Canada News, Crying toddler kicked off Victoria bus. (babysitter, out of control, baby)
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An Oak Bay mother says she's not happy with B.C. Transit's response to a recent incident where she and her 20-month-old daughter were forced off a bus by the driver because the child was making too much noise.
Jenny Manzer says she wants to ensure no other parent faces a similar situation. "Their response really has been inadequate," said Manzer, who says she received a form letter and four free bus tickets. "I find that really insulting. I don't think they have taken it seriously enough."
Crying toddler kicked off Victoria bus (http://www.timescolonist.com/Crying+toddler+kicked+Victoria/2037405/story.html - broken link)
Interesting. Note there is a comment by someone who says he/she was there and the kid was having a meltdown, not simply fussing. (Really, we'll never know...) and that Mom wasn't doing anything about it. And that she wasn't kicked off, was offered to get back on when the child calmed down, so I am assuming the bus just sat there waiting? Mother did not get back on? That sounds a bit odd, but if true it changes the story. Tales like this need verified witness accounts.
I read another comment following that story about (someone's admission of her) two children acting out (rolling around on the sidewalk, another throwing shoes off in the rain) and "playing musical chairs on the bus". Musical chairs on the bus?
If the child's tantrum was causing too much of a distraction for the driver to where they felt they couldn't drive safely then they were right to do so, as they are in charge of the safety of EVERYONE on board. But if the child was just simply crying then the driver should have let them stay.
But you'd have to know the true story to really comment.
An Oak Bay mother says she's not happy with B.C. Transit's response to a recent incident where she and her 20-month-old daughter were forced off a bus by the driver because the child was making too much noise.
Jenny Manzer says she wants to ensure no other parent faces a similar situation. "Their response really has been inadequate," said Manzer, who says she received a form letter and four free bus tickets. "I find that really insulting. I don't think they have taken it seriously enough."
Crying toddler kicked off Victoria bus (http://www.timescolonist.com/Crying+toddler+kicked+Victoria/2037405/story.html - broken link)
Why do people insist on traveling on public transportation with children who are obviously not ready for traveling. It's bad for the kids and bad for everyone else, but the mother is too self-centered to care about anyone else.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by malamute
Why do people insist on traveling on public transportation with children who are obviously not ready for traveling. It's bad for the kids and bad for everyone else, but the mother is too self-centered to care about anyone else.
Sometimes you don't have any other choices as not everyone can or should drive like me. Also, not everyone can afford their own vehicle but yet, the mother still has to get from point A to point B.
I think there is more to this story than what the article reveals. As another poster mentioned, if the child was posing enough disturbance that the driver could not concentrate on the road then the driver was within rights to remove the passengers from the bus.
Sometimes you don't have any other choices as not everyone can or should drive like me. Also, not everyone can afford their own vehicle but yet, the mother still has to get from point A to point B.
I think there is more to this story than what the article reveals. As another poster mentioned, if the child was posing enough disturbance that the driver could not concentrate on the road then the driver was within rights to remove the passengers from the bus.
In this case, the woman is a journalist, her partner is a professor so they could buy a car if they don't want to discipline their child, or hire a babysitter, or take turns tending to her, or stay home and save the shopping trips for another day.
It's too bad the bus driver is the one who had to deal with this. People whose children are out of control, should have the good sense to get off the bus (or out of the restaurant, store, etc) and allow the child to calm down. They may not believe in disciplining children but that doesn't mean they should force others to put up with them.
Since we don't know just how bad the noise was, it is hard to make a call on this. Just crying shouldn't have bothered anyone but if she was having a meltdown, that is a whole new ball game and the mother should have taken her off the bus without being told anything. Whenever any of my children acted up in public, I would immediately remove them from where ever we are.
Being in a close in place, with a screaming child is actually painful to my ears and I would have had to get off and take the next bus. How anyone raises their child is their own business but to expect the world to put up with it is crazy! She can have all the meltdowns at home she wants but why should the rest of us have to endure them?
If I were a driver and a child was having a meltdown, I would have done the same thing... His job is to CONCENTRATE on driving with NO distractions.
My comments are "IF" she was just crying or having a meltdown.. We just do not know which case it was.
Not knowing the whole story it is hard to say but being a mom and having had kids that had a "meltdown" and NOT from a lack of discipline here is what I think:
She could have taken the bus to take the child to a doctors appointment or whatever. How many times have us mom's (and dads) sat in a doctors office for way too long and the kids get all fussy. It is past nap time, lunch time, etc. We just want to hurry up and get them home so that they can get the much needed nap they need. If we drive our own car and they start to have a meltdown do you all just pull over and stop and wait? I don't. I can concentrate enough to drive home safely to get the child home and down for a nap or something to eat. Since she was depending on public transportation the mom didn't really have an option of just sitting in her car while the child calmed down before resuming to drive. Standing on a sidewalk w/ a kid that is having a "meltdown" and all they really need is a nap isn't going to help. Should the mom just let the child lay down on the sidewalk or what? I'm sure someone would get upset about that and think the mom was endangering the child from doing that. Now granted I too have lost most of my patience since my kids have gotten older and past the "meltdown" age but I can see the mom's point on this one. If all she is wanting to do is get home so the child can take a much needed nap then being put off the bus and left to just stand on the sidewalk is NOT going to help. Since this was PUBLIC transportation most of the people on there are not going to be on it for much more than 30 minutes. It's not like they are stuck on an airplane for a 4 hour flight w/ a screaming toddler.
So what kind of discipline does one use on a toddler that is having a "meltdown" and your out IN PUBLIC? Remember there ARE people out there that if you so much as swat your kids hand they will call the police or CPS. If the child has reached the point of a "meltdown" because they are tired and it is past nap time there isn't really a whole lot to do to help. You can only calm them so much. If they have been sitting at a doctors appointment for a couple of hours and having to act right there then they have hit their breaking point just like an adult does.
Like others have said, not enough info to comment. There are situations that just happen like described above - children's behavior is NOT always 100% predictable....OTOH, there are a ton of parents who just truly don't care about anyone else's discomfort and just believe that this type of behavior is just "kids being kids" and ignore it....
Answer: 1) Time-ins. That's what you try, at least. Holding, firmly. Talking. Soothing. 2) Distraction. If that doesn't work, take it elsewhere. Or at least apologize to the other passengers, goes a long way to developing an understanding between commuters. (And I always brought some sort of nibbles and drink for my daughter...still do. Crackers are a miracle food.)
Again - we don't know what the deal is here, but so far there is one mother saying she was kicked off the bus because her toddler was fussy and a few passengers (not confirmed) and a bus driver that say it was much more than that. Does it seem a stretch that a driver would stop the bus if it wasn't extraordinary?
And the story suggests she was shopping, had bags...not a trip to the Doctor.
Last edited by 33458; 09-30-2009 at 09:30 AM..
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