher and had them ejected).
Anywhere past their bedtime if it isn't an emergency. Grocery shopping at 1am is NOT cool. Rushing to the all-night drugstore for tylenol for their fever is EXPECTED and FINE.
Theatre productions and concerts there's no way they will patiently sit through. Granted, I've seen good kids.... there were children in front of us at Les Miserables last October and I didn't hear a peep. I've seen a toddler quietly watch a Tori show without any fuss. But as was said.... babies have sensitive ears. They do NOT belong in mosh pits!!!!!
Art galleries, until they stop trying to put their sticky fingers on paintings or giggling at any nudity.
Bars/clubs when the parents are drinking.
You shouldn't, and I don't care if it's hard to find a babysitter, bring children with you without bringing any toys/entertainment items to the bank when you have a new mortgage appointment, to leave them to sit in the waiting area alone and cause trouble. Or better yet, bring them into the office to scream, complain and cry while the poor Financial Rep is trying to talk interest rates and closings with you.
The same goes for doctors and dentists - avoid it unless you're hard up, and then bring something FUN for them to do.
Oh yes indeed, almost forgot: small kids shouldn't be at weddings or funerals, even. They're not interested in the vast amount of cases. I was at a funeral last fall and at the wake the kids were playing Gameboy in the same room as the body while people are crying and viewing the body. It just didn't feel right.

[Loca!]

CHILDREN SHOULD NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BE ON PLANES!

I took a 9 hour plane ride from Milan to Miami with two screaming brats in our section. ARGH!!!

[iciclespark]

Gah! How terrible! Did they scream the entire time? How old were they?

Thankfully, for all my flying, no screaming children yet.

[jeth]

- Grocery stores
- anywhere where you have to sit and pay attention quietly longer than 10 minutes (movies, theater, church) mainly i'd say this applies to kids 5 and under
- anywhere (except the emergency room) after 9pm at night.
- weddings
- work
- restaurants (fast food is ok)
- walmart
-concerts

Okay, seriously? No kids in the grocery store or at Wal-Mart? Did you ever stop to consider that some parents don't have anyone else to leave the kids with when the pantry is empty and they need to pick up something for dinner?

Sorry, I just think that's going too far. Do you honestly expect parents to find a babysitter everytime the fridge needs to be restocked so that you can have a childfree grocery shopping experience? Sorry, not going to happen.

I don't mind kids on planes, in restaurants, etc. so long as the parents are keeping them under control. If the kid starts throwing a tantrum it should be dealt with, not ignored or left for someone else to deal with. I don't think that kids, as a whole and in general, shouldn't be allowed in public. Movie Theaters? Depends on the movie. Concerts? Probably not a bright idea. Planes? Yeah, they are annoying when they start standing up on their seats while we taxi down the runway and scream at the entirety of economy class, but that's partly a parental discipline issue, not just a kid issue.

But come on. The grocery store? Let's be realistic here.

[sara_g]

CHILDREN SHOULD NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BE ON PLANES!

I took a 9 hour plane ride from Milan to Miami with two screaming brats in our section. ARGH!!!
I agree completely. I spent 10 hours on a plane a few weeks ago and wanted to choke every screaming child on there. What really pissed me off though was during a stop-over, people were allowed to leave the plane for a bit or just stay on. I stayed on to make some calls and get some work done since the crowd had thinned. Normal people would take screaming children off the plane to run around or feed them, right? I had the pleasure of listening to a 2 year old run up and down the aisle and scream at everyone she saw. The mother's reaction to me not moving and just giving the kid a "die now, you fuckwit" look? "Oh, I guess you can't scare these people honey". And once the connecting people had boarded, the kid had a screaming competition with other kids on the plane. Five hours of complete hell.

ETA: This is a great forum!

[toriwannabe]

I had to endure a 2 hour flight with a baby screaming. It bugged the shit outta me, but I put on headphones to drown it out. Yes it was frustrating, and yes, I'd prefer if people didn't take their babies on flights, but I understand that sometimes people just HAVE to take their baby with them.

I feel sorry for the babies though. I guess as adults we know how to unblock our ears as the plane ascends and descends. Babies don't know what to do, and I'm sure the pressure must give them pain.

That said, I really don't like screaming or badly behaved children anywhere, but I guess sometimes its unavoidable....not at my wedding though...urghh....

[hollerskates]

yeah, i think a lot of us are posting places we personally wish children wouldn't be rather than actually saying where they shouldn't be allowed. i mean you have to be realistic. sure, i wish bratty children weren't at the grocery store. i appreciate it when they're not. but realistically that ain't gonna happen. i'll live.

;)

[Charles:]

I think all of this is based on the behaviour of the kids. I mean, if you can have a 5 year old in a 5 star restaurant and him/her be well behaved, I really am fine with it. same with the grocery store.

[Rinky vs.4.0]

I think all of this is based on the behaviour of the kids. .

From my point of view, it certainly is, except for obvious exceptions like adult-oriented places such as bars and so on, where I simply object to children being for both their and the patrons' sake.

[Mordecai]

I just read a very interesting article (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/printFriendly/0,,1-6-2090955-6,00.html) about how museums are being made "child-friendly" (among other things).

From the outside World Museum, Liverpool still exudes the fading Victorian civic grandeur of its neighbour the Walker Art Gallery. Stepping inside, however, the impression I got was that I'd entered some kind of super-primary school, possibly a lavishly funded co-project with the European Union: a soaring, modern five story atrium with each department represented by illiteracy-friendly pictures - a fish, a bug, a dinosaur, a hand, a star. ("Children from St Vincent's Primary School and their artist in residence Alan Murray produced these banners," said a sign).

I visited the Clore Natural History wing, a sort of state-of-the-art school biology lab with lots objects (silicified wood; ammonites; skulls; shells) for visitors to paw and molest. A microscope was focussed on a stinging nettle. "Ouch!" said the caption. An exhibit on sea spiders asked "Are the spiders in mum's bath going to get this big?" A class of seven-year olds milled about, opening and closing specimen drawers, pushing and prodding but without focussing on anything in particular. Two or three young, friendly curators were trying to engage their attention. "Do you get much time to do any research?" I asked one. "Not as much as we'd like," he admitted.

Upstairs, in the Ethnographic galleries, a video of a man dressed in tribal robes introduced the African section with a lame rap number. "You might think of them as a simple people/But in essence they were truly complex," it went.

If you wanted to be annoyed by this sort of thing, you didn't have to look hard. A section on weapons seemed to think that their main purpose was for "dancing and initiation rites" rather than fighting. The one on masks claimed: "These objects show how important identity is to us and how we make identities for ourselves and for gods and spirits." Ancient Egypt, it is stressed, "was an African culture". The Roman Empire was "multicultural."

