There were some days when after leaving my university retail jobs I was so glad I didn’t have kids. There is nothing like poorly supervised children running about to make you glad that you are not responsible for anyone but yourself. I don’t hate kids, and I think that to say they have no place in certain areas is not entirely fair. However, there are a few things that must be considered:
- Are the kids actually enjoying themselves — the opera or a wedding probably not a child’s favourite place, just saying.
- Do they need to be there — is it possible for the child to be somewhere else or is it like an airplane, which is unavoidable?
- Are the kids being properly supervised or supervised at all?
I think that if some of these criteria are met then having children around may be annoying — I spent two hours today on a plane with a screaming child and it was joyous — but is not really something that one should complain about. Then there are the lessons of retail. I used to work at a bike store and parents would regularly bring children into the store while test riding bikes. The rare parent would bring in toys for their child or at the very least give them an iPhone to keep them busy, but a lot just let their children run around. There were lots of things in a store like that that most parents should stop their children from being near because they are either expensive, or dangerous, or both. In this case it would be much better if the children had been left at home.