Out of control children on buses
Something has to be done about unruly children in public buses.
Since when did buses become 'mobile playgrounds' where parents feel they can turn a blind eye to their child's disruptive behaviour and leave it to somebody else to look out for their safety? Or to cause the other passengers on the bus a considerable amount of stress, which is something they could probably do without on their journey.
However, if the driver were to slam on his breaks to avoid an accident, or the bus came to a very sudden stop, then it is automatically the driver's fault that a child being left to run around unattended has suffered an accident - not the parent's fault.
The same goes for early morning buses. Work is stressful at the best of times for all of us and the last thing you would want to hear first thing in the morning, or last thing at night is a screamer throwing a tantrum - especially if you don't have children yourself. Why all the fuss? Because they didn't get the toy they wanted at the shop, or because someone else pushed the buzzer before them (even though they have pressed it a dozen times in succession since boarding the bus twenty minutes before. Or maybe they saw a train pass and nobody will listen to them, so they keep repeating that they saw a train until somebody responds.
Even more worrying is the way that some of the parents respond to their children, that is if they aren't the type to ignore their unruly behaviour. Sometimes they act worse than the child themselves and cause an even bigger scene.
Yes, your children's manners may be acceptable in your own home - but please remember you are on public transport and not everyone can cheerfully ignore the sound of your kid having a tantrum. We want to see happy, polite and cheery children on the bus laughing and having fun in a respectable manner - not children who are clearly selfish and disruptive and causing a scene.
Another issue is the use of pushchairs on public transport and in particular buses. Why is it that some parents think they have the right to use the disabled space for their pushchair over a disabled person? I've even known some to kick up a fuss because a disabled person has dared to take up 'their' space on a bus. Is this really acceptable behaviour?
If this is what the bus services of today are turning into, then why not designate specific buses for children to board where the rest of us can be guaranteed a safe and pleasant journey to our destination without all the added hassle?
By: Sarah
Comments from visitors
Yes, it certainly seems to be nurture not nature that produces the screaming brats.
But when the parent’s main interest in life appears to be, booze, fags, crisps, and mobile phone permanently glued to ear...... “She sez and I sez and harry sez and anyway I sez” ...... non -stop on a half hour journey, the children haven’t got a chance.
In my experience there is a marked difference in the behaviour of the children, and adults, on a bus that travels by and picks up on a private housing estate.
Or maybe it’s because only peasants travel by bus.
This gripe links nicely to the “underclass” gripe because these screaming brats may well grow up to be the new underclass!
But when the parent’s main interest in life appears to be, booze, fags, crisps, and mobile phone permanently glued to ear...... “She sez and I sez and harry sez and anyway I sez” ...... non -stop on a half hour journey, the children haven’t got a chance.
In my experience there is a marked difference in the behaviour of the children, and adults, on a bus that travels by and picks up on a private housing estate.
Or maybe it’s because only peasants travel by bus.
This gripe links nicely to the “underclass” gripe because these screaming brats may well grow up to be the new underclass!
-3
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It's not the children who are to blame, it's ignorant selfish parents, who probably had ignorant selfish parents themselves, and thus the problem perpetuates and amplifies itself.
-1
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The bus I got on the other day had eight of the brats on board. I should have known better as this particular bus passed a Council Estate.
Council Estate= mass breeders of screaming brats.
Do others think like me or am I a snob?
Council Estate= mass breeders of screaming brats.
Do others think like me or am I a snob?
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I bet the majority of people voting our comments down are that of which the gripe addresses to. I don't think it's fair that we should have to put up with any misbehaviour from children of any age on public transport, quite frankly I am tired of having to travel to work early first thing in the morning having to listen to at least one screamer on the bus to then return home later on in the night to the exact same thing. I literally had my fingers in my ears the other day and turned to look at a parent on the bus because their little darling was screaming the place down and nearly causing my sensitive eardrums to burst! Did they do anything about this? No. Infact they ended up getting off a few stops early which ended up being the exact same stop I got off at so really, where is the need? I don't have children of my own, infact, it's such incidents like the one described in this rant which actually puts me off having children completely.
