# People who hate children **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 2, 2009, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-children/491746 "2009-04-02T19:25:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-children/491746/101 "2009-04-03T01:24:01Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I’m seriously flabbergasted by the thought. Kids are our future You have these sentences in reverse order. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-children/491746/102 "2009-04-03T01:25:08Z")
> [@starwarsfreek42](#): > > For **Labrador Deciever** , [here](http://www.florenceal.org/Public_Safety/Animal_Control/Important_Information/Local_Laws/index.html)is the law itself, which states that “No animal may be left unattended at any time in a vehicle.” The page doesn’t specify the fines or jail time, but there it is. Thanks to \*\*Gfactor \*\*for finding it. Thank you for the link. That might be one of the dumber things I’ve ever seen, but at least I know your claim is 100% accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-children/491746/103 "2009-04-03T01:29:33Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > But what do I gain for tolerating little Timmy’s throwing spitballs at me for the entire trip and fighting the urge to curb stomp little Timmy ? The same thing you gain from an annoying adult. I encounter far more of those in any given day. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-children/491746/104 "2009-04-03T01:30:27Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > OK, that must be an American thing I don’t get. Are there public needlings going on in your supermarkets ? Yes, and grocery stores, and some other public places. I make an effort to avoid them, because it’s my hangup. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-children/491746/105 "2009-04-03T01:31:53Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > My God. What if someone posted a message stating that they hated puppies or kittens? > > How can you hate or dislike small beings of our own kind? I’m seriously flabbergasted by the thought. Kids are our future and I love all of them: especially my own! You dislike some adults, right? Why is it strange to you that people can dislike other humans under a certain age, especially if said humans are directly annoying them? I can say I dislike Tom Cruise and it’s understood and accepted, yet I’ve never met the man or any actor or any Scientologist for that matter. But I’ve had actual interactions with annoying kids who are actively invading my space and making my present experience an unhappy one, and it’s strange to you that they are unliked? I’m one of those childless-by-choice people and I don’t hate kids. I don’t go out of my way to interact with them but they do not bother me on a whole. For the most part, it’s the parents that make me mad. I give parents with screaming kids a pass in the grocery store, but if your kid is that upset in the middle of Best Buy or Kohls…do you really need to stay there? The stereo or blouse of your dreams will still be there tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-children/491746/106 "2009-04-03T01:32:51Z")
> [@starwarsfreek42](#): > > Children are like parasites. So are you. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-children/491746/107 "2009-04-03T01:34:16Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > My God. What if someone posted a message stating that they hated puppies or kittens? Oh. So pretty much a whoosh then. Huh. Didn’t see that one coming. > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > that because you find something annoying, all society must reshape itself to you. I’m still lost on your analogy, so I’m giving up on that. As for this, no one is expecting or demanding that society reshape itself. Parents get to take their screaming kids out. People who are annoyed get to scream at the annoying parents. The OP is ranting at the people who are annoyed. Society is made up of those same annoyed people. People shouldn’t expect society to reshape itself to exclude them. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-children/491746/108 "2009-04-03T01:34:17Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > For the most part, it’s the parents that make me mad. I give parents with screaming kids a pass in the grocery store, but if your kid is that upset in the middle of Best Buy or Kohls…do you really need to stay there? The stereo or blouse of your dreams will still be there tomorrow. I can cautiously agree with this distinction, with the caveat that a parent may have a good explanation I haven’t thought of yet. Certainly there are some oblivious parents out there who don’t think their kids can do wrong. (Believe me: I’ve learned to document document document before calling parents, for just this reason). ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-children/491746/109 "2009-04-03T01:34:33Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I don’t suppose anyone can point to a specific example of this child hate on the boards, can they? [QUOTE=Jamaika a jamaikaiaké] I am not the first poster in this thread to ask for evidence of this. Therefore there is doubt. Does anyone have examples of this? Or is the OP just making shit up? [/QUOTE] I bet you two didn’t expect the stupidity that was to come when you posted these questions. I know I sure didn’t. For someone to just come out and expose their idiocy for the world to see is a rare thing (I hope it’s clear I don’t mean either of you). ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-children/491746/110 "2009-04-03T01:37:53Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Yes, and grocery stores, and some other public places. Oh. All right then. Ignorance fought. You guys do things weird, y’know that ? 😃 [QUOTE=LabradorDeceiver] The same thing you gain from an annoying adult. I encounter far more of those in any given day. [/QUOTE] Tell me about it… ---
