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I have a big issue with kids in public places. I have noticed that kids are rowdier and less well-behaved in Dubai than most anywhere else I've been to. The parent's attitudes towards the actions of their kid's - which is mainly to ignore their bad behavior - compounds these public nuisances.

I find it frustrating that single people can't find many spaces that are kid free - aside from bars and clubs. Kids are everywhere, and malls and grocery stores are the worse in terms of kid-annoyances. Kids in food courts, my gosh, running around, throwing things, breaking things, screaming - and parents usually don't even flinch. Why are parents so complacent here?? I've seen a kid playing with an actual water gun inside a mall, shooting away. I've encountered toddlers left to create havoc at department stores while the parents are in another area of the store. Kids playing football inside a grocery store. I've had babies pull my hair at a restaurant while their parents thought it was so cute. Noisy kids in cinemas are also a pain. And then what's up with kiddie areas next to the food courts and/or some bookstores and internet cafes? The last thing that I want to do while I'm having a snack is hear that obnoxious circus music and the beeps and sirens of the super noisy games combined with the screaching of kids.

I am definitely not a child hater, but I like to enjoy my time out without so many annoyances. I think we single people deserve to have more kid-free spaces. We should have our rights too.

I agree that many parents are getting lazy with looking after their children, and to be honest, in Dubai many don't even feel responsible at all - it is the maid who is raising the kids. However, I completely disagree with your opinion that there should be more kid-free spaces. Kids are the next generation and have every right to be out of their homes in shopping places, grocery stores and other normal places where people conduct their lives. It doesn't make sense to keep kids either at school, home or some park somewhere. Also, think about parents who must take children with them to get errands done. You need to be more flexible and perhaps be more tolerant of the young people who are an important part of society too.

kanelli,

I'm not talking about banning kids from public spaces - that would not be logical or doable. I'm talking about designating certain areas as kid-free even if it is during certain hours of the day.

It's not my fault that parents can not control kids or can't hire a baby-sitter, it's not fair that I should put up with kid-annoyances, I don't think I'm the only one that feels this way. I think that parents and kids invade personal spaces and take their presence at anyplace for granted - they have all the rights while single people that don't want to deal with kids in public space have basically no rights.

Common... dont you like kids.. i love kids... its not their fault.. but their parents.. they should b taught how to take care of their kids.

What you want is just sooo unfair for the children. Why do they need to have limited places just bec your annoyed by their presence? Did you not have a good childhood m'tulip?

There are areas where kids dont usually linger such as smoking areas, bars, banks, etc !

I think your being so self centered! Your not the only one on this planet and you have to live with that fact

Oh gosh

Are these annoyed people parents or what?

zam I had a very happy childhood, an was a well-behaved kid, thank you very much. I don't hate kids! I'm not crazy about them, but I don't hate them. I don't want to deal with kids when I go out, why should I? Parents are the ones being unfair, not me, c'mon now. Parents should learn that you their kids can in fact be a public nuisance! More good-parent education is needed as Lucifer said.

In my perfect world people who can't afford a baby-sitter should not have kids... {sigh}

I would completely support a mall that is kid-free, like on weekends or during certain hours. That would be heaven!

Mint Tulip wrote:Oh gosh

Are these annoyed people parents or what?

zam I had a very happy childhood, an was a well-behaved kid, thank you very much. I don't hate kids! I'm not crazy about them, but I don't hate them. I don't want to deal with kids when I go out, why should I? Parents are the ones being unfair, not me, c'mon now. Parents should learn that you their kids can in fact be a public nuisance! More good-parent education is needed as Lucifer said.

In my perfect world people who can't afford a baby-sitter should not have kids... {sigh}

I would completely support a mall that is kid-free, like on weekends or during certain hours. That would be heaven!

Come on Mint Tulip,

Are you serious, I would also like to remind you that you were a kid once.

Sorry, but that is really selfish. I agree that parents should be teaching better manners and public conduct, but you still seem to want to banish children from public places, which I don't agree with at all. Wait until you have your own kids - I'll mail you your comments from this thread as a reminder of your opinions.

kanelli wrote:Sorry, but that is really selfish. I agree that parents should be teaching better manners and public conduct, but you still seem to want to banish children from public places, which I don't agree with at all. Wait until you have your own kids - I'll mail you your comments from this thread as a reminder of your opinions.

lol I agree

Its not that all kids are not well behaved, its just a few who are a bit more loud then others i would say its more upto how parents handle them, and what kind of manners are inculcated in them.

