Comments on: Why does our society hate children?

By: HRH SirPrinceCharles

HRH SirPrinceCharles — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:04:06 +0000

Personally I don’t feel much for children, never did like them much.

When I was young we were seen and not heard, literally… We had nannies and didn’t travel.

A young child never sat at table until it learnt to eat properly with a knife and a fork.

Kids today are like little pests, they are treated as grown up when they are most certainly not.

There is only one good place for a kid and that is year round boarding school in Switzerland.

By: Helga Hansen

Helga Hansen — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:32:29 +0000

I was on my first long haul flight at 6 weeks, and my mother tells me that I was an angel and slept all the way. The second time I flew, I was an unaccompanied minor – so no one call tell me if those angelic qualities remained, or if I was a little sh*t on the flight.

We did the long haul thing when my son was five – and he was a little star. Sadly, his will power didn’t extend to the toy aisle at Pick ‘n Pay/Game/Asda/Tesco, and I had to drag him and his lip home on many an occasion. I then solved the problem altogether by leaving him at home while I went shopping. As you may know, we’ve gone the US way, and smacking your child in public, while not illegal (yet) is one sure way of getting yourself arrested – so I went for the non-violent approach…
Helga Hansen´s last blog ..Last of the summer time

By: Phillip Gibb

Phillip Gibb — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:19:57 +0000

Far too many factors involved in the day of a child’s life to think that he/she will be all sweet and obedient when required. If your kid is going to cause a ruccus then it will be when you least want them to – they are like hounds that can smell blood – they know how to get what they want; even if it’s just attention. You Know Murphy’s Law is the only law they will obey – lol.
It is a bit of a trade off if you ask me – while as a parent you cannot always give in to your child (least they use it as a tactic and get spoilt too their ruin) you also got to consider others around you. A bit difficult to do on a plane – hey, lets go to the play park; well that depends on how good your kid’s imagination is.
I have a 2rd old and he kind of throws tantrums, and we took him on a plane about a year ago – you gotta hand it to kids you do not go crazy in such small and foreign places after such a long time.
I reckon that our society hates children (if you can really generalize like that) because they encroach in ‘our’ space – more than ever before ‘our private space’ is becoming more sacred while we reserve our ‘community’ space online. or not.’
Phillip Gibb´s last blog ..phillipgibb: RT @twitter_tips: WARNING: Twitter Money Scams Spreading Through DMs http://j.mp/1RCVhQ // ahhh that explains a lot

By: 6000

6000 — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:11:15 +0000

Jacques > Or get nicked at OR Tambo.

By: Jacques

Jacques — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:49:47 +0000

Just in case any of your more twitchy readers decide to boycott that esteemed publication, or have more children in retaliation, let me also point out that they were joking about the baggage hold idea. The kids might rummage through everyone’s stuff, after all.
Jacques´s last blog ..Which religion should you follow?

By: 6000

6000 — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:40:48 +0000

Jacques > I’d be all for child-only/child-free zones on flights. I think it would make things easier for everyone.
Less impressed with the baggage hold idea, to be honest.

By: Jacques

Jacques — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:29:28 +0000

The Economist made some sound proposals in this regard back in 1999, which have unfortunately not taken off yet.

One frequent cause [of stress while traveling] is the noise that children, especially bored ones, inflict on other travellers. A year ago, we proposed that all planes should have child-free zones, just like no-smoking zones: children (and parents) should be confined to the back of the plane.

and

The problems of both children and luggage could be solved in one stroke by putting the children in the hold, to make more space for carry-on luggage.

Jacques´s last blog ..Which religion should you follow?

By: 6000

6000 — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:27:07 +0000

Tara > We all know how annoying adults can be. So no need for that.

Po > That’s not being anti-kids, that’s being xenophobic. I happen to think that British kids are among the best and worst brought up in the world.

CH > As the prof points out – it’s often the adults who are thoroughly obnoxious. But it’s a stressful time for all involved – parents as well. With all parties on edge, it’s a disaster just waiting to happen.
And as for the scream – no. Sorry. No way of stopping that. Fortunately, Boeing have tested their aircraft windows against it, so there’s littel dnager of a blowout (of the windows, anyway) at 37,000ft.

Madge > I once carried my tantrumming boy out of House & Home in Blue Route to the car park. He wanted to play with the wshing machines, we wanted to leave the shop. This (as any dedicated BR shoper will know) necessitates going right through Checkers and then right through the rest of the mall. I kept smiling (gritting teeth) and ignoring him while he screamed. The looks of pity, digust and amusement from shoppers as I passed noisily by were remarkably close to 33% each.

Pamela > I was actually compiling a list of things you need to think about, but then I ran out of rainforest.

By: Pamela

Pamela — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:48:47 +0000

oh crap – yet another thing to think about!!
Pamela´s last blog ..When did this happen?

By: Madge

Madge — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:06:55 +0000

Hoorah for Professor Kaufman. As a mother, I too have dealt with kids throwing tantrums in public, but I agree with the statement of not taking kids to smart restaurants and inappropriate places until they’re ready. I used to love going to flashy restaurants, but now it’s more a case of visiting the Spur where there is a dedicated play area for the kids to amuse themselves while I can hopefully try and have my meal in peace. Why torture yourself by taking them somewhere and you can even enjoy the experience yourself?!

Another experience was when my daughter was 18 months old and decided that she was going to fling herself ‘gently’ onto the walkway in a busy shopping mall and scream her guts out. I actually don’t think she was bothering anyone and proceeded to walk about 30 metres away from where I stood and watched until she realised that she didn’t know where I was, jumped up and started looking for me. People generally were just laughing at this little event as they’d all clocked what was happening. The kids soon get over their tantrum if you learn not to indulge them.