And besides the glib pacifism, woolly cod-sociological gobbledegook, cultural relativism and political correctness, the texts seemed designed to insult the intelligence of anyone past primary age. This is no accident. Museums are advised by local authorities to couch their labels in language no more complex than can be understood by a child with a standard reading age of twelve.

"I do worry that there's nothing there for those people who have that bit of education, who would like to know more in depth," a Liverpool curator said to me. But as he went on to admit, middle class museum goers are going to keep coming no matter what you do. The key to expanding audiences is concentrating on the C2s D2s and Es. "It's why all our promotional leaflets are in simple language and done in reds, yellows and blues like the world Barney [the horrible purple American TV dinosaur] lives in. You see in lower income households, it's the kids not the grown ups who decide whether or not visiting a museum is a worthwhile leisure activity."

God help us all. I remember as a child being completely put off by condescending adults and primary colors and touchy-feely propaganda.

[Rinky vs.4.0]

God help us all. I remember as a child being completely put off by condescending adults and primary colors and touchy-feely propaganda.

Me too.

I seriously dislike how child-oriented - in the sense of dumbed-down exhibits and big flashy displays - many museums have become. Last time I visited the Natural History Museum I was quite disappointed in how many exhibits seemed aimed at silly eight to ten year olds rather than literate kids and adults. Thank god the British Museum hasn't gone that way yet.

It's odd, how we think these days a child won't get anything out of a museum unless it resembles a games arcade with bits that light up and go bleep. As a child in the seventies and early eighties I was taken to so many museums in the UK, and abroad, and I LOVED the ones that were all display cases filled with odd, mysterious artifacts and I enjoyed reading the labels to find out what everything was. I loved the Natural History museum when it was filled with now politically-incorrect stuffed animals and so on as opposed to 'push-this-button-and-watch-this-light-up' displays. I learned heaps and retained my interest without having everything presented in Fischer-Price mode. Simply looking at old stuff and weird stuff and downright interesting stuff was its own reward. I was taken around Yad Vashem - the Holocaust Museum in Israel - when I was thirteen years old and was seriously upset- but I think that's exactly how one should feel after visiting such a place. Not everything should be made kid-friendly or accessible.

[jeth]

From my point of view, it certainly is, except for obvious exceptions like adult-oriented places such as bars and so on, where I simply object to children being for both their and the patrons' sake.

Exactly.

And I'm with you on the bar issue, particularly as I live in a state where children can legally be in a bar (and drinking) so long as their parent or guardian is present. I'm sorry, but if you can't go out and drink without bringing the kids along then maybe you shouldn't be out drinking, period. It's one thing if it's a restaurant, but a full on tavern/pub? Not cool.

[Nancy]

I live in a waterfront community that has a beautiful sandy beach. The kids of course love hanging out down by the river in the summertime. I have always loved solitary swimming so I used to go there early in the mornings for a quick swim, hoping to avoid the crowds of noisy children. Lately I haven't been been able to do this because there's a kid's swim team which has scheduled trials for beginners, intermediates, and advanced swimmers from dawn to dusk. I'm happy they can have that kind of fun but when is MY chance to enjoy the amenities I pay for without a gazillion kids nearby? I would ask for equal time for adults but I just found out that my next-door neighbor, who has children, is being ostracized by the other mothers because she doesn't like the concept of "play dates." If you don't play the mommy game the way everybody else does, you have no voice on the policies in this neighborhood.

[Rinky vs.4.0]

The Mommy Mafia!

Apparently the worst Mommy Mafia in the world exists in Japan. Mothers there apparently form ferocious playground hierachies and cliques and bully and ostracise other mothers who don't fit in as a matter of course. Then, of course, there was the famous case of the ultra-competitive mother who killed her friend's toddler (http://www.wsws.org/articles/2000/jun2000/jap-j19.shtml) because she got into a top kindergarten and her own child didn't - there were all sorts of articles going into the psycho-competitive-mother phenomenon after that one.

[Nancy]

Helen, that's one of the most disturbing things I've ever read. Yeesh.

[Steve SFM]

That was a well-written story; I liked the sociological context.

But that kind of thing happens in different contexts, too. Like that guy who drugged the tennis opponents of his prodigy kids, and then the one kid who he drugged crashed his car and died.

Another element of this, besides the thing of parents living through their kids, is just the desire for fame itself. I'm reading a novel now called Colors Insulting to Nature, by Cintra Wilson, which deals with a mother who lives through her daughter. But the thing is, the kid has also swallowed the Kool-Aid of the desire for fame, too. As the book points out, the desire for fame is hardwired into us by the media, and the process to get fame has been idealized (meaning: lied about) by that media.

Steve the Sweet Fat Man

[nirak]

I actually like well behaved children in art galleries. They see things I don't, and it is wonderful to see parents actually taking thier kids out to a gallery instead of sitting them in front of a TV for 12 hours a day.

Course, if the kid is screaming, I also appreciate it if they leave.

[Nancy]

What I don't understand is why certain women don't ask themselves why they need to conform to the status quo. I see so many women who seem to be just going through the motions that are expected of them -- be it by the media, the Church, their husbands, or their neighbors. They spend their entire lives trying to keep up with the Joneses. They like to be seen spending money but if you ask them about it, they say they leased their BMW and their sailboat is only available to them part-time because they rent it as a timeshare. If that's not being a phony, what is? Is the illusion of money and security really worth never speaking your own mind?

As for the mommies who are competetive to the point of being psycho -- they're certainly not doing their kids any favors. I'm sure their children wouldn't want their mothers to sacrifice so much for such a dubious reward. At least until they get the need-for-greed programmed into them by watching their mothers' behavior.

[felicia25]

anywhere.


all they ever do is annoy me, worst of all, my closest friend just had one, will have to put up my sign, dogs welcome, children must be leashed lol

they can be cute sometimes....like when their sleeping.

[Lord_Rask_of_Trevdale]

I was thinking of this thread last week when I was seeing "Wicked" in Chicago.

There was this kid behind me who kept asking his parents "Was it like that in the movie!?!?" . . apparently he wanted to know if The Wicked Witch was really good in the Wizard of Oz. . well I was all like "Jeebus. . if you kid can't shut up at a $75.00 a ticket musical. . don't BRING THEM!"

So yeah, I'm sitting there all shitty. . wishing this kid would shut up. Then. . all of the sudden Elphaba (the witch) does this BIG explosiony/magic thing. . and the kids goes "Wooooaaahh. . is that REAL magic!?!"

And I just died. . I thought it was the cutest thing I'd heard in forever, and for me, remembering that kind of innocence is totally worth the annoyance.

Sm**chies!

Jacob.

[Amy!]

Children should not be allowed in restaurants where voices echo and carry until they can be expected to use an "inside voice". I don't care if it's a family friendly restaurant, a two year old that speaks in piercing shrieks should be chained and gagged until it's hoarse before being allowed inside. It is in no way cute or endearing when it's infant sibling joins in on the banshee impression.

