Message to parents getting louder: No screaming babies allowed!

Everyone says entitlement and not being able to discipline our children like previous generations but has anyone else thought of how these children are actually being raised? Since feminism and women's lib movements more moms work. Leaving their children and even toddlers and babies to be raised by day care workers instead of even a grandparent. We used to live a lot differently. We used to have at least one set of grandparents living at home with us and it used to be our grandparents no longer needed to work. These days its very hard for one parent to make enough money to support a family. If there wore less people needing jobs and more people who worked hard for their money people would get paid more and kids would be looked after by family like it is supposed to be. There would be less crime and fewer teen pregnancies because there would be a parent taking care of and teaching their kids right from wrong. Sorry just saying treat the disease not the symptoms.

I totally agree. I don't mind well-behaved children, and babies....but I don't like spending good money on movies, restaurants and plane trips with screaming babies and annoying children. I blame the parents who are so self-indulgent that they are raising their kids to be just like them...I don't like those spoiled, self-indulgent "I'm always right" parents either. When I was a child there were consequences to bad behavior...today it seems that the only consequences is the children getting what they want....it's easier than spending the time and energy to teach a child good behavior and manners and to understand other people have rights including the right of not being disturbed by bad behavior. If they want to ban children from commercial establishments, it's fine with me. It's just a shame that the few well-behaved children have to suffer the consequences because of the many ill-behaved children. I guess some of these self-indulgent idiot parents are finding out that the people are speaking out, and that the world doesn't revolve around them!

It's the screamers and the seat-kickers who make it awful for everyone. Well-behaved kids should be welcome anywhere. Parents, be honest about your kids and take some responsibility. If you know in your heart that your child, much as you love him or her, will disrupt the peace or enjoyment of others in a public place meant primarily for adults, give up that venue till said child is old enough to have a little self-control.

When I was a child, it was customary for parents to engage a babysitter if they wanted to go out for a meal. I really don't see why people have to take small children along to a restaurant - unless they're French. French children must be the best behaved in the world, you don't even know they're there! And that's the way it should be. Screaming kids do NOT belong in restaurants, where everyone is paying a lot of money to have a great meal and an enjoyable evening.

I have children and grandchildren of my own, and I've had more than enough experiences with undisciplined children at fine restaurants and on planes. Their behavior is another example of parents' conviction that they and their kids are "entitled." I can understand that a child might be frightened by the whole terminal/boarding experience, but what do those parents do when their child disrupts their football game or Dancing with the Stars on TV? And do they take these children to football or baseball or hockey, etc, games held in a stadium? They are free to do so, but I've seen very, very few there so the parents obviously manage with babysitting.

Residential communities are permitted to limit their properties to only those residents who are 55+, and I am sure these restaurants have had legal counsel so they are within their rights. Also, there are restrictions as to the age customers at the movie theaters must have attained before they are allowed to see certain movies, and age requirements at liquor stores. It's illegal to drive a vehicle unless you're of a given age, and a child has to wait until they're @ six years of age before entering public school. Everyone under 40 must be carded in order to purchase tobacco products or alcohol.

On the other hand, only children are allowed in the bouncy castles at MacDonald's; that's age discrimination.

It's all the parents who refuse to discipline, correct, control, or silence their children in any way at all who have brought this war upon themselves, their children, and all children. Well behaved kids are a joy to be around, but well behaved kids are a rarity these days, thanks to an overwhelming majority of obnoxious parents whose rude and inconsiderate behavior is magnified by the number of children they have. These are the ones who run over you with their strollers while their older children raise their younger children. The welfare kings and queens who believe they're entitled to be rewarded for their breeding prowess so they can make a career out of having as much sex as possible in order to secure more government funding for their breeding experiments while under the influence of various drugs. These are your tax dollars at work. Reward the breeders and deny benefits for the childless people. Expect the single white man to pay for it all and wonder why he prefers to be homeless and live in poverty rather than work himself to death just to pay for someone else's needy family.

Any parent-to-be MUST realize that the choice to have children means some personal sacrifice, whether a second income or the ability to go/do certain things. If your child is, as a rule, mellow and well-behaved as my daughter was, you can take them almost anywhere. However, my son didn't have the emotional wherewithall to comfort himself or be comforted. That's when you make the decision to get a sitter or stay home, as much for the child's well-being as for yours and the other adults around you. Sure, you need to put the child in certain situations as a learning tool, but when it gets to the tantrum/meltdown stage, it's time to remove the child from that situation and try again another time. This isn't brain surgery folks, it's common sense ! ! ! ! !

A lot of the problem stems from society no longer allowing parents to discipline their children without the fear of social services, the police, or some other agency showing up and taking their children from them for "abuse". I'm sorry, but children do need structure in their lives, and sometimes, that includes disciplining them. THERE IS a DIFFERENCE between discipline and abuse. Believe me, I know first hand, but a hard tap on the behind to get the attention of the child is sometimes needed. This should also come with an explanation as to why it happened, otherwise, it does no good. My children are full grown, well-balanced adults now, making there way in the world, and I couldn't be more proud of them. All three at one time or another have thanked their mother and/or me for the way we raised them, have marvelous self-esteem, and constant compliments from their bosses and co-workers.

If a parent is truly trying to discipline their misbehaving child, then people don't seem to get so upset. Its different though, on an airplane these days. What is extremely annoying, and I raised three boys that are grown now, when parents allow horrible behavior and are oblivious. I have granchildren that are infants and toddlers, and they have their meltdowns, but if it's in public, they are taken home. Usually, its because the child is tired or sick. It doens't mean though, that that behavior should be tolerated and bothering others. Its just good manners for the parents to remove a screaming child. It's all this liberal parenting. I was in an Outback with this situation and the management asked the couple to take their child out. Everyone clapped, which I thought was kind of mean, even though the parents seemed oblivious that the child's sreaming was annoying everyone else. What is really annoying, is how some parents allow horrible behavior and do nothing about it.

