Isn't it then up to the parent/carer to come up with something to occupy the child rather than expect others to put up with irritating behaviour? Why should others have to suffer the burden of the choices you make?

I have to agree with Sundae here when she says that if you can't control your child when they're young, you're in for a hell of a time later in life.

Exactly right, Steve. We called it "used up all their 'good'".

Surely anyone that's going to somewhere with a 'waiting room' with a small child is going to go prepared? I just don't get that you expect the waiting room to provide the entertainment. I'm not saying you should expect your child to sit there quietly and do nothing, but as a parent you have a responsibility to your child to ensure they're stimulated by the right sorts of things. Doesn't every parent have a small bag of toys and or books etc that they keep in the car or by the door to take for occasions like this? Actually scrap that. I know they don't. That's why we're having this discussion.

Seriously?

Those that havent had/got small kids, I can semi understand, but those of you that have had small children, I am really shocked.

I am totally with glatt, you cant those kinds of things within reach of children and expect them not to touch them.

It IS nasty, kids dont know that the shiny little models arent the same as their matchbox toys.

Children have bad days, just like anybody else, some days they will be perfect obedient angels (although, I am yet to see this) and others they will be hell on legs and purposely defy you every second of the day.

Yes I have toys for this occasion, but what child isnt going to want to play with the new and shiny toys that they havent seen before, rather than the bag their parents have?

I try and keep the boys on a short leash, but it doesnt always happen without a fight.

What Ducks said

....and then some.

never mind the kids, the blooming adults will pick them up and fuss with them. maybe not in the UK and Aus, but here, for sure.

If you don't want it touched but want to display it for the public, put it in a goddamn glass case.

Toddlers can't distinguish between models and toys, and safe and dangerous, and they can rarely resist temptation. They're curious and learning, and their primary way to interact with the world is through touch and experimatation. yes, if you are a good parent it is usually possible to prevent your child from playing with things they shouldn't, but not always, and furthermore it's hard work. Where's the customer service aspect of providing a waiting room that is stressful to the customer?

I didn't mean to start anything here.

For the record, the kids didn't touch them, and we did have a couple of distractions in my wife's purse that paled significantly by comparison.

But it was freaking torture for the kids to not touch all those shiny beautiful toys that were right there, taunting them. While we waited and waited.

Well you shoulda! :lol:

You're right, I should have drowned them at birth when it became obvious that they weren't perfect, and I wasn't either.

steve - TFF!

Don't be silly! You just need to beat them some more...

You have to understand the age of child we're talking about here... From 5 and up, I agree, they should be more than able to just sit on their hands and behave. They won't enjoy it, but they should be able to do it, with the occasional reminding.

But seriously, my two-year-old couldn't even handle a picture of a car on a big heavy block. That was what he wanted, you know--the picture of the car on the car battery. If there had been actual model cars set out within his reach, with or without a 'Do Not Touch' sign, we would just have turned around and left instantly. I wouldn't even have to wait for the temper tantrum on that one.

EVeryone who doesn't want Sundae Girl to babysit their kids raise their hand.

@Clodfobble: HOw about a picture of a really cool race car on a can of charcoal lighter fluid? (Kingsford, I believe) I posted about this before somewhere, but WTF? why not put Elmo on the friggin thing?

I admit I had a lot of ideas about kids like SG's when I was in my 20s, now I see that although Inch rarely has meltdowns, they do come and from his perspective they are perfectly reasonable.

You wait an hour, that's 1/262,800th of your life. Your 2 year old waits an hour, that's 1/17,520th of their life. Or something like that.

No, wait. That's my argument for not giving someone who is only 30 pounds and adult sized portion of ice cream.

I think I'm beginning to see the problem. We weren't even allowed out of our cages until we were 6.

My daughter kept getting stung by ants. Then I noticed a picture from her coloring book -- of Ernie from Sesame Street, playing with ANTS and letting them crawl all over his arms, and smiling down at them. WTF?!

She's curious about nature, so we have to reinforce that ants are bad and will sting you. But, why am I having to compete with her initial impression, that ants are friendly, happy bugs that Ernie plays with?!

Oh and btw, congratulations to SG for writing probably one of the stupidest thing I've ever read.