[hollerskates]

I was thinking of this thread last week when I was seeing "Wicked" in Chicago.

i'm so jealous.

[Lord_Rask_of_Trevdale]

i'm so jealous.

I know right!?! I still can't believe I'm able to retain thread information like that ;)

Sm**chies!

Jacob.

[half1113]

Children should not be allowed in restaurants where voices echo and carry until they can be expected to use an "inside voice". I don't care if it's a family friendly restaurant, a two year old that speaks in piercing shrieks should be chained and gagged until it's hoarse before being allowed inside. It is in no way cute or endearing when it's infant sibling joins in on the banshee impression.

My parents would have taken us to the car and got 'to go' containers if we didn't act right even that young. The parents should be put in the stocks for allowing their child to talk like that. That's how they become the screaming 7 yearolds in the grocery store or Wal-Mart. They are the main reason I can't go to Wal-Mart any more. Now that they all have those metal high roofed ceilings I go maybe once a year.

[jenniferblaufrau]

Went to the mall today, got a haircut, and browsed the luggage and dresses. Screaming, kicking, howling, floor-wallowing spastic children blocking every aisle. Mothers dragging them by the arms, yelling at them in frustration.

Yes, it was somewhat annoying, but mostly what I felt was glee at the thought that I am single and have no pint-size drooling liabilities to cart around and interrupt my fun girl time.

[katz]

in.my.yard.


-resists urge to kill my neighbour's idiot teenage son and his equally as horrid friends-

[Amy!]

Went to dinner tonight at a LOUD new sports bar. It's not the sort of place that has seperate rooms for functions, the whole place is supposed to be a loud drunken party.

This obviously makes it the first place you pick when planning your BABY SHOWER. Especially when it's after you've already given birth and your newborn is a howling party animal.

30 drunken adults, one crying baby taking up a huge section of the restaurant and the mom is hovering right over our table to keep the kid away from her loud friends. I felt bad for her because she needed a place to put the kid and it seems the only thing people bought were overpriced baby nikes and 1000 count crib sheets and nobody would hold it so she could eat. But then my dinner came and it started crying and she didn't have a bottle or a boob for it and wouldn't take it outside.

Oy.

[iciclespark]

OMG look! Even the experts agree with this thread!
(I read this article this morning and immediately thought of this thread)

Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060818.HTAYLOR18/TPStory/?query=shopping+carts


Shopping carts and kids: a dangerous combo



Supermarket aisles sometimes can be as dangerous as busy highways.
A report in the journal Pediatrics warns that shopping-car-related injuries are extremely common, frequently resulting in the serious injury and even the death of children.


Researchers say 24,000 children were treated for such accidents last year in the United States, with 74 per cent suffering from head and neck injuries. Fractures were also common. Using the U.S. figures as a guide, it's reasonable to estimate that there are 2,400 similar mishaps in Canada annually.


Young children apparently get hurt in numerous ways: falling from or becoming caught in carts, carts tipping over, falling off a cart while riding on the outside, cart collisions and even being run over by a cart.




An expert panel assembled by the American Academy of Pediatrics is calling for new industry standards -- including child restraints or the equivalent of shopping-cart seat belts.


Some grocery chains already have child-safe carts. But they vary so much in design and stability, it might be hard for parents to figure out whether their local store has a good one.


(A restraint will do little to protect a child if the cart tips over, and a top-heavy cart can tip if another sibling jumps up on the side of it.)


"Parents are strongly encouraged to seek alternatives to transporting their child in a shopping cart until an effective revised performance standard for shopping cart safety is implemented," urges the team lead by Dr. Gary Smith of the Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.


The experts suggest leaving children at home, shopping on-line, or using other means, such as a stroller, to ferry a child around a store.
However, even the experts acknowledge these are not practical options for a lot of people. So if parents must put their children in a cart, they should not be left unattended, allowed to stand up or ride on the outside of the cart.


Look, parents. This is coming from experts who like and care about children. NOW will you listen?

[Rinky vs.4.0]

^Love it!

Though, you'd think people would already have figured out that letting kids roam unattended, stand up in or ride on the outside of an unstable thing like a shopping trolley was asking for trouble.

Obviously not, though.

[Amy!]

There ought to be a series of videos on things that can happen to your kid if you don't pay attention to it. Arm broken in a shopping cart incident, brains splattered about after taking a go-kart on the road, various swimming pool hazards.
Sell them to every place that does parenting classes and link to them on online childfree communties for the twisted amusement types.

$$$$.

[hellopeople]

at my wedding i put on the bottom right hand corner in fancy dippy do writing 'adult occassion'. tacky? i didn't give a fuck. the last wedding i had gone to was almost ruined by a mob of children running amuck running and sliding across the dance floor. their parents were too shitfaced to keep control over them.

the only children in attendance were my son and goddaughter who were in the wedding and taken home shortly after their meal and show stealing dance moves.

i am divorced now but that's for another forum ;)

oh and i recieved TONS of backlash - my response to it all was ' I'd completely understand if you couldn't make it'

I went to a wedding yesterday and there was a two year old screaming. But my 3 year old cousin was also there and he was a perfect little angel:). Parents really need to know when it is appropiate to bring their children places. Like it was important for my cousin to be there because all the family was there, but my aunt didn't take her ten month old baby who's teething therefore cranky. My aunt is smart haha.

I also don't think that highly impressionable nine year olds should be at weddings, or at least not in weddings where very "explicit" dancing is going on. In said wedding I was at, there was a lot of middle eastern music going on, and our family likes to dance in a belly-dancing type of way that is highly sexual. So this nine year old starts doing that, shimmying and shaking her ass, and doing almost like a lap dance to my seventy year old great aunt. My aunt thought it was funny, and she took a couple of dollars and stuck them in the girl's breast!!!!! WTF!!!! Like where was this kids parent? Oh wait, I saw her passed out in the bathroom:r .

[The March Hare]

... I thought you had left, Hellopeople? Anyway... During my many excursions at the grocery store, I have come very close to running over children with my cart due to the fact that the little fucks come out of nowhere, thinking they own the damn place, and seem to think that everyone will stop as they run around screaming. If it wasn't for my fear of the police, I'd ram the little bastards... I wish children were just banned from the grocery store.

[hellopeople]

... I thought you had left, Hellopeople? Anyway... During my many excursions at the grocery store, I have come very close to running over children with my cart due to the fact that the little fucks come out of nowhere, thinking they own the damn place, and seem to think that everyone will stop as they run around screaming. If it wasn't for my fear of the police, I'd ram the little bastards... I wish children were just banned from the grocery store.

