Public Transit: Not a playground.

[UncannyValleyGirl]

I have a lot of patience for other people's kids.

A lot of patience.

But for fuck's sake, there is no reason, none whatsoever, for a grown woman with three children ages between about 6 and at least 10, to be completely unable to get said children to sit on their asses and keep themselves reasonably quiet for a bus ride. I'm not talking silence. I'm talking THE BUS IS NOT THE PLACE TO HOLD A RAFFI SING ALONG. FOR AN HOUR. SHUT THE FUCK UP.

If people are getting off the bus and looking at you in disgust, lady, that's because you fail. Your little darlings are perfectly capable of learning to be considerate riders of public transit. It is not their personal playground, it belongs to the whole metropolitan area. They sure as fuck don't help finance it. They're making it more expensive by jumping on the seats though, they are making it less optimal a solution for people who don't have to use it because if ALL people are afraid to tell off the trailer trash momma and her obnoxious kids, then the busses end up full of them, and who really wants to go to work or out to see ADULT PEOPLE after hearing an off key shrill rendition of Baby Beluga for 45 minutes?

And of course, oh dear mother who's kids I told off because you were too busy laughing at them running up and down the bus aisle nearly flying through the windshield, your kids don't even have a right to ride the bus at all. I don't give a fuck if they're "having fun". Their right to have fun ends where my rights begin. That includes the right to a nice glass of SHUT THE FUCK UP, and then of course there are actual laws.

Seriously, oh entitled mommies of tweens everywhere, if your kid is so obnoxious in public that a youngish woman who CLEARLY spends her time working with kids (protip: the shirt for a largely child-centered industry, that's a big hint) is so off-put by your kids that she can't stand them, NO ONE CAN. They are fully capable of behaving like civilized, considerate human beings.

Or kill me.

[Cramulus]

preach it sista!

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Seriously, that drives me fucking crazy.

By the time a child is five or six, there is really no excuse for them to be out of control unless they have a serious developmental disorder. There is ABSOLUTELY no excuse for letting kids stand on the seat or run up an down the aisles - WTF is wrong with people? And the bus is not their own captive audience to sing-along time.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

You should just kick the little bastards down the aisle and into their seat.

I'm fairly certain no jury would convict you.

[Richter]

Earplugs are my good good, friend. 

Also, since loud music is apparently OK, they don't have a  leg to stand on when you play / sing your own selections.  Rick Astley and Cypress Hill are usually good warning shots.

[UncannyValleyGirl]

Oh shit.

I do a GREAT a capella rickroll.

*makes note*

*was already wearing earplugs. Under rifle range headphones*

[Jenne]

You should just kick the little bastards down the aisle and into their seat.

I'm fairly certain no jury would convict you.

[the last yatto]

so this guy on the bus almost kicks me in the nuts and his only words were im sorry.
IM SORRY I SLAMMED YOUR HEAD INTO THE WINDOW
pfft i only yelled fucking prick as i left

between this and the stupid wigger showing me his knife (not his penis tho it was probally just as small)
i think it might be time to take my car back from the wife.

[Dysfunctional Cunt]

My oldest has a set of stickers that he loves to put on children when they misbehave on the bus or wherever......

"My parental figure is an idiot, please forgive my behavior"



We have enjoyed many lulz over these when the parent finally sees them and sometimes more when the parent doesn't but the other bus riders, mall shoppers, restaurant diners etc... do! 

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

My oldest has a set of stickers that he loves to put on children when they misbehave on the bus or wherever......

"My parental figure is an idiot, please forgive my behavior"



We have enjoyed many lulz over these when the parent finally sees them and sometimes more when the parent doesn't but the other bus riders, mall shoppers, restaurant diners etc... do! 

That's brilliant!

I was at a vegan restaurant with my friend last night and there were three kids with two sets of stupid vegan hipster parents, and the kids were COMPLETELY out of control, running around and yelling and falling down and crying, and the parents did NOTHING.

I wanted to tell them that their kids are going to grow up to be terrible people if they don't actually bother to PARENT them and teach them social graces. I know adults who were raised by parents like that and they're shitty, insufferable people who no one likes.

Maybe I'll make a flyer.

[P3nT4gR4m]

I''m bringing up a baby dog right now and it's reminded me of the rule that applies to bringing up any pack-oriented mammal - Either you train it to behave and lay down the ground rules or it'll grow up to be a fucking twat. Okay so a lot of the psychology is different between dogs and homo sapiens but the basic principle still stands.

That said you have to achieve balance - too strict is just as bad as no-rules. Problem is most parents prolly don't think it through beyond - "we fucked and then suddenly babby was formed" Same as a lot of dog owners just want something furry that likes being petted.

[Dysfunctional Cunt]

What inspired my son's idea was when we were out to eat at the local chinese buffett and these three little kids from maybe 6 or 7 yrs old and down were in the tubs of rice squishing it through their fingers.  The waitress said something twice to the kids, then the hostess said something to the kids.  Finally another patron went over and handed their bill to the parents telling them that considering how terrible their dining experience had been because of their children they felt the parents should pay their bill.....

It of course was pretty ugly as the parents drug their screaming children out of the rice and out the door, while the rest of the restaurant applauded.

If you cannot control your children, do not take them out in public to punish strangers.  Now this does not apply to toddlers and younger when whining or fussing, they are little kids.  But be damned if you will let that same damn toddler run around screaming like a banshee and just fucking sit there!!!

[Jenne]

Yeah, I've noticed there's this gestalt around buffets where kids are allowed to roam at will.  Ew.  And Scary.  Bleh.

My pet peeve with screaming mimis is shopping--when a mom just lets their baby do it for a half-hour or more in the store.  It's tortuous, and dude, if I were a manager of a store, I'd tell the mom she can go to the break room or something to quiet the kid down if she didn't want to leave the store to do so.  I realize this seems harsh, but when my kids were assholes, and boyhowdy were they from time to time, I took them OUT.  Period.  OUT.

But then I start to feel like...we always seem to go back to "when I was a _______", and really there are some parents out there doing their damnedest with what they got.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

My tactic with my kids was to leave the store/restaurant/whatever if they kept screaming for more than a minute. Sometimes that meant I had to leave groceries in the cart, or sit outside a restaurant while my food got cold, but my kids HATED it and it was incredibly effective, even at a very young age.

I mean, a little baby won't understand it, but it sinks in pretty fast for a toddler.