It's a common occurrence now: parents handing out goodie bags and treats to people in public places as an apology for their young children throwing a tantrum or crying hysterically. The practice first gained prominence on social media, and quickly caught on into parents who also have babies and toddlers accompanying them in public places like airplanes, trains, malls, or parks.
Parents Shouldn't Be Judged, Shamed, Or Be Glared At In Public
Madeleine Somerville of The Guardian criticized the practice, saying that no parent should feel obliged "to bribe others to accept the presence of their children in public spaces." The writer stressed that these seemingly "well-intentioned" gestures aren't done as an act of good will from parents. It's more like the result of their fear of being "judged, shamed, and glared" for their kids' age-appropriate behavior.
According to Somerville's article, crying is "completely natural" in babies and toddlers, and people who venture outside and interact with the diverse public should expect this type of scenario. For Somerville, a crying child falls low on "the scale of undesirable public behaviors."
Besides, being annoyed with parents for their crying children is a bit insensitive. How so? These people experience kids having outbursts all the time.
Children don't pick a time when to cry or wail in discomfort - they just do. And encountering kids throwing a tantrum in public would only take up a short amount of your time, so the least you could do is suck it up, throw your earphones on, and wait until the parent calms the child down.
Young children have the tendency to be "thoroughly unsocialized and mostly uncivilized," Somerville added. The parents' job is to ensure that kids will learn social niceties and manners as they mature, and trust in themselves that their child will grow up carrying these lessons.
Conflicting Opinions
An opinion column on 24Hours Vancouver, in contrast, has a different view than Somerville's The Guardian piece. Bianca Bujan, a mother of three, believes that children's tantrums are only acceptable in the privacy of their own homes, but not while out in public.
Bujan wrote that "it's time to stop, drop, and run" when a child is throwing a tantrum in a public place. She said it's unfair to "subject yourself, your child, or the innocent bystanders to the tolls of a tantrum," and the best thing you can when this situation arises is to take the kid outside and talk to him/her until he/she calms down.
Do you think children's outbursts are unacceptable in public? Tell us your opinions below.