+6
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Sarah, I agree with you that the parents are just as bad as their kids on buses. My sister who lives in Brighton says that when a kid asks something to their parents on the bus they just say 'Shut the f*** up!'. That is no way to respond to a child. In London, where I live, the parents of children either do nothing about their unruly behaviour or they shout empty threats at them. Although, I have seen some mothers handle their young children aggressively when going on/coming off the bus. Once a child was throwing sweets at me and other passengers on the bus but the parents did nothing to stop her. I wanted to confront the girl's parents about this but I would have been beaten up by them because they are not the kind of people you should confront ever! But it makes me very angry how such parents let their kids run riot and disturb passengers. I agree it causes unecessary stress to other passengers including myself. I agree with the separate buses for children. It would be easier on all of us
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Angry Autistic Female - 21-Jul-11 16:15
Sarah, I could not agree more! While I know there are some parents who actually take the time to teach and explain things to their children, it is so annoying to see parents who allow their children to scream and run in the bus. How could any intelligent, responsible mother permit her child to behave this way without pulling the child aside and teaching him/her etiquette and respect for others? I completely agree with what you said.
+8
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I agree. I wouldnt let the children I babysit behave like that and if I had kids of my own, they certainly wouldnt. Do you know they actually report you to social services and the police if you smack a child in a public place and you are seen on cctv. Have to find an out of the way place now before you can tan the little sods backsides.
+3
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Haven't you heard of the new rule? Children are not to be seen, but heard? It's a new rule which seems to surface amongst one too many parents in today's society. By all accounts, not everyone is prepared to develop proper parenting skills and as a result we have unruly children in public places. Many people have also forgotten that having a child is supposed to be about love and all that mushy stuff not 'Oh, if I have a child then the government will pay for it for me.' If you can own a pet without government support you can support a child.
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Yes, whilst the parents may be at fault for their unruly child's behaviour - it doesn't take away from the fact what kind of picture this paints for society as a whole. When a sign placed in a restaraunt over in america sparked contravorsy by stating, 'Screaming kids will not be tolerated' I would safely say that this is the public's way of stating: 'We do not want to be responsible for your own kids.'
It's hard to observe a situation where an unruly child is an accident just waiting to happen without having your heart in your mouth - and it's a horrible feeling to experience even if you don't have children of your own.
It's hard to observe a situation where an unruly child is an accident just waiting to happen without having your heart in your mouth - and it's a horrible feeling to experience even if you don't have children of your own.
+3
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There's a very good case for sterilising anyone with poor social skills, at a very young age before they can breed. In this particular case, I'm referring to parents of annoying little brats.
Society would soon improve without the backward scum we have to put up with.
Society would soon improve without the backward scum we have to put up with.
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Harsh But Fair - 17-Dec-10 18:41
I can totally emphasise with this gripe. Today I was standing at the bus station when a deaf couple alerted me towards a small child which was being left to run around outside the bus stances! The mother of course was not paying attention and left her child to run around purposely banging his head into things - on the bus he was even allowed to run loose and would throw a tantrum each time he was dragged to sit back down, nobody had the guts to say anything though because we all know these single parents are of the violent type.
-10
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I say bring back bus conductors. Parents with unruly children need to be told, as do groups of 'chavs' causing hassle for other passengers and the driver of the bus. It's not a pleasant atmosphere for the rest of us to be in, and it is certainly not a 'mobile playground'. If the parents of these children or the chavs themselves did not harbour violent personalities I wouldn't think twice about telling them off for their unruly behaviours. Enough said.
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I'm an ex busdriver.
You have to remember that lots of the people who use the buses are 'Chavs', which means they do not utilise their brains, and survive just on basic instincts and ignorance, and a grudge against so called 'decent' people. Because there are no conductors now, the driver is powerless, and even in danger with all the guns and knives that are carried. I've driven buses where, when in a 'rough' area, I had to stop at the terminus, young kids would lift the panel at the back of the bus and turn off the engine... now, if the radio didn't work, the driver was aloner in the dark, and had to get out of the hoodie surrounded bus and turn the engine back on...
That's a small part of it.
