Parental Control on Public Transport

[TillieTrotter]

Shame.;-)

[GinaG3]

I'd love to know what your 'actually' meant to do in situations like this. If you play up to children of that age and show it bothers you they will more often than not scream even more.

I'm regularly on the 12 and my daughter hates it sometimes.. She will sit in her pram and I'll try to give her things to calm her but it will not work. If I get her out for a cuddle to try and calm her she instantly wants down, kicking and screaming trying to escape out of my arms. Stuck a bit here aren't I? If I put my 20 month old (not far off 2 so surely it counts) down on the bus and the driver slams on his brakes and she goes hurtling up the bus, tell me would that look bad? It would, wouldn't it? Not that I would do it, I would be putting my child in a dangerous situation. Fact is most children of this age have no patience. It might only be a 15-20 minute ride but they don't know that.

What about the teenagers etc playing their loud music on the bus for everybody to hear, this is an annoyance for most is it not? You could ask this kid to turn it off, they have sense and should also have respect and patience! Now there is a level of control here at least the kid knows what your saying to them and can fully understand (unless the music is really that loud of course) but they might throw a tantrum too.. After all who are they to do as they are asked, really? Is this the same? I guess it probably isn't..

[Ridgley]

I understand what you are saying, there are children that do test there parents to the limits but this particular child was out of control and threw water on an other passenger while the mother just kept reading her paper she did nothing to correct this child at all. I to have a child well she is now 15 my look is enough for her to understand how far she can go.

[Brendan]

Ridgley Wrote:

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> Very rare occasion I was smacked as a child :)

Me I was mostly caned.

[Twirly]

DulwichFox Wrote:

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> People are missing the point.

>

> In the case of my 83 year mum. The lad DID stand

> up

> but was told my his mother to sit back down.

>

> It's about parents.

Actually, your story cheers me, as it sort of proves that it's not all about the parents. Clearly the son had better manners than the mother - I wonder where he got it from? So some kids can have rude, inconsiderate parents, but still grow up with good manners - that's fantastic!

[daizie]

YOUNG MOTHERS. Calm hysterically crying children by firmly slapping their legs and then tugging them along by the wrist.

[womanofdulwich]

Maybe I am weak but I always just dragged my toddlers off buses or left my shopping in sainsburys if they wanted a scene.I just could not bare the embaressment. but then did not take them on holiday or to restaurants either - all too stressful. ( they are lovely now, but I would not wish them on anyone when they were wanting attention- which they invariably were).

[BARA]

As a Mum and Grandmother - it is aweful if your child decides to ignore you and play up in public places and everyone is looking at the screaming toddler and you. Very difficult to know what to do in these circumstances, the best way is trying to distract them - but that does not always work.

I used to take my child to my worksplace nursey at County Hall - OK when she was little but when she was nearing two it drove me mental trying to keep her happy for the hour journey on a 12 bus in rush hour. Happily she is now almost 25.

[RosieH]

antihistamine

[HAL9000]

There was a time when a kindly bystander could quickly quell a tempestuous child with a friendly smile and a few calming words - the intervention often worked wonders.

But who in their right mind would dare to engage with a stranger's child theses days?

[GinaG3]

daizie Wrote:

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> YOUNG MOTHERS. Calm hysterically crying children

> by firmly slapping their legs and then tugging

> them along by the wrist.

How very stereotypical. Not all young mothers are like that at all, in fact very few.

[Belle]

HAL9000 Wrote:

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> There was a time when a kindly bystander could

> quickly quell a tempestuous child with a friendly

> smile and a few calming words - the intervention

> often worked wonders.

>

> But who in their right mind would dare to engage

> with a stranger's child theses days?

Actually, I'm constantly amazed by (and very grateful to) the amount of attention strangers pay my toddler, it really makes such a difference on those fraught journeys. Today I had to do a train + tube journey to a hospital appt for my son and back, a usually stressful outing. But today it was eased enormously by the many different people travelling who took a few minutes to smile back at my son and say hello. Not saying people should feel they have to do this! But it does really still happen, and it's much appreciated. As to those times when he kicks off, which are frequent, well I'm sure if any mum knew of a way to prevent that or some magic button that would calm the child down, we'd all be doing it.

[waynetta]

MUMS A strip of banana peel tacked to the bottom of your children's shoes allows them to be towed effortlessly around supermarkets.