# Since when is a bookstore a fucking playground? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 3, 2003, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-when-is-a-bookstore-a-fucking-playground/192781 "2003-08-03T22:17:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-when-is-a-bookstore-a-fucking-playground/192781/21 "2003-08-04T15:46:01Z")
I am surprised by how many kids I see _running_ in stores. Yes, flat out running. I have this problem with my 4-yr-old, who sees those big wide aisles and just thinks “racing lane” but I am trying to teach him that we NEVER run in stores. You can run into other patrons or merchandise. You can trip and fall. You can startle people. It’s just a bad idea any way you look at it. So I remain befuddled at parents who let their kids run all over. Maybe you can’t get your kids to stay still, and maybe it’s impossible to make them be quiet, and maybe you don’t need to make them stay by your side, but how can you let them RUN? It’s not a playground! I see this in almost every large store I’ve even been in. ---
**Author:** ![Elza\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Elza\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elza_B)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-when-is-a-bookstore-a-fucking-playground/192781/22 "2003-08-04T15:52:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by quietman1920 \* > \*\*Yes, AVA, I read that. We all read that. We all comprehended what you wrote. So the closest library to you was closed? When that happens to me, I go to the one the next town over. Or two towns over. Sometimes I’ll even go to a local college or university library; as a local resident the one by me doesn’t mind if I study there. And sometimes I’ll just study at home. > > I don’t usually go to somebody’s business to study…and if I did I’d be rather thankful that they’d let me. I certainly wouldn’t take actions that would hurt their sales, knowing that what I’d bought in the past had nothing to do with their generosity in allowing me to stay there and study now. But that’s just me. > > I’m glad that your considering alternate study places; I think you might find a number of places where people aren’t yelling or screaming. Good Luck on the exam. \*\* I know I’m not the only one who thinks that Barnes and Noble has set out cafes for some people who need a quiet place to do some work - _one_ purpose, not all purposes. It’s also a good meeting place for friends, to relax and have coffee or tea, etc. But as far as kids screaming, they were bothering the other people who _were_ there just to enjoy the bookstore and not do any studying. But like I’ve said before, the B&N that I’m used to in NYC is probably a rarity and different from most stores. I’ll just have to remember that in the future. And I’ve never noticed this when I’ve gone to work on my writing - probably because I always wear headphones. I think that was the big difference this time - I wasn’t wearing headphones. I won’t make that mistake in the future. I will be going to the library or university libraries from this point - B&N was really my only choice since my office building requires a special entrance code on the weekends that I didn’t have access to. And thanks for the good luck. I’ll need it on the math section - the reading and writing will be fairly easy, it’s the math that’s going to get me. If anyone wants to send math vibes my way, I’d appreciate it. **Little Plastic Ninja** , that would piss me off big time. I may not take perfect care of my books, but they are my most prized possessions and my dream is to have an entire room in my house devoted to built-in bookshelves. It’s not even that they were mistreating books, it’s that they were mistreating property that wasn’t _theirs_! Your poor mom - I don’t know how she put up with that. **Mama Tiger** , there’s a Books-A-Million that’s probably quieter - I’ve gone there to write sometimes because it’s right next to my gym, so it’s easily accessible. I’ll probably try there for awhile - luckily, I take the test on Saturday, so it’s not like this is a long-term thing. Thank goodness. Ava ---
**Author:** ![aaslatten](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f14d63/32.png) [@aaslatten](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aaslatten)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-when-is-a-bookstore-a-fucking-playground/192781/23 "2003-08-04T16:06:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by avabeth \* > > **aaslatten** , I know. Seriously, I do buy books from a small secondhand bookstore around here, but they offer no place to sit and read and study - if they did, I’d be there in a heartbeat. > > Ava \*\* Well, there’s nothing wrong with the _books_ at Barnes and Noble. Seriously, I don’t think there’s anything off about your expectation that kids be well behaved in a bookstore or any other store. Maybe it’s not realistic, but that doesn’t make it incorrect. ---
**Author:** ![SisterCoyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@SisterCoyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SisterCoyote)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-when-is-a-bookstore-a-fucking-playground/192781/24 "2003-08-04T16:11:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CrankyAsAnOldMan \* > \*\*I am surprised by how many kids I see _running_ in stores. Yes, flat out running. I have this