In theatres parets need to undestand if a kid starts crying or gets restless they need to take him out of the theatre, In a mall if they are having fun it should be seen that if dosent trouble others.

Its just a matter of teaching them right manners

J

Mint Tulip wrote:In my perfect world people who can't afford a baby-sitter should not have kids... {sigh}
!

Mint...thats rubbish! The kids that are totally wackos are being taken cared of by baby sitters only! Their busy parents do not usually attend/discipline them thats why they act crazy and actually craves for attention.

And why not put yourself in the kid's position...all they want is to have fun and be loved. Kids are gonna be kids. Deal or no deal. So might as well have one and you'll know how precious they are

Guys, I think you're being a bit hard on MT. Personally I don't think it's so much the presence of children, it's how they're behaving, and I also have to say that children here very very badly behaved, they lack even basic manners and how to treat other people, and the parents should be ashamed of themselves, because obviously to have kids who behave like that, they'r taking very little interest in them.

Adult only showings in the evenings at the cinema would be heaven sent for me!

people chill out please

I'm selfish because I don't want to be enchanted by a screaming kid in a restaurant while the parents do nothing about it??? haha. So what are the parents if not selfish??

I do not want to banish kids from the earth, that's just a dream that I have, but in actuality it wouldn't be plausible.

I would be satisfied with being able to go to a mall, just one would be fine, and not encountering kids and mommies pushing their kid carts, (strollers?).

kanelli, my sister thinks exactly like I do and she has kids! She doesn't go out to a very public space with her kids. She's not always talking about her kids at work like so many people that go on and on and don't talk of anything else. You know, she is a normal person that doesn't impose her kids on anyone.

Mint Tulip wrote:people chill out please

I'm selfish because I don't want to be enchanted by a screaming kid in a restaurant while the parents do nothing about it??? haha. So what are the parents if not selfish??

I do not want to banish kids from the earth, that's just a dream that I have, but in actuality it wouldn't be plausible.

I would be satisfied with being able to go to a mall, just one would be fine, and not encountering kids and mommies pushing their kid carts, (strollers?).

kanelli, my sister thinks exactly like I do and she has kids! She doesn't go out to a very public space with her kids. She's not always talking about her kids at work like so many people that go on and on and don't talk of anything else. You know, she is a normal person that doesn't impose her kids on anyone.

what are they going to do to the kid....slap him/her until the kid shuts up
having kids are a blessing from god, some people cannot have kids.

i was a little devil myself when i was a kid , i used to break stuff all the time and do pranks......thats all.... :lol:

haha, I understand you Mint, I too am not fond of rowdy kids and friends who talk endlessly about theirs. We'll just have to adapt and avoid the things that annoy us.
Those parents who doesn't know how to deal with their little kids will soon have a hard time dealing with them when the brats grow up. So it's actually a lot more trouble for them.

You are getting onto another topic by discussing other women doing nothing but talking about their own children with everyone.

Concerning your sister not taking her children out in public... I feel sorry for those children. Is it that your sister thinks she doesn't have adequate control over her children or they lack the appropriate manners to be out in public? Or perhaps she just wants to avoid the hassle of dealing with them in public at all? Who knows! All I know is that it is normal for familes to go out in public together. Absolutely parents should not let their kids disturb others or take children to evening movies that are supposed to be for adults anyways. They should to go to afternoon movies and see child-appropriate films etc. All parents shouldn't be punished and have their kids banished due to the bad parents and badly behaved children. That hardly seems fair.

Well, I have to admit, kids in some places can be a right pain in the behind.

MT has a point, sometimes you'd just like to go to child free places. Even at parties it can be annoying to have other people bring their kids.

Not ALL the time, but SOME OF the time.

pinoy1 wrote:haha, I understand you Mint, I too am not fond of rowdy kids and friends who talk endlessly about theirs. We'll just have to adapt and avoid the things that annoy us.
Those parents who doesn't know how to deal with their little kids will soon have a hard time dealing with them when the brats grow up. So it's actually a lot more trouble for them.

Why is it that they now all become "brats", don't you think you are being rather unfair towards children?

I love kids



Couldn't eat a whole one though

scotty3000 wrote:I love kids



Couldn't eat a whole one though

Gee that avatar gets around.

sage & onion wrote:

pinoy1 wrote:haha, I understand you Mint, I too am not fond of rowdy kids and friends who talk endlessly about theirs. We'll just have to adapt and avoid the things that annoy us.
Those parents who doesn't know how to deal with their little kids will soon have a hard time dealing with them when the brats grow up. So it's actually a lot more trouble for them.

