# Places kids don't belong? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 22, 2011, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820 "2011-05-22T21:47:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2011, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/21 "2011-05-22T23:35:21Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > The lunar surface. Mars is no place to raise a kid. ---
**Author:** ![YaraMateo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/58f4c7/32.png) [@YaraMateo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YaraMateo)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2011, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/22 "2011-05-22T23:46:59Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > They gym. I got to Bally’s and it has a very active, Taekwondo class. This is great as it give the kids something to do, but the parents abuse it so much. The first class doesn’t start till 4pm and by 2pm the parents are already dropping the kids off. They tell them to wait. Of course the kids are bored and they’re racing around playing on the machines, with the weights. I used to be a gym rat. I don’t know everyone count this as kids, but I hated when they used to let tweens and teens join. All they did was ruin the machines, be annoying, and break shit. They caused fights. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![YaraMateo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/58f4c7/32.png) [@YaraMateo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YaraMateo)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2011, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/23 "2011-05-22T23:50:20Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > Disneyland. Huh? Are being saracastic? ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2011, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/24 "2011-05-22T23:53:44Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > Depends on the age of the kid - AND their behavior. The following is for well behaved kids. > … > Live performances over their heads. i.e. taking a kid to see The Lion King at the theatre is one thing, or a performance of The Wiggles - taking them to Hamlet or the Chamber Orchestra is quite another. _Well_-behaved children shouldn’t attend an orchestral performance? Why not? ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2011, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/25 "2011-05-22T23:55:09Z")
Serious answer, well-behaved kids should be allowed go anywhere there’s nothing too weird happening. badly behaved kids should be kept at home in perpetuity. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/26 "2011-05-23T00:00:04Z")
Anywhere I am that isn’t work. _Especially_ not a restaurant higher than McDonalds. ---
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/27 "2011-05-23T00:12:04Z")
> [@An Gadaí](#): > > Serious answer, well-behaved kids should be allowed go anywhere there’s nothing too weird happening. badly behaved kids should be kept at home in perpetuity. I’ll second this. I’ll also throw out another place where most kids don’t belong: museums, specifically art museums. ---
**Author:** ![YaraMateo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/58f4c7/32.png) [@YaraMateo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YaraMateo)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/28 "2011-05-23T00:20:51Z")
> [@surrounded\_by\_literalists](#): > > Having flown with kids, I can tell you that being a parent on a plane with a kid is no picnic either. > > Once when my son was about 9 months old, I flew with him and his 3 yr old sister to visit family. Before the trip, his pediatrican gave me a perscription for Tylenol with codeine, since air pressure changes with or without an ear infection can cause discomfort. The codeine part was for my sanity. We boarded the plane and took our seats. A man, with a wife and teenage son, in the row in front of us turned, glared at me, told his wife, loudly, that he wasn’t going to spend the next 3 hours next to a crying baby (my son, by the way, was passed out from the codeine at that moment). He made a big fuss demanding different seats on the other end of the plane, and moving his embarrased wife, son, and carryons to their new location. Moments before the door was closed, another mother with an infant boarded the plane and took the only available seat left; you guessed it, **right next to Mr. Disgruntled**. > > My kid slept the whole flight. Her kid cried the whole time. 😃 You can’t blame him. I don’t like planes. I wouldn’t have said any thing, but I would been side eyeing you for having two kids. Then, felt bad when they behaved. ---
**Author:** ![No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/29 "2011-05-23T00:30:47Z")
Car dealers, especially when there’s a path to the repair garage. College libraries. Laundromats. Dressing rooms, especially those in clothing stores with primarily women. Absolutely agree with the “nice restaurant” ban for most kids. Not sure I agree about the art museum ban. I was forbidden from one at age ten (limit was 14), and it stings to this day. ---
**Author:** ![YaraMateo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/58f4c7/32.png) [@YaraMateo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YaraMateo)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/30 "2011-05-23T00:35:34Z")
> [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](#): > > Car dealers, especially when there’s a path to the repair garage. > College libraries. > Laundromats. > **Dressing rooms, especially those in clothing stores with primarily women.** > Absolutely agree with the “nice restaurant” ban for most kids. > Not sure I agree about the art museum ban. I was forbidden from one at age ten (limit was 14), and it stings to this day. I hate when I’m in a dressing room and a child peeks under the door(s) in boredom. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/31 "2011-05-23T00:44:35Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > _Well_-behaved children shouldn’t attend an orchestral performance? Why not? They get bored with two hours in a seat. Then even a well behaved child starts getting antsy. And does things like bounce in their seat or talk to mom. Performances start late as well, which leads to cranky kids (younger than ten or so for chamber orchestra). KIDS orchestra performances are great to take kids to. ---