problem with my 4-yr-old, who sees those big wide aisles and just thinks “racing lane” but I am trying to teach him that we NEVER run in stores. You can run into other patrons or merchandise. You can trip and fall. You can startle people. It’s just a bad idea any way you look at it. > > So I remain befuddled at parents who let their kids run all over. Maybe you can’t get your kids to stay still, and maybe it’s impossible to make them be quiet, and maybe you don’t need to make them stay by your side, but how can you let them RUN? It’s not a playground! I see this in almost every large store I’ve even been in. \*\* I’ve run (ha!) into this problem in a number of places where I used to work - including Disneyland (no, it’s no safer to run at Disneyland than it is in a bookstore or anywhere else; possibly it’s less safe, as there are more things to collide with). I’ve discovered that the “mom glare” and a snarled “don’t run” slows these wanna-be sprinters right down. Whether you work in the store or not. ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-when-is-a-bookstore-a-fucking-playground/192781/25 "2003-08-04T16:26:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pencilpusher \* > \*\* My son asked me Saturday why in the world they were acting like that and I told him “because their parents don’t have any manners and therefor didn’t teach them any” He shook his head in disbelief and went back to his book… Pretty bad when a toddler is disgusted with others behavior dont you think? \*\* I apologize for butting in, but this comment hit close to home. It’s the kind of thing I’ve said before. I would have tempted to say the same thing (I have a toddler and have to explain other people’s crappy behavior to him all the time) but I am trying to find a more positive way to put it. As deserved as such a disparaging comment may be, I’ve worried that I might be inadvertantly teaching my son that it’s okay to pass judgment on people, okay to say nasty things about people, and okay to look down on other people. Why not say “I guess they forgot their good manners” or “They are having a hard time with their self-control.” That gives the offender the benefit of the doubt, plus it give you a chance to compliment your kid for doing better, without slamming the character of a stranger. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-when-is-a-bookstore-a-fucking-playground/192781/26 "2003-08-04T17:13:47Z")
> [@](#): > > I remember the moms that would drop their kids off (starting at age 4, going up to 12+) and leave them there for literally hours at a time. They’d likely go to the mall or something, since the two big shopping malls were right across the street. These little hellions would utterly demolish the beautiful children’s section Every Damn Day. They would rip books apart, they would play tag in the aisles, they would pull books from the shelves and unwrap anything shrinkwrapped and pull out the stickers or Colorforms or whatever. The books were often destroyed far beyond saleable conditions for even a discount bookstore. > > Guess what section Mom’s was. > > Personally, I think they should have called the cops or CPS if they couldn’t find the parents of the little hellions. I don’t know why they didn’t. This drives me right up the wall. Too many people seem to think that store clerks (and librarians) are babysitters! I enjoy sitting in a nice, quiet library. I enjoy and approve of kids who are able to also make quiet, respectful use of library facilities, whether they’re under parental supervision or not. I’m even willing to make allowances for a bit of annoyance if the kid gets excited about a book or magazine. I spent many happy hours in a library in my own childhood. But I’ve seen too many kids dropped off at a library, or a cineplex, or store, and left to amuse themselves. This is what parks and playgrounds are for, parents! And there’s the bigger issue of parents not teaching proper behavior to their offspring. Not only is this a pain to deal with now, but these kids are going to be at a severe disadvantage when they are adults. ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-when-is-a-bookstore-a-fucking-playground/192781/27 "2003-08-04T17:36:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lynn Bodoni \* > \*\* > > Not only is this a pain to deal with now, but these kids are going to be at a severe disadvantage when they are adults. \*\* No, not at all, Lynn. They can just sign up for the SDMB and spend all their time driving mods crazy with their obnoxious behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Morelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Morelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morelin)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-when-is-a-bookstore-a-fucking-playground/192781/28 "2003-08-04T19:26:59Z")
The Borders I work at is pretty good. The kids only misbehave in the children’s section, and if they get really unruly anywhere in the store I and my other co-workers will tell them to stop running, yelling, etc. I’ve seen plenty of people in there studying, especially on Sundays, so that by 2-3 pm you’re lucky to find a single free seat anywhere. And we play music overhead that people have to talk over. It’s not perfect silence, but nothing too loud. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-when-is-a-bookstore-a-fucking-playground/192781.md?page=1)