What is people's problem with kids?

[punkin]

I don't have children and I do not expect children to be "well behaved" and perfect all of the time. I do expect to not get kicked or hit repeatedly or have a child scream bloody murder in my ear for 20 minutes while the parent does nothing. That I do expect. Do all of you parents out there tolerate this happening to you? I doubt that. Childfree people get a bad rap because people "assume" they hate kids. Just because I don't have kids does not mean I don't have a clue. I am 47 and I have 15 nieces and nephews and 10 great nieces and nephews. I just wish more parents actually paid attention to what their kids were doing then we wouldn't have the children behaving badly threads. For all the parents actually parenting their children.....Bravo. For everyone else.

Why in the world would you sit for 20 minutes of screaming and kicking when you could 1)leave or 2)say something to the child or the parent or 3)complain to a CM?

 

[Jaclynfett]

I love kids. But like everyone said, it's the behaviour of some that can really be annoying. Speaking as a parent, I think many kids don't appreciate what they have and aren't given enough boundaries.

 

[Hixski]

Why in the world would you sit for 20 minutes of screaming and kicking when you could 1)leave or 2)say something to the child or the parent or 3)complain to a CM?

For heavens sake I was just making a point. I have 1)left and 2) said something to the child or parent and 3) not complained to a CM because someone else usually beat me to it. The point I was trying to make is that nobody likes that behaviour whether you have kids or not. Sheeesh.

 

[punkin]

For heavens sake I was just making a point. I have 1)left and 2) said something to the child or parent and 3) not complained to a CM because someone else usually beat me to it. The point I was trying to make is that nobody likes that behaviour whether you have kids or not. Sheeesh.

So there were no kids screaming for 20 minutes? What exactly are you saying?

 

[Hixski]

So there were no kids screaming for 20 minutes? What exactly are you saying?

It is not worth it. Yes, kids were screaming and no I did not time them. Just too long to be screaming in peoples ears. Not just mine but everyones around us. If you think this behaviour is fine so be it. I do not. I see I am just going to look like a "child hater" if I don't tolerate bad behaviour.

 

[Liisa]

So there were no kids screaming for 20 minutes? What exactly are you saying?

If I paid good money to be somewhere and a parent with an unruly child didn't remove that child, why on earth should *I* be the one to leave? And believe me, saying something to the parent or child very often gets you no where. As Hixski said, for those of you with good parenting skills - Thank you! But I think you'll all agree, there are too many parents out there who let their kids get away with just about anything. Talk to some teachers...discipline just isn't in the vocabulary of many parents these days.

 

[fla4fun]

Why in the world would you sit for 20 minutes of screaming and kicking when you could 1)leave or 2)say something to the child or the parent or 3)complain to a CM?

A situation similar to this happened to me. I was at the Concourse Steakhouse on a fairly busy evening. I was seated back under the monorail, which is typically one of my favorite places to sit when dining alone. Anyway, right after ordering my drinks, they seated a family at the table next to me with a child who looked to be about three or four, who was determined to disrupt the entire evening. He kept getting under the table and bumping the table so the glasses and silverware would go flying. He would sit in the seat and scream (to a point where I expected the glasses to break). The parents seemed to be totally oblivious, as if he wasn't even at the table. I couldn't ask to be moved, because there weren't any open tables to be moved to. The server just looked at me with their back to the offending table and rolled their eyes, no help at all there. It was horrible.

Did I blame the child? No. My guess, since it was about 7:30pm was that he was tired and really needed to be in bed. I blamed the parents. They know their child better than anyone. They should have realized he wasn't up to dining out that night, and if they didn't realize it before they sat down, they should have gotten their food to go (which the restaurants can do) and taken him back to the room. The fact that they totally ignored him after that first comment really made me angry.

No matter what the child is doing, if I see the parent is aware of the situation and doing their best to make it better, I'm not going to complain. But the parents who treat the world as one big babysitter, and totally ignore their children especially when they are misbehaving, really make me angry. Since some people get really defensive when you point out that their children aren't behaving, I don't feel comfortable commenting directly to the parent (and I wouldn't think of commenting to the child, because that usually makes it worse). If it's a safety issue, I will address it with a cast member and let them take care of it.

 

[PatriciaH]

I usually say to some of the real antikid rhetoric I have heard, not here bu where I worked: "You were a kid to you know"!!!!!