There were also days, and nights, wherte the youthes went upstairs, took off the seats, and broke them all... what do you do? Go up and tell them off... nope, just sit tight and be glad that when they leave the bus laughing, you havent been dragged from the cab and stabbed. Screaming kids... childs play.
You have to remember that lots of the people who use the buses are 'Chavs', which means they do not utilise their brains, and survive just on basic instincts and ignorance, and a grudge against so called 'decent' people. Because there are no conductors now, the driver is powerless, and even in danger with all the guns and knives that are carried. I've driven buses where, when in a 'rough' area, I had to stop at the terminus, young kids would lift the panel at the back of the bus and turn off the engine... now, if the radio didn't work, the driver was aloner in the dark, and had to get out of the hoodie surrounded bus and turn the engine back on...
That's a small part of it.
There were also days, and nights, wherte the youthes went upstairs, took off the seats, and broke them all... what do you do? Go up and tell them off... nope, just sit tight and be glad that when they leave the bus laughing, you havent been dragged from the cab and stabbed. Screaming kids... childs play.
-3
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Why get on a bus in the first place? They charge about 2 quid a mile and expect you to sit down on a seat that's covered in God knows what, that's if there are seats left to sit on.
Public transport of any kind in this country is a joke, chickens have more rights than humans when it comes to transportation.
Public transport of any kind in this country is a joke, chickens have more rights than humans when it comes to transportation.
-1
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I can definitely relate to this post! Few things in life are as aggravating as a busride with screaming, out-of-control children on board. Just last week, a little girl was shouting in a shrill, piercing voice, repeating the same thing over and over, while running up and down the bus aisle. Neither her grandmother nor the bus driver made any attempt to get this kid to settle down. It made for an extremely unpleasant, nerve-jangling busride. I was so irritated I felt like exiting the bus long before my stop, and I was relieved when this woman and her bratty grandaughter finally left.
+4
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'Loobylou' - ah, but then we now live in a society where seeing a parent smacking their child is seen as 'shocking' or 'terrible'. Smacking was probably only made illegal in the first place because studies probably showed that this was where most acute cases of child abuse stemmed from, or because it was old fashioned and the children't rights laws needed to be revised.
-3
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And I don't mean smacking just because they're running round the bus, I mean proper discipline from Day One, so the child learns manners and respect.
+3
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Bring back smacking! A good old-fashioned clip round the ear never did anyone any harm. That said, many parents don't have a clue how to discipline their kids, that and feeding them a diet of junk can't help either.
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I agree with you 'angry mom'. Mainly because, you can't stop a baby from crying - and you're already being respectable enough to the other passengers by not allowing your child to run riot anyway, so you shouldn't have to feel like you have to leave a bus early - I mean, if you have paid for the journey then why not? Your baby is doing no harm to other passengers, so you shouldn't have to feel like you have to leave early just because some faces are turning, or whatever. It's teenagers with music blasting out their mobile phones who should be made to leave.
-8
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It agreeably is the parents fault, not the children's. There has been many a time where I have felt the urge to state my opinion when faced with one of these situations, but we all know how just how agressive these parents are. They take it as a huge insult if you ask them politely if their child can cease their unruly behaviour and would probably not even have to think twice about inflicting verbal or physical violence on you.
Sure, we may not know the reason why their child is having a tantrum in the first place, but we don't need to know the details, fact is they are having a tantrum and it's obviously very distracting. You can emphasise with a parent (or parents) who are clearly trying to difuse their child's unruly behaviour by pulling their children out of a public setting, instead of sitting back and doing nothing about it.
Giving your child demands is simply not enough, telling your child they are being badly behaved is not going to make a difference - choosing to leave your screamer at home where we won't be silently judging your parenting skills will make a difference.
Sure, we may not know the reason why their child is having a tantrum in the first place, but we don't need to know the details, fact is they are having a tantrum and it's obviously very distracting. You can emphasise with a parent (or parents) who are clearly trying to difuse their child's unruly behaviour by pulling their children out of a public setting, instead of sitting back and doing nothing about it.
Giving your child demands is simply not enough, telling your child they are being badly behaved is not going to make a difference - choosing to leave your screamer at home where we won't be silently judging your parenting skills will make a difference.
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