Disruptive Children In Public Part I

If you have raised a child, you know the moment. The one where your kid melts down somewhere public and every head turns. Any parent who claims it never happened to them is not being straight with me.

Sure, you can line up a babysitter and leave the little ones at home when you go out. Plenty of outings are built for families, and part of the job is knowing which ones are. Certain venues keep a nursery on site or offer childcare while you do whatever you came to do.

But there will always be settings where the sounds a baby or toddler makes grate on everyone within earshot, and where the child simply has to come along anyway. Picture a flight to see grandma and grandpa. Air travel wears adults down before it ever gets to the kids. The seats pin you in place, the lines crawl, and the whole experience leaves a lot to be desired.

Price pushes it further. When a ticket costs real money, people turn sharper about what they got for it, and a fussy child in the next row starts to feel like a personal affront. Concerts and theater run the same way. The more someone paid to be there, the less patience they tend to have.

For flights I have exactly one idea to offer. Take the first class passengers who came without kids and have them swap seats with the families hauling small children. I know, I know. I'm joking. I just couldn't leave it out.

Related