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| Toddler's first trip to day care on the bus without a stroller. |
Crazy weird stuff people have said to us when using transit with an unrestrained child
As we mentioned in some previous posts, our daughter ditched the stroller pretty early (about 20 months). She's also always been pretty ahead in the gross motor skills arena. These two things are almost certainly highly related. Regardless, this means that we've had the experience of taking the bus and train (and making transfers) with a very small child not protected with the cocoon of a stroller. While for the most part this engenders exclamations as to her precociousness, occasionally this results in odd or downright hostile interactions.
You should carry her!
One time, I was walking down the stairs into the train station with my daughter who was doing a great job walking down the stairs beside me. As we were descending, a man, who was passing us, turned around and barked at me that I was being unsafe and should pick her up. This was particularly odd as I was visibly quite pregnant and also the toddler was not causing a problem (at that exact moment, because believe me.... My toddler knows how to cause a problem). I'm not sure exactly where our behavior was so unsafe as to elicit comment, but it's good to know that the public has our interest at heart... or something.
She looks cold!
One time my husband was on the bus and an old lady told him that our daughter looks cold and then PROCEEDED TO ATTEMPT TO BUTTON HER COAT FOR HER! I guess she didn't get the memo about not touching other people's children without permission (or really just touching other people you don't know on the bus, regardless of age)...
Happy Mother's Day!
This past mother's day, at 32 weeks pregnant, I was boarding the bus with my daughter in tow, heading home from the playground. As I got on, the driver looked me up and down (pausing at my giant belly) and said
Awww thanks buddy, but really you could have stopped talking before the "I guess" part.
"Happy Mother's Day, I guess"
Take a cab!
And for our last anecdote, one time my husband boarded a bus with our daughter and her large carseat in a backpack (this was before we had the good fortune to acquire the IMMI GO). Another passenger angrily insisted to my husband that he should take a cab. One can only assume that he was unaware that it's called public transit and thus open to the general public, which does include children...
Your turn...
What weird and ridiculous comments have you all encountered when taking public transportation with your kids?