Spencer, I agree with you. Last year, when I was flying from abroad back to the US, a child probably 8 or 9 years old constantly kept kicking my seat. The mother did not do anything about it, so I had to turn around and scold the child to stop it. Fortunately, the little boy complied, but in many cases, they can be out of control. I also blame the parents for not disciplining their children enough to sit throughout the flight.

I think, what we are seeing now is just the result of how some parents have become "indifferent" to their children. I am a mother of six, but I taught my children to "behave" especially in public. It bothers me when some parents let their children cry to high heavens. Infants should cry only when they are in pain, hungry, or uncomfortable (meaning, they have "answered the call of nature"). When the infants grow older and they can already speak or help themselves to some food, the reasons for crying is trimmed down to being in some intolerable pain. Parents should not let "crying" be their children's battlecry to get something other than immediate relief or comfort.

I personnaly do not want someone's snotty, screaming, germ factory carrying brat around me. When these "children" can learn to act properly in public then they would be welcome. I remember something that a friend said one time "What you think is cute in your kid, not everybody thinks is cute." If you are responsible enough to have kids (and most people are not) then you should make them behave. There should be kids free only areas everywhere, planes, buses, trains, restaurants, even church services. Children interrupt, create extreme messes, and are just plain irritating. I know that when I was a child I knew better than to cause problems. I even think children should not be allowed in doctor offices, except their own ped's. When you are sick the last thing you need is a snotty, sneezing, sniffling, little brat causing noise and climbing over the chairs and handling the magazines and spreading germs all over the place. Keep you kids at home and save a life.

There are certainly some places where it would be rude to bring a screaming noisy child. But to ban children altogether seems excessive, and if anything, likely to encourage us to expect children to behave badly.

HELL YEAH, NEXT WE CAN BAN BLACK PEOPLE, THE CHINESE, AND THE HISPANICS! OH! AND OLD PEOPLE TOO, THEY ARE GROSS AND MAKE ME FEEL SAD... Seriously, children are people, and as far as I was aware you couldn't tell people they weren't allowed places because of age or race or sex. As a US soldier I feel like my service is being spit on by this

You know who shouldn't be allowed in public Vickie? Fat people, they are nasty and make me want to vomit. When I'm out to dinner and I see some fat nasty piece of crap stuffing their face I feel like they should be forced to do some laps around the building before they can eat. When I see them on a plane or the movie theaters spilling them out into two or three seats stuffing themselves with 3x buttered popcorn and chugging down soda it ruins my whole night

Our society is trying to find its way back to "normal." Corporal punishment has been documented, studied, and proven not to bring the long term results we want for our kids: compassionate, caring, confident adults who look for peaceful win/win solutions to problems. (Before everybody attacks that I'm a left-wing hippie freak I grew up deep in the Bible-belt and was raised with that Southern expression of seen but not heard. Research is documented, period.) The post 50's generation swung to the other extreme: over leniency. As parents, we try to do better than our own parents: wanting a better life for your child than you had is a sign of a good parent. Unfortunately, we have turned to "experts" who have no documented, proven data to support their theories on how to raise kids. If we want responsible, healthy, happy, compassionate, caring and confident adults, we need to look at what is proven in history and cultures that bring that about. What is historically proven and scientifically documented? 1. That children who are exclusively breastfed are healthier. Healthy children are happier and don't cry extensively. Crying indicates that something is wrong. 2. Parents with a large support network have better behaved children. We have all seen the bumper sticker that says it takes an entire village to raise a child. So next time you see a parent with a child having a meltdown, help them out: wink at the parent and flash them a smile you hide from the child. With an older child exclaim, "Oh my! Aren't you embarassed to carry on like this in public?" With a younger child, tell the parent you admire their strength for handling the situation thus far...is there anything you can do to help. You never know what someone else is going through and these two helpful phrases are vastly underrated for the benefits they can bestow. One mom burst into tears when I did this and said she absolutely didn't know what to do, she was scared to discipline her child for fear of CPS, but her mother was at home sick and she desperately needed the items from the store. My husband heard her talking to the cashier about how grateful she was. We as a society need to get a little less focused on what makes us individually happy, and focus on what makes us as a society whole.

Parents who don't, or won't discipline their children are to blame for these types of bans. When we were little our parents made sure we behaved in public or there were consequences to pay (grounded, no tv, etc.). I was a single mother who raised three sons that I was able to take anywhere, and now that I have six grandchildren I am teaching them the same values. Even they talk about the kids who act up in public.

As a baby boomer I can see a change in child-rearing that is truly annoying. Strollers used to be small items that could be folded, but now they are more like personal RV's... taking up the room of a volkswagen beetle. They seem to be packed with enough junk to care for a kid for a week. Child-rearing has changed as well - parents do not seem to be able to control their kids very well and they encourage freedom of expression that includes noise, throwing food, and hurting people - hitting, biting, and so on (of adults by kids, not vice-versa) is ignored. Now do not jump all over me - I am not saying every child is annoying or every parent ignores their bad behavior. It just seem like well-behaved kids and content babies don't show up in public so much anymore.

I don't mind kids who are behaved. Even newborns crying doesn't bother me, it's what they do. It's older kids who run about like animals, scream, yell and generally make excessive noise that bothers me.

Best kid warning I ever saw was in an Irish themed restaurant in Newport RI. It said something like "Unattended children will be given 2 puppies and a double espresso with extra sugar before being returned to parents."