No, I was merely at a family gathering for five days ([shock] ) and I started taking a photography course in the city which was taken up most of my time :)

And I agree that children should not be taken to disturbing movies. For some reason my parents thought it would be OK for me to go to Hannibal when I was nine, and Fight Club when I was seven. Grrr. And also movies that are somewhat philosophical or intellectual; do not bring your children to those. They will NOT enjoy it, and end up harboring such a hate for it that when they are old enough to understand it they won't want to see it.

[1squirrel]

I get SO annoyed when I see kids in:

Expensive theater productions
Nice restaurants that do NOT have children's menus.
art openings.
Concerts. especially all day long festivals. Which kid REALLY wants to see the Pixies in 100 degree weather?

Where do you hate to see kids?

Using illegal gas powered Dirt bikes & ATV's on city streets. This endangers their lives because the ca't be seen by cars backing out of driveways (They are two low to the ground) and can get run over. this also includes trespassing on other peoples property. Streets are for cars & trucks, NOT A PLAY GROUND FOR YOUR CHILDREN! I see 7 & 8 year olds and up in the streets where they don't belong. Only when one gets hurt or killed will a parent be charge with a form of child abuse.

[Kari]

Oh! I forgot!

Bars.

Last spring, this woman had her child with her at our pub down the street. She was very cute, actually, maybe about 6, and was telling me all about her red hair and how she hated it. I was piss drunk and sorta felt bad talking to the kid whilst intoxicated. She was wearing a shirt with the pub's logo and on the back the shirt said "Your pretty face is going to hell". WTF? Why is the child in a pub? I know it's an Irish pub and all, but geez!

[half1113]

Oh! I forgot!

Bars.

Last spring, this woman had her child with her at our pub down the street. She was very cute, actually, maybe about 6, and was telling me all about her red hair and how she hated it. I was piss drunk and sorta felt bad talking to the kid whilst intoxicated. She was wearing a shirt with the pub's logo and on the back the shirt said "Your pretty face is going to hell". WTF? Why is the child in a pub? I know it's an Irish pub and all, but geez!

*takes child home from the beer joint*

[Fox in Socks]

hahah that reminds me of that sweet home alabama movie (shut up i LOVE reese)..."you have a baby!......in a bar?!!" ;l;l;l i amuse me.

[chickentart]

I hate children on planes.

[BeulahLand]

Here's a true story. About 7 years ago I was in a porn shop getting some goodies when in walks a man and a woman and the woman was holding an infant. The guy at the sales counter asked her to leave, that the child couldn't be in there. She's didn't make a fuss and left, probably to go wait in the car. My mouth hit the floor! Why is God's name would a mother bring her child into a porn shop?! Couldn't she just wait in the fucking car?! It cracks me up to think about it but in reality it's pretty fucking sad.

[jeth]

Around here it's acceptable to bring children into the bar depending on where the bar is located - right in the city, probably not, but the more rural the area, the more acceptable it becomes. I should know - I spent a summer visiting relatives up here and they must have dragged me with them to the bar every other night. The barkeeper actually kept a bucket of lollipops on hand to pass out to all the kids who spent their evenings on barstools while their guardians drank.

I find it completely unacceptable, of course, but I know it still happens. How could it not? Our state is known for drinking.

[Steve SFM]

I hate children on planes.

I usually agree. Although I did like the baby in Snakes on a Plane.

Steve the Sweet Fat Man

[Sulley]

You know where children shouldn't be?

Sitting on top of a counter at any establishment.

I currently work at a pharmacy, and one day this mother proceeds to plop her baby on the counter while I was ringing her up. And of course he starts playing with the credit card machine, trying to pick it up and playing with the attached pen. I really just wanted wanted to tell her to move the kid, but of course you can't offend customers, even when they are acting like morons.

But really, there really is no reason for you to put the kid on the counter. Asses of any age don't belong there.

[Master Shaman]

hahah that reminds me of that sweet home alabama movie (shut up i LOVE reese)..."you have a baby!......in a bar?!!" ;l;l;l i amuse me.

God, I'd love to smack her pig face. And fuck her husband.

[Fox in Socks]

shdjahsda. i always thought ryan phillipe was gay. i still think he is.

so yeah, kids do NOT need to be at work. i need to reiterate that. usually because people get about 1/2 the work done when their kids are there, since obviously they still need to be parented or else they'd stay home alone. i get the brief visits in, but when theyre there all day.....evil.....[voodoo]

[Framedanddry]

In a shopping trolley screaming their head off - unless the trolley is rolling down a mountain towards shark infested water.

[jeth]

Alright, I have a new one - if you plan on bringing your children to the laundromat please bring along some toys, books, or other items to keep them occupied. Do not allow them to crawl into the laundry carts and push each other through the building, screaming and squealing on the slippery floors.

I saw a family today who ignored their kids as they did this, and finally one of the younger girls ended up falling out of the cart face first onto the tile floor. She ended up with a bloody nose and a loose tooth, and while her older siblings were checking her for injuries her parents just sort of looked over to see what the commotion was and then went back to folding their laundry.

Ugh. I hate inattentive parents.

[iciclespark]

Here's a variation on my general "Keep 'em out of the bank of you have no plans to watch them..."

Picture it: Toronto, 2006.

I'm working Monday, and being as it's the end of the month, and a MONDAY, the bank is busy. I am also working a 13-hour day, so I'm not too cheery.

I notice a kid in a stroller, just outside the entrance to the line queue. See handy sketch below:


____________________________| |
|
| ____________________________|
| | X


(I'm so talented. Really)

In any case, the child is Pakistani. The person next to him within the busy line is white and so not paying attention to the kid. I also go "ding ding" in my brain and remember this kid entering with a woman.

I approach the munchkin, who is thankfully quiet and stuffing its face with Mickey D's, to see if I can figure out where the fuck its parent went. Just then, I see a head pop up from the front of the line, look back at the kid, and smile.

"Is this your kid?" I snap.
A nod.
"NOT FUCKING KOSHER. Come get him RIGHT NOW."

She seems perplexed, but comes.

"I could have kidnapped your son in ten seconds. Don't you EVER leave your son alone again. Understand me?"

Very quiet murmured reply in the affirmative. Woman pushes stroller up to the front where she was.

I may not want kids, but for fuck's sake, if you don't want them, stop fucking having them so I can pay less tax towards your baby bonus cheque, you stupid bint. Kidnapping is TOO easy with parents like this. Every day I see at least 3 kids I could kidnap easily. Pisses me off!!!!!!

[Rinky vs.4.0]

*loves Iciclespark*

[iciclespark]

Next time... I'm going to just pull the stroller around the corner out of sight and count how long it takes mom to realize the thing's gone missing... Because I seriously could have yoinked that kid so easily.

(I also delighted at several people in line loudly commenting about how fucking stupid the mother was as she came to get the sprog, being as I so loudly announced her stupidity. Oh Helen, it was great. You would have loved it. I had people agreeing that I should have kidnapped him to prove a point. I [post28] my bank's jaded evil customers.)