**Author:** ![starwarsfreek42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@starwarsfreek42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starwarsfreek42)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-children/491746/111 "2009-04-03T01:47:05Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > It’s not the best analogy in the world. I’m trying to find some way, any way, I can relate to your incredibly self-absorbed viewpoint–that because you find something annoying, all society must reshape itself to you. > > Yes, most of us find a child screaming at the store tobe annoying. The difference is that most of us understand that this is one of those things that happens over the course of civilizing an uncivilized beast, and that said civilizing is a fundamental (though not universal) part of being human, and that it’s not always plausible for the parent to leave the store immediately with said screamer. > > You don’t give a shit what society thinks, you say, and that’s great, because society doesn’t really give a shit what you think. Those kids are gonna keep on intermittently screaming at the store, and those parents aren’t always gonna take them out, and most of us understand. > > (Again, I draw a distinction between this and truly over-the-top behavior that needs an immediate stop due to something more than the minor inconvenience of hearing an unpleasant sound.) Why isn’t it possible for someone to pick up the kid, and walk outside? If the kid’s getting a shot or getting drilled by a dentist, ok, understandable, but a kid that’s crying in the waiting room or in the dairy secttion of the supermarket? Take the kid to the bathroom at least, so the rest of us don’t have to hear it. Come back when the’re done. That doesn’t mean leave the store–that would just teach the kid that throwing a tantrum gets them out of unpleasant situations. It’s not about me being self-absorbed or thinking everyone should conform to my rules because I’m being bothered, it’s about common courtesy. Like keeping your cell phone on vibrate. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-children/491746/112 "2009-04-03T01:54:38Z")
> [@starwarsfreek42](#): > > It’s not about me being self-absorbed or thinking everyone should conform to my rules because I’m being bothered, it’s about common courtesy. Except that most folks don’t get so worked up over it. It’s NOT about common courtesy, then–specifically not that “common” part. Yes, there are times where parents need to remove their kids, absolutely. But if a parent is on a tight schedule, or is completely frazzled and exhausted at the end of a long week and is out of milk and the kids just won’t shut up and they need to do a grocery store run and the little savage is bawling the whole way, I’m not going to tell them they need to do a discipline lesson RIGHT NOW. They’ll choose their battles and I, not knowing the underlying circumstances, won’t armchair quarterback them. Nor will the bulk of society. ---
**Author:** ![starwarsfreek42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@starwarsfreek42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starwarsfreek42)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-children/491746/113 "2009-04-03T01:56:45Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > So are you. Actually, since I own a house and a car and hold down a job and generally don’t depend on another person or on society to support me… no, I’m not. But thanks for being concerned! ---
**Author:** ![starwarsfreek42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@starwarsfreek42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starwarsfreek42)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-children/491746/114 "2009-04-03T02:00:58Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Except that most folks don’t get so worked up over it. It’s NOT about common courtesy, then–specifically not that “common” part. > > Yes, there are times where parents need to remove their kids, absolutely. But if a parent is on a tight schedule, or is completely frazzled and exhausted at the end of a long week and is out of milk and the kids just won’t shut up and they need to do a grocery store run and the little savage is bawling the whole way, I’m not going to tell them they need to do a discipline lesson RIGHT NOW. They’ll choose their battles and I, not knowing the underlying circumstances, won’t armchair quarterback them. Nor will the bulk of society. Know what I do when I’m on a tight schedule? I leave the house earlier. If my aunt took us out to get milk, and we didn’t mind our manners, we didn’t get any milk. It was pretty straightforward, and we each learned our lesson after one incident. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-children/491746/115 "2009-04-03T02:01:03Z")
Another example: Junior may be in stage 2 of a 3-stage freakout: he’s whining, refusing to come along with mom, stomping. It’s irritating to other shoppers. If Mom approaches Junior with the clear intent of picking him up, Stage 3 will begin: full-on murdered-pig shrieking, sprinting away from Mom, biting, kicking, fighting. Some part of Junior wants this confrontation, knows that he can probably get it through his whining. If Mom lets Junior alone for a minute or two, Junior will realize he’s not getting the confrontation he wants, he’ll catch his breath, and he’ll calm down. Would you have Mom try to pick Junior up? This isn’t a crazy scenario. I’ve had kids in my class who more-or-less match this model before. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-children/491746/116 "2009-04-03T02:02:48Z")
