Wanna know what happened to me if I sassed back? My mother would slap me. Trust me, it worked.

I should know–I work there as a cashier. Needless to say, I’m childless…

The kind of parents that the people here are talking about are the ones that instead of picking up their child and leaving when it starts trying to burst everyone else’s eardrums, just sit there and say ‘oh, don’t do that precious twinkle snowflake’, or even worse, just ignore it and expect everyone else to be okay with it. The parents everyone is complaining about are the ones who are NOT taking reasonable steps to be considerate of other people in their vicinity.

And by default, anyone who refuses to take reasonable steps to be considerate of everyone around them (ie, by not doing anything about their screaming child), does not deserve to be shown any consideration in kind. Total kudos to the restaurant Erika used to work at, where people wielding babies are relegated to a corner where they won’t be bothering anyone else.

Also, I wish to dispute your remark of ‘new parents have to be able to live their lives too’. When you choose to have a child, that comes with an obligation to put that child first, and if that means you have to sacrifice other things that you like doing, then that’s part and parcel of being a parent.

You can’t just drag the kid along to whatever you want to do, and then ignore the kid when it starts screaming, just because you aren’t done yet. If what you want to do isn’t suitable for the child or you can’t find a babysitter, then guess what? You have to miss out until you can make suitable arrangements. That’s what happens when you have a child and accept the responsibility that comes with it.

Want to live your life without responsibility, to do whatever you want, whenever you want, however you want? Don’t have a kid.

New parents have to be able to live their lives too, and sitters are often expensive and hard to find.

When we go to the movies with the kid, we know full well that if there is a crying fit, one of us is going to have to take our daughter outside until she calms down. If you can’t handle the 10-15 seconds of screaming it takes for me to pick up the kid and leave the theatre, well, too bad. Being a part of society means sometimes putting up with things that you don’t love, and hopefully doing it politely. If parents are doing what they can, within reason, to be considerate of other people in their vicinity, you ought to have some understanding of where they are coming from.

Wow… Wanna know what Precious Six-Year-Old looks like to others? Go volunteer in an adult day care center, where grownups act the way your Precious Little Man/Princess does. Better yet, make a career of it, since you obviously have no problem with such behavior.

Wow… what hypocrisy!

And on any college campus, if you can believe that. One of the few places you’d think you’d have respite from the screechy little things.

Back in the day, the Cinemark pre-movie cartoons advised shutting up wailing babies as well as one’s personal phone. Why did they take that out? Were they worried they might, oh lawdy, OFFEND someone by suggesting common frigging courtesy?

If you’re not intelligent enough to piece together the idea that not everyone wants to hear your precious little angel maintain dog-calling-frequency high notes, you are not fit to reproduce. Train that thing or keep it crated when you go out. Simple.

It doesn’t matter that they’re a baby. The screaming is just as unpleasant and preventable.

Wow… what elitist snobbery!

Screaming, crying, whining, sassing back, throwing fits; that’s how kids and unfortunately many adults communicate. So to those who don’t like it, quit your belly-aching already! It’s the way humans are.

Babies=not chic.

Also, it should totally be legal to smack other people’s kids.