Yeah thats a common bingo:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrsbudak/213861052/

 

[blondeheroine]

I think it goes both ways. The parents here hate nasty talk about kids. Likewise, there are people that will push you out of the way in a line or say that you should give up your seat for their child because you are childless. It's a case of "grass is always greener" I think. I had a guy at Halloween tell me that I should move for his kid. I honestly wouldn't have had an issue with letting his child in front of me, but he didn't even ask. Just said, "I had a kid. MIND IF I GET UP THERE?" and huffed like I had no business whatsoever paying for my passes, hotel room, food etc. that I pay when I go to WDW.

Likewise, there are people on this board that post, "Well, Disney is for KIDS." to numerous topics because they have a child. I think it always amazes me because, when I was growing up, if we wanted to, say, see a parade, we waited just like everyone else. Now I see people saying, "Well, you should give up your spot for MY child." That's not only rude, arrogant and stinking of self-entitlement, it's also setting your kid up for a world of hurt when they get older and realize the world doesn't revolve around them.

I get a kick out of watching kids enjoy Disney. It's the parents who believe the world revolves around their child and that everyone should MOVE OUT OF THE WAY for their child that gets me.

Temper tantrums don't bug me a bit. That could be me one day.

The one thing that I can't stand are the skate shoes, however. Mainly because I've been ran over about three times by a kid that didn't have the good sense not to barrel over me going 40 mph on wheels while I only had the ability to, ya know, walk.

 

[Liisa]

I usually say to some of the real antikid rhetoric I have heard, not here bu where I worked: "You were a kid to you know"!!!!!

Yes, but the difference is that if I behaved the way I have seen some of these kids behave, I wouldn't have seen the light of day for a looonnng time. My parents would NEVER have tolerated disrespect. Nor would they have let me run willy nilly around a restaurant while they enjoyed their dinner.

 

[Hixski]

At least all the parents on this thread don't defend bad behaviour and the parents that go along with it. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1478198&page=2

 

[crzy4mickey]

Children learn what they live.....

 

[MommaPooh217]

Yeah thats a common bingo:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrsbudak/213861052/

And that makes it any less relevant because it's on some BINGO card someone put on a website ? OK

 

[If U Had Wings]

It's not hating kids, just hating the bad behavior. Most of the time I don't even blame the youngest kids. So many times I've seen parents pushing these poor, tired, exhausted kids to keep going. Then they seem surprised when the kids crack and start throwing fits. I'm childless myself, but last year I went to Disney with my two nieces ages 2 and 5. We played the days completely by ear, only really doing 1/2 days in the park and letting them play in the pool and going off-site for dinner the rest of the time. The girls were happy and they enjoyed their time in the parks. We kept them out late only one night and it wasn't worth it. I think parents just want to give their kids the ultimate Disney vacation, but they need to realized that it doesn't need to be completely filled to the brim.

That being said, being single I wouldn't mind seeing a few "adults only" sections of the Disney restaurants, particularly in the more expensive places. It would be nice to have an area for those people on their Honeymoon or anniversarys, or that just one a little bit of quiet.

 

[bookgirl2632]

I don't have kids, but there are many kids in my extended family. I also work a retail job that puts me in close contact with children every day. I like children, I do. But there are times, there are children, that make me think about never having them. And when those times come, I look at the parents and realize it really isn't the child's fault. However, that doesn't make the earsplitting scream any less deafening.

 

[mom2taylorandemily]

I Love Children, that is why I am a teacher. What I hate is parents who do not parent their children. Too many times I see people wanting to be their kids' best friend and not their parent. There is a distinct difference. I love my children, but I want to be their mother, not their friend. I have my own friends, yes I want my kids to come to me and talk to me, but as a mom who will give them good sound parental advice. I too get very offended by parents who refuse to discipline their kids, when you set boundaries and discipline your children, you are showing them that you love them enough to set boundaries.

 

[DisBride2007]

DH and I have been to several times to Disney recently and obviously, we love it. However, the one thing that never fails to sour us on Disney and make us consider taking our vacations elsewhere, is misbehaving children (and less often, adults). I want to say that we have nothing against children and will most likely have some of our own within the next few years. There have been many children that we have smiled and chatted with in lines, restaurants, Disney transportation, etc. Unfortunately that is not the norm, and I am not even including having to overhear children screaming and having tantrums. I am only talking about those children who have prevented us from enjoying an experience in Disney which we paid for. Two examples I can think of recently:

1) We were waiting on line for PotC. The children behind us (about four or five boys approximately 10 years old) spent the entire 30 minute wait ride physically bumping into us and even spitting. Obviously waiting on line is not a pleasant experience to begin with but this gets annoying really fast. We are not confrontational people at all, and do not enjoy getting in fights, so we usually don't say anything.