[Cam]

Bar & Grill - I know it's not JUST a bar but if you go into a place where most people go to get ripped and maybe eat overpriced frozen food that's been deep-fried, probably not a good idea.

And court - I don't know why people think it's swell for their 2 year old to watch as Daddy gets handcuffed and led to a jail cell.

[Steve SFM]

And court - I don't know why people think it's swell for their 2 year old to watch as Daddy gets handcuffed and led to a jail cell.

Be nice. Court appearances are probably the only chance they get to see Daddy.

:D

Steve the Sweet Fat Man

[Cam]

Be nice. Court appearances are probably the only chance they get to see Daddy.

:D

Steve the Sweet Fat Man
Until Daddy gets out of jail and Mommy decides she wants child support. :D

[hellopeople]

Children should not be in cruises. Why would anyone pay $500 to subject their children to masses of disgusting food, gambling, and lots of alcohol on a seven story ship where they will annoy the shit out of them?

[jeth]

No offense, but I find it funny that you're bitching about children when you are still one yourself.

[Steve SFM]

There's a difference between a relatively mature teenager and a screaming brat who runs around under table legs.

Just sayin'.

Steve the Sweet Fat Man

[hellopeople]

No offense, but I find it funny that you're bitching about children when you are still one yourself.

I was assuming that people here were talking about children in the 1-7 range. And if I was mistaken, then that is the age group that my post refers to. So no offense taken.

[Julie]

Gotta agree with Steve here.

I much prefer teenagers to children. And there is a difference.

[Steve SFM]

I generally agree, but it depends on the teenager. :D Yesterday, I was walking over at the shopping center across the street, and I passed this group of teenage boys. One of them came up to me and said, "Yo, man, didja call me out?" and danced around like he was gonna fight me. I didn't feel actually threatened, but it was annoying. I was thinking, take your testosterone-sodden little brain and dance away, Junior. ;l

Steve the Sweet Fat Man

[hellopeople]

I generally agree, but it depends on the teenager. :D Yesterday, I was walking over at the shopping center across the street, and I passed this group of teenage boys. One of them came up to me and said, "Yo, man, didja call me out?" and danced around like he was gonna fight me. I didn't feel actually threatened, but it was annoying. I was thinking, take your testosterone-sodden little brain and dance away, Junior. ;l

Steve the Sweet Fat Man

hahahahahajkdsha;sfhdjakf

"What makes you think I won't cut you?"

[Julie]

Well, if you call the police on teenagers, they generally respond. You can't call the cops on a kid. ;)

Oh, and that's too funny, Steve-- the high school I'm teaching at is playing volleyball against the high school I went to, and the theme is "Bring it". As in South Park Dance Off. I thought that was pretty clever. ;)

[Master Shaman]

Who are you rooting for?

[Julie]

I frankly don't care. I think that I have to root for the school I'm at, so the girls don't cut me.

[jeth]

Sorry guys, but I think 14 is still very much a child in many, many respects. Teenager, maybe, but not nearly as mature as a 16 or 17 year old would be.

[Julie]

It TOTALLY depends on the 14 year old. I have seniors (17-18) who are more immature than my Freshmen (14-15).

[tully]

^
Which is why I'm embracing my fourth year of 9th graders with open arms, and I never, never want to teach seniors. In fact, last year I had a 9th grade class directly before an 11th grade class, and the juniors were these absolute jerks while the freshmen had more self-control and determination.

A lot of people ask me why I work with teenagers, because they're basically assholes. And I say, "Yeah, they're assholes, but they're assholes in a way that I can appreciate." And there's something awesome about intimidating someone a full foot taller than I am.

[Julie]

Yup. Totally. And the whole, "Ms. N., your clothes are SO COOL" is sort of nifty, too. ;)

[Kari]

I give you both snaps for dealing with high school kids. I give all teachers praise, in general, because I really admire that kind of patience.

[empresskara]

Children should not be in cruises. Why would anyone pay $500 to subject their children to masses of disgusting food, gambling, and lots of alcohol on a seven story ship where they will annoy the shit out of them?

My parents took us on a cruise when we were "children" I had just turned 11 or 12 which would make my brother 7 or 8 at the time. We had a blast and were not annoyed at all.

Again, it's all about the behavior of the child as taught by the parents, with the exception of places where a child is put into danger, such as a rock concert.

[hellopeople]

My parents took us on a cruise when we were "children" I had just turned 11 or 12 which would make my brother 7 or 8 at the time. We had a blast and were not annoyed at all.

Again, it's all about the behavior of the child as taught by the parents, with the exception of places where a child is put into danger, such as a rock concert.

I was talking more about that 2-6 range. :). I was pissed because we had this family reuinion and stuff, and one of my mom's cousins decided to bring her four children all under the age of six, and she totally ignored them, and got piss drunk every night, and of course, I ended up having to take care of them, like always. And they are such brats. My family went to the cruise for three purposes: see the family, get drunk, gamble. That should exclude children. Especially if it means you have to pay $500 for them haha.

[iciclespark]

^
I agree. Under 6 is way too young unless you're seriously going to spend time with them. If you want to have fun and let loose, have the kids stay with someone and go party solo.

[half1113]

^I think that's true with any age range of the children. I was at a wedding not too long ago. It was a redneck wedding at an RV park. So there was no concern about drinking and driving. Most of the kids were jr high and high school. They had absolutely no supervision. A couple of them got caught smoking and drinking beer. While I know the children should have known better, the temptation was more then they can handle. The kids got in trouble but I blame the parents just as much.

[Cam]

I was talking more about that 2-6 range. :). I was pissed because we had this family reuinion and stuff, and one of my mom's cousins decided to bring her four children all under the age of six, and she totally ignored them, and got piss drunk every night, and of course, I ended up having to take care of them, like always. And they are such brats. My family went to the cruise for three purposes: see the family, get drunk, gamble. That should exclude children. Especially if it means you have to pay $500 for them haha.
Disney cruises are perfect for kids, though (including my wife ;))

You can basically leave them with their own little group activities and never see them again until the last night, unless you force them to come eat with you.

I don't even mind kids on other cruise lines (going on RCL in 3 days wooo woo!). But I don't spend much time in areas where they congregate much...like the BAR!

and even if their parents bring them into a bar I figure it's their problem if I blow smoke in their faces...that's the one place that belongs to my bad habit on the ship

[Fluffy]

Where do you hate to see kids?
Earth.

In no order:

- Nice restaurants (Indeed, I will not dine in a place that contains children under the age of 12)
- Shopping venues
- Movie theaters. I remember going to see some movie, it may have been Bad Santa. The mother behind me kept exclaiming how OMG terrible this movie was for kids. I'm shocked I didn't wind up with an assault charge. Did I mention this was the 10pm show? And that the kid in question was about 8? Awesome.

