BellaOnline Forums Relationships Married No Kids Child Tolerance and Aging

Do you find yourself becoming more or less tolerant of children as you age?

I'm finding I have more patience for their antics and will tolerate a bit more now than I used to when I was younger--part of that's probably exposure. But I'm only 26. I have an aunt who's 60 and MNK. She tolerates children and their antics well, but there's a much shorter fuse on her patience. She's much quicker to jump on an irresponsible parent than I am.

I think i'm getting less tolerant, but believe it has a lot to do with the way kids are parented today. I work in a public library, and can't believe how badly behaved children are compared to say, 10 years ago. Parents seem to think that it's okay to allow their children to run riot, shouting and wrecking book displays. Apart from the mess, it disturbs others using the library. Naturally, you expect a bit of noise from small kids, but i would think that parents could use it as an opportunity to teach children that certain behaviours are only appropriate for certain places. Not so, apparently!
Also, it seems to me that parents think it's acceptable to bring kids EVERYWHERE with them. When i go out to the theatre, or pub, or to a concert, i don't want children there running around and making noise. It spoils my enjoyment! My parents took us to pubs all the time when we were little, and i can remember being bored stupid. I used to think: (as a 7 year old!)why can't we have a babysitter? Why do we have to stay here? It's boring!
I guess that my intolerance is directed more at the parents than the kids. After all, parents are the role-models and adults in charge.
Sorry, went off on a bit of a tangent there.. But silly breeder parents drive me crazy.

Hmm, interesting question.

I am of the belief that things like age do not matter so much as one's personality. Some people just let things roll off of them like water off a duck's back; nothing bothers them. Some people have a very short fuse and will get frustrated or angry at the slightest thing.

That said, some people do mellow out when they get older -- and some people get grumpier!

I think any tolerance of children has to do, in part, with how well or badly the children/parents are acting. If a parent/child is acting bad enough, anyone will get irritated. If a parent/child is acting really good, the opposite is true.

I agree. I'm definitely getting less tolerant of their behavior, and I blame the parenting, too. I work with children, and overall the behavior is getting worse. Many kids simply don't believe you when you tell them no, and they don't think that any of the rules actually apply to them. They disrespect authority and will do what you just told them not to do as soon as your back is turned. I believe that kids are learning at home that this behavior is acceptable, because their parents never do anything about it.

That said, I also need to say that there are some absolutely wonderful, respectful, caring kids out there whose parents are doing a great job! (Just not as many as there should be.)

[color:"orange"] As I get older, I am becoming less tolerant of their behavior. I just can't stand to be around kids. It drives me nuts. [/color]

I know what you mean by kids being worse behaved. It's a real turnoff to parenthood. I think part of me feels like I could be a good parent, but the prospect of having a child for a lifetime commitment is overwhelming. Also, I wonder if the herds of ill-behaved kids would make it more difficult for one to parent these days (in other words, being a bad influence on any offspring I might have).

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Thanks freespirit for giving me my first belly-laugh of the day. I often think i'll be that old lady who stabs the ball before lobbing it back over the fence. Sometimes i think i'll be the old lady who doesn't give the ball back at all, and feigns deafness when the kids shout over asking for it!
My mother-in-law babysits a 6 year old from time to time, and has horror stories about how badly the child behaves. She's always exhausted by the time the kid is collected. She seems to remember her own kids being very quiet and subdued - a case of rose-coloured glasses i think!

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I think I'm getting worse, too. Part of it, I noticed started when I started spending more time on CF forums on the 'web.

But I notice the older i get, the worse I get about it. I'm at the point now where if I hear a kid crying in public, I want to yell "SHUT IT UP!!!!"