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/32 "2011-05-23T00:52:25Z")
> [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](#): > > Not sure I agree about the art museum ban. I was forbidden from one at age ten (limit was 14), and it stings to this day. Like others have said, it’s all about how the kid acts. If they keep their voices down and act civilized, then it’s fine. If the run around and try to climb the statues and yell and giggle at nudes and generally make it unpleasant for others, they don’t belong. It’s all up to the parents and I blame _them_ if the kids misbehave. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/33 "2011-05-23T01:01:09Z")
> [@YaraMateo](#): > > I hate when I’m in a dressing room and a child peeks under the door(s) in boredom. [kid]“Hey Mister! You, with the purse. Twenty bucks and I’ll tell which dressing room shaves. Twenty-five & I’ll tell you if the curtains match the drapes…”[/kid] ---
**Author:** ![The\_Conqueror\_Worm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@The\_Conqueror\_Worm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Conqueror_Worm)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/34 "2011-05-23T01:12:49Z")
On my lawn. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/35 "2011-05-23T01:21:44Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > Parties unless the invitation specifically includes them. > > Live performances over their heads. i.e. taking a kid to see The Lion King at the theatre is one thing, or a performance of The Wiggles - taking them to Hamlet or the Chamber Orchestra is quite another. Definitely not parties unless specifically invited. Although I disagree about classical music. My mom took me to the Rochester Philharmonic thursday evenings off and on for years. I grew up listening to and loving classical music. I understood from a very young age that it was a very special treat that I had to behave perfectly for or lose the privilege for. Same with going out to dinner, whether it was a fine place or a diner [60s in small town western NY was McDonaldsless] > [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](#): > > I’ll second this. I’ll also throw out another place where most kids don’t belong: museums, specifically art museums. And again, if you interact with the kid, and make sure they do not get the tired and crankeys, it is a great experience. I have amazingly vivid memories of the Guggenheim in the 60s when I was 4 [1965] No matter where we traveled, we hit museums. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/36 "2011-05-23T01:32:26Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > They get bored with two hours in a seat. Then even a well behaved child starts getting antsy. And does things like bounce in their seat or talk to mom. Performances start late as well, which leads to cranky kids (younger than ten or so for chamber orchestra). > > KIDS orchestra performances are great to take kids to. Also, and I think this is important, there is no polite way to take kids out of an orchestra concert unobtrusively if they start to act up: it’s disruptive to even leave the aisle, let alone the auditorium. So unless you are 100% sure your kid can handle it, you shouldn’t go. On the other hand, an orchestra performance in the park? Great idea. If the kid starts being a problem, you just slip away before anyone else even notices. This is the problem with kids at a salon: mom can’t pick up and go in the middle of a haircut if the kids start to act badly. This is also why 1 adult + kid/kids at a sit-down restaurant is much worse: you can’t just walk out. Two adults can leave one behind to pay the check and get dinner packed up. Kids can’t be relied on to be well-behaved, so I really think the number one thing to determine if you can take a kid somewhere is whether or not an “exit plan” is feasible. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/37 "2011-05-23T01:35:45Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > Serious answer, well-behaved kids should be allowed go anywhere there’s nothing too weird happening. badly behaved kids should be kept at home in perpetuity. In that vein, the toddler who was having fun shrieking at the top of his lungs repeatedly should not have been in the mall yesterday (his mom strolled him out of the washroom just as I was walking by - he let out an eardrum-piercing shriek, I stuck my finger in my ear and yelled, “Holy Shit!” cause apparently I’ll do that when startled by shrieking. 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/38 "2011-05-23T01:40:23Z")
Well, I’ve taken my daughter to both an art museum and an orchestral performance before the age of eight, and as best I can recall or judge, there were no problems. ---
**Author:** ![YaraMateo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/58f4c7/32.png) [@YaraMateo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YaraMateo)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/39 "2011-05-23T01:42:47Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > Well, I’ve taken my daughter to both an art museum and an orchestral performance before the age of eight, and as best I can recall or judge, there were no problems. Some children are more mature than others. I’ve noticed girls tend (there are some rotten little girls!) act better than boys. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/40 "2011-05-23T02:21:16Z")
[rant]RE: Planes - you can just go pound sand. I’ll try my best to keep my kids in line on a plane but trans-Pacific flights tries anyone’s patience. In fact, my wife is taking 2 of our kids to Shanghai in June and I’m staying home with the autistic twin because of a lot of reasons including subjecting ourselves and near neighbors to her best behavior on the flight. When we do fly, I do my best during the entire 20+ hours it takes to get us from point A to point B to minimize the impact on other travelers. I apologize in advance for any inconvenience. I’ll let you know my youngest has autism and ask your patience and understanding. And, by the same token, if you’re not adult enough to deal with that, then you can just fuck the hell off\*. There is nothing inherent in a plane ticket, nor any other mass transit ticket, that says no kids allowed. Be an adult and pack the the ear plugs and ambien, and you won’t notice the kids at all. 🙂 \*not directed at any particular poster. [/rant] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820.md?page=3)