[ThyGuy]

I don't mind having behaved children in any general place. Unfortunately, the bastard children beat the behaved children 100-5 usually. Newborns are utterly and completely intollerable in any situation. Why do you have your child out in public at such a young age? Don't you worry the poor thing will catch a germ or a bad bug?

Last night I was at a chinese buffet. The place was packed; it took fifteen minutes to get in (H&R tax loans people who don't get to go out often), so I was pretty annoyed. Then it happens; here comes the group that is sat right next to us, with a less than a week old newborn.

I am insanely lucky; the baby did not make a -sound- for the entire forty five minutes we were in there (and it was LOUD in this place; 500+ people).

I am usually not lucky and get a family with kids that are constantly screaming, crying, or staring (which I immediately stare back until the kid freaks out) kids. Luckily, I do not smile in public; I look like evil incarnate and children are absolutely horrified to even go near me.

I can't be mean, or rude to children or their parents because Illinois has new children protection laws, and I was actually threatened with a $500 fine for telling someone to control their kids.

Sigh...

[Rizzabella]

This isn't necessarily a place where children "shouldn't be" but another example of just bad parenting when a parent just completely ignores a kid.

My boyfriend and I were at the supermarket and both jumped into a completely empty line. As he and I were unloading the few items we had, a woman with a child in tow hovered around behind us and then finally pushed through both of us and jumped to the front. I was about to say something but then she said "I need to be in front, I have a problem." I am a bit crabby, I roll my eyes and say "Well, whatever." She was holding the price tag for something, ripped off the rack, and a thing of Safeway organic milk and a receipt. For the next 10 minutes she argued with the clerk (who kept trying to say "I'm really sorry, you need to take this up with customer service" but finally caved). Meanwhile, she's got a kid who is just sort of roaming around behind her and she's completely ignoring him. The kid is putting his hands on everything, grabbing candy off the rack and sticking the wrappers in his mouth and then putting his hand down his pants, drooling on stuff, etc. Then as I'm standing there the kid comes up to me and GRABS my ass. GRABS it. I turn and say "don't do that" and look over to see if the mom is paying attention. She isn't.

She keeps arguing and finally we discover that she's arguing about a couple of cents difference in the price- I think it was maybe $.50 that she was overcharged for her milk. Yeah, that sucks, but not so much that you need to inconvenience everyone.

Meanwhile her kid is still roaming around and whining and annoying me, grabbing at things (and me, repeatedly) and sticking everything in his mouth. The mom finally gets her money back and is about to leave and actually starts to walk off before realizing her kid is behind her. When she goes back to get the kid she shoves my boyfriend out of the way to get at him, pushes him ahead, and for some reason even though there's plenty of room in the aisle (my boyfriend is incredibly skinny, he hardly takes up any room) she says 'You need to move over. I'm coming through.'
"What?"
"MOVE OVER."
"You have plenty of room to get by, what's your deal?"
"I need to get through."
"Then walk through, there's nothing stopping you."
(admittedly my boyfriend is a bit rude to her, but by then we've sat through some long thing over a measly 50 cents while her kid was obnoxious and there's no reason that he needs to move since there's plenty of space to get around him).

Before he says anything else she shoves him out of the way. I have no idea what's happening since I'm talking to the cashier but hear her say "I'M PREGNANT, MOVE!". Then she sees me, shoves into me intentionally and digs her elbow into me as hard as she possibly can. She mutters something like "I'm pregnant, bitches, grow up" again and then moves on.

So yeah, a combination of two of my favorite things. Shitty parenting (ignoring a kid is so intelligent) and then using a pregnancy as an excuse to act like a shitbag. My side still hurts, I think I will bruise. :)

[Steve SFM]

And you didn't kick her in the stomach....why?

;)

[Rinky vs.4.0]

I think your BF was quite polite considering the circumstances. And you could have pressed assault charges on the bloated bitch after she pushed and elbowed you. I'd have been inclined to elbow her back, myself. In the face.

Who gives a shit if anyone's pregnant? It doesn't give them carte blanche to behave like a rabid, stupid heifer on crack. Stupid goddamn entitlebitches.

[jeth]

You should have tripped the bitch and then given her a kidney kick when she fell on her face. The entitlement attitude doesn't sit well with me at all.

[Samwitch]

IKEA. Oh, fuck me. I cringe when parents turn their kids loose like a pack of dogs being let out to chase the fox. [post75]

[Master Shaman]

Before he says anything else she shoves him out of the way. I have no idea what's happening since I'm talking to the cashier but hear her say "I'M PREGNANT, MOVE!". Then she sees me, shoves into me intentionally and digs her elbow into me as hard as she possibly can. She mutters something like "I'm pregnant, bitches, grow up" again and then moves on.



http://www.atforumz.com/showthread.php?t=294652

:)!

[Rizzabella]

And you didn't kick her in the stomach....why?

;)
I wish I'd done something else but I was just so shocked by the whole thing I didn't think of it. She seemed more upset when my boyfriend and I just started laughing and I said loudly "well, honey, that's why you never fuck with a pregnant lady when she's after 50 cents!"

Dan I thought of your story last night afterward, actually. [post83]

[Autumn]

She ELBOWED you?? What if you happened to be pregnant (ha!)?? If a pregnant woman shoves and elbows another woman, in front of her offspring, no less, who exactly needs to grow up?

Your boyfriend's rudeness was totally justified - she was more rude, and besides, she started it!

[Cam]

bitch needs to recognize
*snaps*

[Heart of Moon]

That's awful!

Why do people always think that because they need to be annoying, they should go in front of other people? If she has such a problem, why does it need to be your problem?

*grumbles*

[Rizzabella]

She ELBOWED you?? What if you happened to be pregnant (ha!)?? If a pregnant woman shoves and elbows another woman, in front of her offspring, no less, who exactly needs to grow up?

Your boyfriend's rudeness was totally justified - she was more rude, and besides, she started it!
I should have said I was pregnant. [post83] I'd understand more of her frustration about wanting someone to move if she was actually showing. I had no idea she was pregnant, the woman was skinny as a rail.

My bf is a little on the rude side anyway and speaks his mind freely so typically if we make someone mad when we're out I privately blame him. But aside from grumbling under my breath about her I kept my mouth shut. My resolution for the month is to be nicer to people so I've been trying to live up to that with so-so results.

[Churumbela]

You should have told her, "I hope you have a daughter, and she dies."

[YosemiteBear]

My god, Mumblety-Peg, I got all angry reading that and I wasn't even there.

It's funny because I was thinking how that sounded like something that would happen in my city, and then I remembered you are in my city. Sad.

[Rizzabella]

My god, Mumblety-Peg, I got all angry reading that and I wasn't even there.

It's funny because I was thinking how that sounded like something that would happen in my city, and then I remembered you are in my city. Sad.
Well if you ever go to the Safeway on Geary and Webster for any reason just watch out for the pregnant ladies buying milk on sale, I guess. :D

[Pan.]

