It certainly is not..everyone is entitled to an opinion....except that it's difficult to have empathy to this woman's (or any other parent's) situation when you, yourself, have never walked a mile in their shoes.

I have known a couple of people who were very good in dealing with difficult children......when they weren't their own. THEN..they had their own kids......TOTALLY different story.

I believe anyone is entitled to an opinion, whether they have children or not. Children screaming in public affects everyone and can be very annoying.

When my son was young he was taken out if he acted up. My sister would let her daughter fuss and scream and I would get upset with her. I told her the other people in the restaurant weren't there to hear the little one screaming. Fell on deaf ears.

That being said, there are also different types of screams. The one that is most annoying to me is the 'I want that and give it to me now because I'm a spoiled brat' scream. I absolute adore hearing a child screaming with glee, though.

^^^gets it^^^

Absolutely not. It just helps me calibrate exactly how much weight to give your opinion.

I understand that no one likes to hear a child throw a tantrum. I hope you understand that sometimes, stuff happens. I don't see a lot of recognition in your posts that it does, however.

^^^^ wants to be called "daddy"

I do understand that, but my beef is with those parents who then refuse to remove the child from that situation (take them to the bathroom, dressing room, to the car, or home) and then subject everyone else to that tanturm as well, either because the immune to it becuase it happens so often, or they are putting their needs ahead of everyones else desire to engage in whatever it is in a pleasant setting.

Are you that parent?

::makes note to calibrate how much weight to give jokerman's opinion on things which don't involve arrogance::

i understand that sometimes "things happen" and parents can't always control how their children act in public

but the parent DOES have control of removing the child from the situation...

may not be "convenient"...but hey...that's the price a parent pays when they decide to have children

Exactly... village my arse.

It may be annoying to be subjected to a screaming child in a public place.......but so is being subjected to adults with extreme body odor in a public place.......especially if you're stuck behind "that person" in line. If it's offensive to you.....then it's also YOUR choice to leave...or move to another line.

or just carry a can of Lysol and spray 'em down when they're not lookin'

or ask them, "if they smell something"

Dang! And here I thought I only had to pay $3.99. I call that false advertising.

^^^^^ "they" saw him comin'

::makes note to bathe more often than during full moons::

^^^^ was supposed to keep that between us.

I hope I'm not a parent whose children typically annoy people. But I'm also not a parent who's going to freak out if my child doesn't sit silently all the time. You know, we don't take the kids out to eat very often, but when we do, you might just hear my three year old singing his ABC's. You might hear my one year old get fussy. When we're at church, sometimes we whisper too loud. We try not to disturb others, but sometimes it just happens.

Most folks understand that that's the price of living in society - society has to reproduce or there's no society. Kids are sometimes loud, sticky, even annoying. Society better deal with it. It seems to me like there are a lot of folks who have made the decision to not have children who, interestingly, wind up acting like the 19th century schoolmarm who demanded that children be seen and not heard. I think there's some irony in that, but maybe it's just me.

^^^^gets it...

<<<--- 19th century schoolmarm, with a teenager. Babies are just icky.

If you don't want to be around children, then avoid those places where families tend to go: Walmart, the grocery store, toy store, McDonalds, etc.... I know that if most mom's had the choice to have groceries delivered to their home - they would take it just to avoid the scenes in the grocery store because of the candy display next to the cash register.

You never know what that family may have been thru or is going thru - have a little compassion - do you really think the parents enjoy the screaming child?

Exactly, walden. There have been several times over the last few years when I have had a parent with a fussy/crying/unruly child apologize to me when I'm standing in line beside them. I always smile and say not to worry about it, I have been there myself. I know they aren't enjoying it either, and my getting upset is not going to help me or them.

I will say that whenever I am around a child who is having a "moment," I am always glad that my child is past the age of having tantrums, etc., so I don't have to worry about that anymore. Of course, those worries have been replaced by many others as he has gotten older!

my 23 yr old had one of those "moments" recently! ;)AARRGGHHH!

In those cases, slapping may be OK. (Just kidding.)

I agree. I get annoyed by "adults" in public more than I get annoyed by kids.

I took my family out to eat last weekend (it doesn't happen very often) and a group of twenty-somethings sat in the booth next to us and obviously saw my 3 and 5 year old. It didn't stop them from using obscene language quite loudly through the entire meal. I was pretty annoyed.

I just hope it didn't annoy them when my three year old cried for about a minute after she spilled water on herself.

i think a little compromise from both sides is what it takes

if everyone would be considerate of the other person's viewpoint...this wouldn't be an issue


on a side note:

<----- is not a child, but gets a little rambunctious and unruly at times