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Using kids as placeholders
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
in General Chat
Hallo 
Today I went to get on the train, and had reserved myself a seat. The train was rammed, because everyone was trying to avoid the strike (which in the end, didn't happen).
I get to my seat, and there's a child there (about 3-5 years old), just lying on the two seats with toys / colouring bits / associated children mess, her mums gone off somewhere. I look up and down the carriage and there's no other seats. I asked if she was sitting with anyone, she said yea her mum, and then gave up because really I can't ask a young kid without their parent to move to give me their seat can I?!
I was frustrated after, but managed to find myself another seat in the end so wasn't a huge deal. But really if they wanted two seats together do you not think they should have reserved rather than just plonking themselves down in empty ones that were reserved hoping the kid will put off whoever has reserved it. Because really am I going to kick a parent and child out of their seats? Of course not.
It's like those parents who use pushchairs as battering rams to get through crowds. One day someone will trip over and land on their kid and they'll only have themselves to blame! I mean of course I understand it's difficult and I help them up and down stairs with the pushchairs, and in the past have given up my seat so a guy with his young daughter could sit together but at the same time if other people have made specific arrangements like a seat booking is it really fair to just sit in their place anyway?
Wouldn't be an issue on an empty train for a short distance, but people were sitting in the aisle where you get off / on and it was a 2 hour train, it was only good luck I managed to find a seat next to someone else because someone had just got off the train - there were about 4 or 5 people following me who wanted the seat just as much though!.
Rant over. Your thoughts?
Today I went to get on the train, and had reserved myself a seat. The train was rammed, because everyone was trying to avoid the strike (which in the end, didn't happen).
I get to my seat, and there's a child there (about 3-5 years old), just lying on the two seats with toys / colouring bits / associated children mess, her mums gone off somewhere. I look up and down the carriage and there's no other seats. I asked if she was sitting with anyone, she said yea her mum, and then gave up because really I can't ask a young kid without their parent to move to give me their seat can I?!
I was frustrated after, but managed to find myself another seat in the end so wasn't a huge deal. But really if they wanted two seats together do you not think they should have reserved rather than just plonking themselves down in empty ones that were reserved hoping the kid will put off whoever has reserved it. Because really am I going to kick a parent and child out of their seats? Of course not.
It's like those parents who use pushchairs as battering rams to get through crowds. One day someone will trip over and land on their kid and they'll only have themselves to blame! I mean of course I understand it's difficult and I help them up and down stairs with the pushchairs, and in the past have given up my seat so a guy with his young daughter could sit together but at the same time if other people have made specific arrangements like a seat booking is it really fair to just sit in their place anyway?
Wouldn't be an issue on an empty train for a short distance, but people were sitting in the aisle where you get off / on and it was a 2 hour train, it was only good luck I managed to find a seat next to someone else because someone had just got off the train - there were about 4 or 5 people following me who wanted the seat just as much though!.
Rant over. Your thoughts?
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Comments
Naa, I'd of waited for the mum and told them to move! If I'd reserved it, and it wasn't a priority seat, I'd of politly told them to fuck off...
Xx
In theory. Depends how scary the parent is.
But yeah if the parent hasn't paid for the child to have a seat, then the child doesn't have a right to take up a seat, it should sit on the parent's lap.
Also I don't know if the parent reserved a seat either I didn't really look into it that much. Was just annoyed. They had their stuff as I'm sure you can imagine all over, so I guess they had been there a little while anyway.
What I hate on trains is when it's packed and it's clear that seats are going to be needed then you have some ignorent idiot sat in the aisle seat with their bag next to them in the window seat making it stupidly obvious to everyone on board that they cant deal with public transport and the horror of sitting next to a stranger.
YES. :yes:
if he'd politely asked me if he could have my seat, id've said yes, because i'm young, and small, and much more able than him to spend a four hour journey standing, or sitting in the corridor. but just telling me that i couldn't sit there made me furious.
using kids as placeholders: it works well, being put on seats, at the front of things, and by things my mother wanted to buy while she went to get money, i have never once asked to move. when i see people doing it themselves though it just pisses me off.
Well thats the thing, socially you feel like you're doing the wrong thing dont you?
But if you book a seat, which anyone has the right to do - if you're organised why should you give up that seat?
I guess thats my complaint, its a bit like emotional blackmail... taking advantage of people's politeness and weaknesses for young children / old people in order to get a benefit they wouldn't have otherwise got.
Thanks, I'll remember that for next time :razz:
Will still charge you
But normal trains, I never bother confronting for a seat. It pisses me off when someone getting on the train has a child in the pram, doesn't take the kid out before they get on and hold them, and doesn't put the pram down when they can CLEARLY see it is packed to the doors. They could wait for the next one if they aren't that rushed. I can understand on most circumstances, but you can get those holsters that go around your chest, plan ahead if you know it's going to be rush hour!
A child of that age is supposed to be on its parents lap on a train.
If that's the case really there should be family seats, you don't get an awful lot of space on a train