Warning: Rant ahead. This rant has been boiling for awhile but I’m annoyed enough to actually publish it. 
You have been warned.
As a parent, I am finding myself bristling a lot these days when reading my social networking feeds. I have quite a few friends who do not have children, some of whom are childfree. Which, honestly, is fine with me. I am not one of those parents who will espouse a misguided belief that one is incomplete without children. In fact, I respect folks who know, for whatever reason, that they don’t want children.
But if I read another status update about how annoying children are, I will have to smack someone. Hard. Upside the head with a truck, even.
Yes, children that tantrum can grate on one’s nerves. Trust me, I know. I have a champion tantrumer whose tantrums can and have lasted near two hours. But let me tell you something: that child is not out to annoy you. Trust me, you’re just not that damn special. So for the love of god, don’t act personally insulted that just because you can overhear a child tantrum, or that they’ve ruined your day and/or your entire outlook on children. Small children tantrum. It is normal. You, oh-insulted-one, most likely tantrumed as a child and embarrassed the everloving snot out of your poor parents at some point during your esteemed life. So quit with the holier than thou attitude. The End.
For the record, I can’t stand it when people assume that just because a child is tantruming that they are either a) being ignored or b) being bratty. Some kids, for whatever reason, due to sensory issues, special needs, etc. tantrum like they’re on fire and there’s nothing that can be done until it passes. And just because a tantrum lasts for god knows how long doesn’t mean that the parent is somehow absent or not taking care of their child. I can assure you that while I’m sure there are some douchenugget parents out there that don’t take care of their kids, this is probably not the case for most parents. In fact, I can attest to more than a few occasions when I’ve simply sat down and sobbed right along side my tantrum-prone child because I dared to change her diaper at the wrong minute. And absolutely nothing prepares you for the stares and the not-so-silent blame that you get when you seek help for a tantruming child.
And while I’m in a ranting mode…
To those that complain that folks bring their kids to conventions or geek parties or another function with adults… stop whining. Seriously. Geek parents do not bring their children to geek functions to piss off their childfree geek peers. We could really give a sh*t what you think. God forbid that a geek family want to do something together and include their children in their geekery. Granted, parents shouldn’t run over people with their strollers (that’s just plain rude) but blaming it on the kids? How’s that work? Blame the parents for being douches, not the kids for having been brought to the convention. Jeezus.
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Text and photographs copyrighted by Michelle N unless otherwise noted.
Are you kidding me? You don’t have to be apologetic in any way, shape, or form in how you express YOUR opinion on YOUR blog. You go, mama!!
I totally agree with you, but I would also add that those of us parents who are annoyed by this type of behavior from the childless should start by example. Too many times, the only posts I’ll read from mama friends are the ones that lament parenthood in general–very rarely do these parents have positive words about their own children (I suppose they hold those privately, while making their complaints public because no one’s child rearing experience is all bad, right?). If we don’t want that sort of negativity about children, I think the best place to start is within ourselves.
Amen! It needed to be said!