Why is it that they now all become "brats", don't you think you are being rather unfair towards children?

Oops, I mean Those parents who doesn't know how to deal with their little brats will soon have a hard time dealing with them when the kids grow up.

The problem here as Kanelli has pointed out, is that many of the children are infact raised by the maid or nanny and not the parents. The children are not disciplined and taught what is and what is not acceptable behaviour.

Also the flip side to the situation is that there is hardly anything for children to do here, there are no youth clubs or anything like that.

I think MT would love to employ the services of the Pied Piper of Dubai They aren't from another species you know!

^ian^ wrote:

scotty3000 wrote:I love kids



Couldn't eat a whole one though

Gee that avatar gets around.

You're right - i was being lazy
Like the new avater (it's a bit more realistic)

zam wrote:What you want is just sooo unfair for the children. Why do they need to have limited places just bec your annoyed by their presence? Did you not have a good childhood m'tulip?

There are areas where kids dont usually linger such as smoking areas, bars, banks, etc !

I think your being so self centered! Your not the only one on this planet and you have to live with that fact

Zam,

a good childhood does not = running around the supermarket, pushing the trolley around bumpping into people's feet at the same time scream like hell.
a good childhood does not = sceam + run at the same time in a busy restaurnat while people serving hot food and other people trying to enjoy thier meals.
a good childhood does not = shouting back at adults who trying to tell them not to jump off the stairs
a good childhood does not = rolling around on the dirty floor and of course screaming at the same time
a good childhood does not = parents let you eat whatever you want and you are 80kg when you are only 6 years old

Chocoholic wrote:The problem here as Kanelli has pointed out, is that many of the children are infact raised by the maid or nanny and not the parents. The children are not disciplined and taught what is and what is not acceptable behaviour.

Also the flip side to the situation is that there is hardly anything for children to do here, there are no youth clubs or anything like that.

the parents aren't exactly dicipline themselves right? look at their behavior, how do they set a good example?

Kids – can’t live with them, can’t live without them!! I use to have theories about raising up kids & disciplinary issues until I was living with them! I have amazing nephew & niece and they do all sort of crazy things which I agree as a family would be more tolerable to us but may not be to outsiders. Good conduct & mannerism should be taught but on the other hand best is to leave them with their behavior, give them space & just let them grow up! However, I completely agree about the trolley crashing, back screaming, making faces & so on & its due to no precincts from parents which leads to that sort of behavior & when parents do realize its too late to correct them!
It is very natural to get annoyed but cmon kids are soo wonderful!

easternjewel wrote:Kids – can’t live with them, can’t live without them!! I use to have theories about raising up kids & disciplinary issues until I was living with them! I have amazing nephew & niece and they do all sort of crazy things which I agree as a family would be more tolerable to us but may not be to outsiders. Good conduct & mannerism should be taught but on the other hand best is to leave them with their behavior, give them space & just let them grow up! However, I completely agree about the trolley crashing, back screaming, making faces & so on & its due to no precincts from parents which leads to that sort of behavior & when parents do realize its too late to correct them!
It is very natural to get annoyed but cmon kids are soo wonderful!

mmm E#j is planning to b goooooood mom!

im sure she will (easternjewels)

pinoy1 wrote:haha, I understand you Mint, I too am not fond of rowdy kids and friends who talk endlessly about theirs. We'll just have to adapt and avoid the things that annoy us.
Those parents who doesn't know how to deal with their little kids will soon have a hard time dealing with them when the brats grow up. So it's actually a lot more trouble for them.

You made some good points. The reality is that we are the ones that have to adapt; there's no choice. But just the suggestion of having more places that are kid-free really seems to bother some people! So it seems that it's ok for us child-less people to adapt but not ok for parents with unruly kids to adapt? I think that is selfish and unfair of parents.

Also, Dubai is experiencing a trend with kids that are adapting thuggish behavior as they grow up. This is eventually a social problem - not just a nuisance - when parents don't take steps to discipline unruly kid's from the start.

Ian
I love it when I get invited to a party and the invitation says "No Children Please."

EasternJewel

I have amazing nephew & niece and they do all sort of crazy things which I agree as a family would be more tolerable to us but may not be to outsiders.

Exactly. Some people don't realize that what is tolerable in one's family is not tolerable to other people, out in public.

Feipo,
I totally agree. And yes, the problem lies with the parents.

And for those saying that kids are wonderful, gifts of God, etc. etc. Well yeah, they're cute and wonderful, but that's NOT the issue here; a child's cuteness doesn't justify a parent's irresponsibility.