BellaOnline Forums Relationships Married No Kids The public library has childcare mornings...

I like kids don't get me wrong. Just for the past few months I have noticed that public places are now hosting kids, mainly toddler/baby activities at certain places. At my library I like to study on my days off, so the first time I noticed was I walked to the study area only to see the desks converted into a preschool area. Complete with paints, paper, glitter etc. I thought it was a joke until from the kids room, in came a group of squealing/crying toddlers with their parents to the study area and the child's service librarian was bubbling about some activity based on one of the books. Honestly I thought it was a once off until I went the next week and it happened again. Apparently it happens two times a week. I only get three days off from my work and I want to spend it studying. Only to have to move to another area and yes I have seen other people who want to study go to the study area only to grimce and go "WTF" under their breath. It's like "It's a place to study not a freaking childcare centre."

Or cafes. Children get terrible bored at cafes... one time I went to my favourite cafe (which sadly has since closed for business) and there was a group of 14 kids and adults. I belive there was only four adults. The place was unbearble with chatter, noise and the owner I could see was almost losing her paitence. When I go to the library I hear the kids in story time, walk to the study area and I let out a soft groan and a roll of the eyes and walk to a not so private quiet area to study. Or I go to a room that is rarely used (it houses books on cd and videos) Sit on a chair and just highlight what ever passage I need to get done. It's uncomfortable as every now and then you get people walking past looking at you like "WTH are you in this room?" One time I went to go swimming at a YMCA pool, only to be told to come back in two hours as there was a parent and baby swimming class on. I was like WTF I got to go to work then. Argh it is annoying.

Okay, personally I find it ridiculous that you were told to come back at a later time just because a parent-baby class was going on. Honestly, I wouldn't want to get in the pool anyway with that much irritation and noise all around me, but still you have as much right to be there as anyone else. That activity was probably taking place in the shallow end of the pool anyway, why was it not allowed for you to simply swim in the deep end? Anyway, I'm done ranting about that now. Another place I would say I hate to see little infants, babies and toddlers is in the more adult themed Amusement parks. I can handle the lines because I love thrill rides but what turns waiting in line from boring to irritating is when you have a mother who insists on taking her kids on the ride with her. First of all, usually the family is somewhere right in front of where I'm standing in the line and the kids are usually noisy, fighting with one another or they are just plain rude. Then when you finally make your way up to the entrance to the actual ride, the mother seems to be oblivious to the fact that adult-themed rides have a height limit. So then the whole line stands there for an additional ten minutes on top of waiting in the line while she must measure each child against the scale and convince the ride operator of why she should be allowed to hold the child in her lap so she can get on. Then, she either gets mad when she can't get on and storms back through the crowded line with noisy children in tow, or she gets on the ride (after rounding up her 1 to 3 kids) and then the children begin crying because now they are scared or didn't really want to do it to begin with. Seriously, it almost ruins going on the ride for everyone else. Going to an adult theme park with children kind of defeats the purpose of going at all, considering the point is to get away from things that cause you stress. People with kids should take them to the resorts that are more aimed toward little kids or just leave them with a babysitter for the day.

Yeah I know, even worse when the parents argue to the ride operator about it. Great news at the library today. No "craft time" at the study area. It was amazing peaceful and guess what most of the tables were taken up by people actually studying. :Happy dance:

I won't use public pools that allow diapered babies in them. My area had a serious cryptosporidium outbreak related to baby and toddler feces in public pools. Crypto causes weeks of nausea, cramps and diarrhea. The parents of course claimed discrimination and blamed the elderly, and claimed if diapered babies were to be banned then the elderly should be banned too.

I think that's disgusting. How can parents have no regard the health of the people around them? Doesn't getting ill and being in pain take priority over being able to take a baby to a pool? How is it discrimination when the public health is an issue? It's really sick when parents insist on taking their children places and then letting them pee in pools or worse. Then there's always the fact that while other people are trying to enjoy their time at a local pool, there are babies at every turn screaming or children running around. It seems that once people become parents, their concern for anyone but themselves and their child or children goes out that window entirely. Also, to the topic poster, I'm glad you finally got to take your library back for a day. Hope it stays that way.

Me too Sam me too. Paint pony, yes parents seem to think since they have kids it's all (Think of Helen Lovejoy) "Think of the children...would someone please think of the children."