I hate little kids...

I work in an art gallery and they come in moved my still life that I was painting, licked the ice sculpture outside, and just whined in those pissy voices of theirs asking me annoying questions

why?

[Boomer #8]

^^well, because they are children. They may be stupid questions to you, but for the kids it's not. They want to learn - and if it annoys you that much just tell them to bugger off.

[jeth]

Kind of random, but I got a big laugh today driving home from the store - this car edged along-side me on the bridge and then passed and I realized there was a kid in the backseat and the family dog was up front, riding shotgun, head out the window and just loving it. And the kid wasn't young enough that I would think the whole back seat safety rules applied. So in the battle for the front seat the family dog > the kid.

It was fantastic. And I thought I would share.

[Fox in Socks]

can i add casinos to this list? because i am continually amazed at the amount of children that are in casinos at 1 am. That just screams fucked up.

[Churumbela]

^
Yesss. That used to piss me off so much. An ex of mine was very much a fan of blackjack, so we would drive to CT to go to Mohegan Sun. The number of families walking around with little children at two or three in the morning made me so mad I could spit. I can't even go to places like that anymore; I just want to scream at them, "Be a fucking parent, stop gambling all your money away, and take that kid home to bed!"

[Besmirched]

^Exfuckingsactly! There should be a child lottery or something even more sinister and fascist...like a form you have to fill out before carrying a child to term. Or a test, even! I mean, you can't get into college without being somewhat smart, right? But bring another child into the world as you please.



---I've always thought that we should put something into the drinking water to render everyone temporarily sterile, and then, after a decided-upon age--35, perhaps--those who wish to procreate must pass a series of exhaustive tests, PLUS pay a fee that goes into a collective fund from which all non-breeders are paid a dividend each month.

[TalulaBelle]

Some idiots brought their 3 year old to a 10pm, showing of "Passion of the Christ" -- the kid screamed through the whole movie because A) it was tired, B) it was terrified. It made everyone else so uncomfortable, how inappropriate!

People bring their kids to the fine dining Lebanese restaurant I work at- and then say, don't you have chicken strips and french fries? I say, "No, we have Lamb shish kabobs and jasmine rice" and my restaurant has a belly dancer-- people let their kids follow the belly dancer around to watch, meanwhile the waitresses are not only tripping over the belly dancer but the hoard of kids who are just running around the restaurant.

The day I accidently stick a skewer of kafta through some kids eye and get sued I am going to be pissed!

[Rinky vs.4.0]

People bring their kids to the fine dining Lebanese restaurant I work at- and then say, don't you have chicken strips and french fries? I say, "No, we have Lamb shish kabobs and jasmine rice"


You know, I am absolutely 100% befuddled by people who go to ethnic restaurants and demand non-ethnic foods. I am also befuddled by the idea that there is such a thing as 'children's food' which usually translates as bland junk food eg. the chips and processed chicken crap you mentioned Why do your kids require such shitty food? Because you brought them up on it from day one and ruined their palates, maybe? In non-western countries you see little kids eating exactly the same foods as the adults, with the same range of tastes and seasoning and spices, with no problem. Why we've developed this idea children need special, rubbish food is beyond me, even more beyond me is why restuarants are supposed to cater to this idiocy.

[Kari]

^ My nephews will only eat it if its fried. Truth. My sister-in-law feeds them utter shit and it shows. They're both getting downright pudgy, neither do well in school (I am a believer that there is a connection between good diet and school performance), and they're always hyper. Her idea of "breakfast" is Dunkin Donuts or chantico drinking chocolate at Starbucks. For Christmas dinner my mother in law made a beautiful prime rib and they ate onion rings and this horrifying jello and cream concoction that they all love for dessert. It's baffling.

Thankfully, Stephen, the eldest (he's 12), is beginning to develop a slightly better palate due in part to some gentle nudging on the part of my husband and I when we're out to eat with them. He likes Italian food now (other than pizza) and will eat satay at Thai restaurants. Baby steps. Zachary, on the other hand, eats sugar, fries, and fried sugar.

[Cam]

^^that's one of the things that scares me about having kids, because my wife would be setting the absolute worst example and I'll end up fighting her AND the kid/s. Every time we have any kind of talk about breeding, I bring up how she's either going to have to change her ways if we do or put up with a whole lot more shit than she already does from me. I'm just making sure that I'm on record as nowhere near okay raising children to be as high-maintenance as she is. And if I hear once more from her family that they have overly-sensitive stomachs I might hurl.

[toriwannabe]

My nephews will only eat it if its fried. Truth. My sister-in-law feeds them utter shit and it shows. They're both getting downright pudgy, neither do well in school (I am a believer that there is a connection between good diet and school performance), and they're always hyper. Her idea of "breakfast" is Dunkin Donuts or chantico drinking chocolate at Starbucks...

donuts and chocolate for breakfast?! whoa.

They haven't been diagnosed with Attention Hyperactivity Deficit Disorder, by any chance have they? ;K

[Heart of Moon]

I never understood that either. I always ordered from the kidsmenu because I needed the tiny portions, but they made me order the thing from that menu that was relevant to the type of restaurant. Like if we went to Mexican, I ordered a kid's burrito. Italian, a small pasta.

Why are chicken fingers necessarily a more child-friendly food than a burrito?

[jeth]

They aren't, but there are kids today who can't eat anything unless it's bland and pre-packaged typical American food. There are adults like this too, and I suspect it has to do with what they ate growing up. I know a guy who cannot have anything resembling a seasoning in any of his food - if you add salt or pepper he will turn his nose up at it. It's exceedingly difficult to find a place to go eat with him because we tend to like yummy things (like Mexican) and the trick is to ensure the American foods menu at the restaurant is truly bland enough for him to eat.

[Rinky vs.4.0]

I won't eat with people like that. They ruin meals with their unbearable pickiness and turn dining into a chore instead of a pleasure. Plus, it's not that they CAN'T eat certain foods. It's that they WON'T and everyone has indulged them so they see no reason to change. If you're actually truly hungry, you'll eat anything. And if you're not a total chump, you'll TRY new foods with an open mind instead of screeching like a retarded chimp at the first mention of anything that sounds different.

You know, I didn't exactly eat an exotic diet growing up. In the 70s ethnic foods were unheard of where I lived. But I always ate proper adult foods with my parents when we went out and was encouraged to at least sample a bit of any given dish no matter if I thought it sounded icky or not. And I'll eat most foods within reason these days across all cuisines. All it takes is a flexible attitude and a realisation that a new food or taste is not going to kill you.

[Rinky vs.4.0]

^ My nephews will only eat it if its fried..

Well, they won't be long for this world, will they?