> [@starwarsfreek42](#): > > Know what I do when I’m on a tight schedule? I leave the house earlier. If my aunt took us out to get milk, and we didn’t mind our manners, we didn’t get any milk. It was pretty straightforward, and we each learned our lesson after one incident. If you can leave the house earlier, you weren’t on a tight schedule, and your comment makes it sound like you don’t know what a tight schedule would be. And yes, I’m sure you and I were both little angels when we were kids–but not all kids are. Some kids DON’T learn their lesson after one, or two, or one hundred incidents. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-children/491746/117 "2009-04-03T02:07:28Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Except that most folks don’t get so worked up over it. That goes back to your needle phobia then. People sometimes don’t choose how worked up they get about something. It either bugs them or it doesn’t. And the fact that most people don’t get so worked up about something doesn’t mean it’s wrong for another person to do so. It’s the actions after they get worked up, right? > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Nor will the bulk of society. The fact that the bulk of society feels a certain way doesn’t have any influence about how a certain individual should feel. ---
**Author:** ![starwarsfreek42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@starwarsfreek42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starwarsfreek42)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-children/491746/118 "2009-04-03T02:11:21Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Another example: Junior may be in stage 2 of a 3-stage freakout: he’s whining, refusing to come along with mom, stomping. It’s irritating to other shoppers. > > If Mom approaches Junior with the clear intent of picking him up, Stage 3 will begin: full-on murdered-pig shrieking, sprinting away from Mom, biting, kicking, fighting. Some part of Junior wants this confrontation, knows that he can probably get it through his whining. > > If Mom lets Junior alone for a minute or two, Junior will realize he’s not getting the confrontation he wants, he’ll catch his breath, and he’ll calm down. > > Would you have Mom try to pick Junior up? > > This isn’t a crazy scenario. I’ve had kids in my class who more-or-less match this model before. I would have Mom count to 3 (or 5 or 10, whatever her standard is) and then if he still isn’t cooperative, tell Junior they are leaving. This is what my aunts did, and it worked. One time my great aunt actually left my mom’s brother at a store (WoolCo?) when he was 4. She drove around the building and back, and when she got back he was fine, and they continued shopping. This story got down to us a generation later, and when that great aunt told us we were leaving, we followed. Now, assuming Mom in this scenario leaves Junior alone, and he is quiet and standing still as he calms down, I don’t see any problem. Whining in an indoor voice, where I can go down another aisle and not hear it, doesn’t bother me. It’s the screaming from the garden center that I can hear while I’m looking at eggs that really gets my blood pressure up. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-children/491746/119 "2009-04-03T02:12:38Z")
> [@](#): > > Some kids DON’T learn their lesson after one, or two, or one hundred incidents. As our former President once observed: [QUOTE=George W. Bush] Fool me once, foolmah can’t get fooled again. [/QUOTE] If your kid doesn’t learn after a hundred incidents (or let’s say, a half dozen), it’s time to consider whether the event is age-appropriate and and how better planning might avoid the exigency of bringing your children to it. Suppose I had a disobedient car rather than a disobedient child. The first one or two times I am taken by surprise and show up late to work, my boss will understand. Thereafter, she’ll want me to be better acquainted with the bus schedule and an earlier alarm setting on my clock. Sure I’m not your boss, but I’ve always felt that I have an obligation to the rest of society not to needlessly upset its quiet enjoyment of public spaces. And as you’re so keen on pointing out, the bulk of society agrees with me on this one. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-children/491746/120 "2009-04-03T02:17:27Z")
> [@starwarsfreek42](#): > > Know what I do when I’m on a tight schedule? I leave the house earlier. If my aunt took us out to get milk, and we didn’t mind our manners, we didn’t get any milk. It was pretty straightforward, and we each learned our lesson after one incident. What the fuck, was milk like candy in your house? If I withheld milk from my son, he wouldn’t give two shits. “Water, milk, who gives a damn?” On top of that, one doesn’t usually buy a gallon of milk to give to the child right that second in the parking lot. It would be a pretty stupid discipline job if you did without a household nutritional necessity for a week b/c a 2 year old was acting perfectly normal for its age. No wonder you have such fucked up views of children. It sounds like you came from a very strange place. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-children/491746.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-children/491746.md?page=7)