2) We went to see Beauty and the Beast at MGM. We got to the show early and got good seats. About two minutes before the show start, a family came and sat behind us. The little girl of about 3 spent the entire time literally knocking on the back of the seat behind us. We could not enjoy one minute of this show. We glanced back to see what was going on, and not once did the parents even try to tell the girl to stop what she was doing. Yet we still did not say anything. When the show ended, the mother actually tapped us on the back and said, "I'm sorry if she disturbed you, but she has just as much right to be here as you do." Um, no one was questioning her right to be there, just that we wanted to enjoy the show without being bothered. Like we have to apologized for being bothered by their children.

While these two incidents stand out in my mind, there are many others I can think of. I'm sad to say that when things like this happen it actually ruins the rest of the day for us because we get upset that things like this can happen at such a wonderful place as WDW. Obviously the children don't know any better, and it is the fault of the parents or supervising adult. If I were a parent, I would be very upset if my child ruined someone else's experience at Disney.

 

[MommaPooh217]

At least all the parents on this thread don't defend bad behaviour and the parents that go along with it. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1478198&page=2

Hixski,
No one is defending bad behavior. Please go back and read the OP. We are saying that yes it happens sometimes no matter what you try to do and all the parenting skills on the planet are'nt going to satisfy some people.Please do tell me if my child is doing something to bother you and I will correct it and have my child apologize.Most parents feel the same way and would not be offended if you politely told them about the problem you are having with their child.Glaring and being condescending (sp) is not going to solve anything except making the parent become defensive. But please don't always make the assumption that if someone is having a hard time with their child that it's got to be bad parenting.

It just seems like no matter what we do sometimes people are never satisfied, parents are either abusive or lax, there is never a happy medium. We are human just like you. And so are our kids and no matter how much we limit and monitor their time at the parks and other various activities and no matter how many naps they take they are still going to have their moments just like most adults. I have seen plenty of Adult bad behavior at Disney too. I guess I should blame their parents for not teaching them to act in a mature adult manner. Perhaps they also are trying to do too much in one day and need to be removed from the parks or whatever activity they are engaged in ? I am not trying to anger anyone all I am saying is everyone has a bad day now and again, even adults so if you see a parent having a hard time try and give them the benefit of the doubt. No no one wants to hear a child scream in their ear for 20 minutes , but instead of glaring at the parent maybe if you asked nicely if their was something you could do to help maybe the situation would be corrected a lot faster or you may have a better undestanding of the root of the child's reason for their behavior and a parent who is appreciative of your concern. And yes it could go the other way but at least you know you made the effort. Again JMHO not trying to start a flame war.

Blessed be,
Tina

 

[Liisa]

We are saying that yes it happens sometimes no matter what you try to do and all the parenting skills on the planet are'nt going to satisfy some people.Please do tell me if my child is doing something to bother you and I will correct it and have my child apologize. But please don't always make the assumption that if someone is having a hard time with their child that it's got to be bad parenting.

Tina,

You may correct YOUR child, but if you read the full thread that Hixski referenced, THAT parent was doing NOTHING to alleviate her sons behavior. That is our point. There are FAR TOO MANY parents that do nothing. Or parents who justify the childs behavior. We don't always make the assumption that it is bad parenting. But when the parent is quite obviously ignoring a child that needs to be addressed, then the next very logical conclusion is that that particular parent is not doing their job - and most parents will agree, parenting is a full-time and often exhausting job when you do it right.

Liisa

 

[Hixski]

Tina,

You may correct YOUR child, but if you read the full thread that Hixski referenced, THAT parent was doing NOTHING to alleviate her sons behavior. That is our point. There are FAR TOO MANY parents that do nothing. Or parents who justify the childs behavior. We don't always make the assumption that it is bad parenting. But when the parent is quite obviously ignoring a child that needs to be addressed, then the next very logical conclusion is that that particular parent is not doing their job - and most parents will agree, parenting is a full-time and often exhausting job when you do it right.

Liisa

That is what I was talking about. Liisa just said it first. Thanks.