Frankly, I think feeding a child nothing but shit for food, no matter if they demand it or not, is a form of child abuse, albeit an unwitting one. Extreme overfeeding is actually being classed as 'neglect' now in teh UK: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6749037.stm

One 12-year-old boy came into hospital to be put on a diet. His family were caught smuggling in 1lb bars of chocolate for him

Seriously, take these 'parents' gonads away. People like that shouldn't be breeding.

[Kari]

donuts and chocolate for breakfast?! whoa.

They haven't been diagnosed with Attention Hyperactivity Deficit Disorder, by any chance have they? ;K

Nope. Karen wouldn't admit there was a problem unless someone was bleeding to death in front of her, and even then she'd still have a fake smile plastered on her face (Mike's family doesn't "believe" in therapy/disorders. Really.)

But Stephen shit his pants until he was 10 or 11. He was THAT kid. And Zach is a giant dumb bully. So they're fucked up. Not to mention their idiot Rush Limbaugh loving father who's screamed at them incessantly since they were infants.

[SMMY]

They aren't, but there are kids today who can't eat anything unless it's bland and pre-packaged typical American food. There are adults like this too, and I suspect it has to do with what they ate growing up. I know a guy who cannot have anything resembling a seasoning in any of his food - if you add salt or pepper he will turn his nose up at it. It's exceedingly difficult to find a place to go eat with him because we tend to like yummy things (like Mexican) and the trick is to ensure the American foods menu at the restaurant is truly bland enough for him to eat.

God, I have a co-worker like that. It's a big PITA whenever we go out for a group lunch, because of him. His idea of fine dining is KFC or MacDonalds. He once went on a tirade about how Californians ruin their food by adding all sorts of crap to it, like spices and such. I can't wait til he retires and we get to go to interesting places again. I can only imagine what a lovely child he was and what his parents fed him.

[jeth]

For the picky bland eater I'll indulge him now and then because I don't have to eat with him that often - more often than not he'll stay home or go get something else to eat so his girlfriend and I can go eat what we want to eat. If it were an all the time thing I'd run him through a drive-thru, shove a paper bag at him and tell him to eat it at the table while we order off the real menu if it came to that.

There have been a few times where we've gone to a place that supposedly had a bland American menu and it turned out everything was coated in spice. He still ate the food. He didn't like it, but he ate it, so that's something.

[SMMY]

I know, it's just frustrating when going out for something like Italian food becomes a negotiation. The lab manager has gone out of his way to be fair about choosing places that hopefully everyone will like, and everyone usually does except for him. We go out once a quarter, but it would be a lot more interesting if we could choose restaurants that serve something other than American food.
Beige food = boring dining experience.

[jeth]

You should all choose a restaurant, don't tell him you're going, and then when lunch time comes everyone march out. Stuff a brown bag sandwich lunch in his hands and tell him to get into the car. If he won't eat there, tough.

Compromise can only go so far. When it's the same person over and over who is forcing the group to conform to their personal preferences and nobody else is shown the same preferential treatment it's time to put your foot down. Even on something as silly as where to eat lunch.

If it's any consolation we don't even bother with ordering lunch anymore because everyone has a different lunchtime and I hear too much bitching from the people who went early not getting their food on time, and the people who go late not getting to eat the second the food gets to the building. I just don't bother trying to coordinate anything nice for them anymore because I never hear thank yous, just complaints.

[SMMY]

I would, but Jeff, the lab manager is a big old softie. He's a great boss and goes out of his way to accommodate everyone. Craig, the cuisine ludite, is close to retirement age, probably next year. So I imagine we'll celebrate that date with Thai, Indian or some other lovely ethnic food that everyone else is dying to have.
Long live the curry!

[toriwannabe]

My husband is the picky eater from hell. I love, love, love Italian food, usually the tomato-based dishes. He hates tomato and won't eat anything that has touched it. This is embarrassing at many occasions because even if he asks for a dish and says "no tomato" they still bring it out with a tomato garnish. He prefers Chinese and Vietnamese food which I find rather bland. For him the choice is only ever between Chinese and Italian. That's it. Indian, Thai, Moroccan, Mexican, etc never get a look in. Hates spice. If we went to India for a holiday I swear he'd either starve or become constipated from just eating rice and bread!

He's also of the 'don't add anything to it' school of fine dining. If he eats seafood, he doesn't like ANYTHING added to it. Not lemon, not tartare sauce, not batter, nothing. Oh, and he says he hates onion, which again kinda limits the options.

Bah, I hate eating out with my husband. Is that bad?

[Churumbela]

IMO, most seafood tastes a lot nicer without batter or tartar sauce. That way, you can actually taste the seafood.

Lemon juice is lovely, though.

[Boomer #8]

You know, I can be a picky eater because I love tomato sauce and etc, but I hate tomato pieces in my food and cooked peppers. I know, it's weird, but you'll never hear me complain about it, because I frankly think that repeatedly depriving others of things like this is very childish. It reminds me of the daughter of my mothers friend who didn't eat anything but rice and ketchup for quite sometime, and she was 4 years old.

[jeth]

Back on topic, I went to a movie matinee today which I suspected would have a lot of kids in it, and it did. All but one child was quiet through the whole showing. The screaming, shrieking child was a fairly young baby that was likely startled by all of the loud noises and just kept hollering through the whole film. The mother of the child made no effort to remove it from the theater for the entire two hours, despite the people she was sitting with (more mothers and children, all of whome stayed quiet) clearly showing more concern for calming down the shrieking baby than she did. Oh, my own mother and I bitched about that a good deal on the way home. She said she would have been embarassed if one of us had done that to her, but she also would have promptly removed us from the theater if we'd started screaming in that way until we calmed down, and if we couldn't calm down, she would have taken us home and tried to catch the movie another way without us in tow. My mom, so courteous. [post28]

[Cam]

Back off topic - in what world is good Chinese or Vietnamese food bland? I'm thinking you're getting some watered down crap if that's the case.

Back on topic - what possess people to bring babies into rated R movies? Especially rated R movies that have been advertised as having loads of explosions...you know, the kind of thing that'll wake up a sleeping baby and make them cry? Actually applies to anyone under the age of 10, for the most part.

[DarkLuna]

Morgan and I went to a show at the planetarium about a week ago and, in front of us, there was a woman holding a child on her lap. The problem? This child was clearly under the age of 6, a no-no for the planetarium show; I'd say the kid was probably 4. Of course, when they got to the part with the Big Bang, the child started howling and yowling with terror. The parents just kind of sat there for a good five minutes, hoping it would stop wailing, until they eventually carted it out kicking and shrieking.

So yeah. Let's add planetariums to the list. Especially planetariums that post rules about age and have explosions.


xx.xx.xx

[katz]

Speaking of movies and babies...

here's a scenario & ? for the childfree.

You decide to head to an early show (1 in the afternoon). Upon arriving at the movie theatre you see big signs on every door you have to pass through