Dining room screaming baby

[JVilleGal]

Why oh why do people insist on bringing babies & toddlers on cruises..... Leave the little ones with Grandma or Auntie.

 

Do yourself and your fellow cruisers a favor and leave the little ones at home where they belong !

[davecttr]

Don't the ships have kids clubs and special meal times for kids?

 

I know P&O do. They dedicate part of the buffet in late afternoon early evening with a special menu of all the stuff kids like to eat, plus some healthy stuff as well:). So you can take your little darling for their fix of chicken nuggets or whatever and afterward they can go to the excellent kids club while you have a relaxing meal. It even works for babies as well as their night nursery starts early.

[Keith1010]

This is always a tough situation to deal with for the crew. There is not much they can do.

 

Keith

[Who Cares?]

I think it's really sad that people are so hard on parents. NO one is perfect. Now, I do think that if it had been a prolonged temper tantrum by the child then perhaps the parent should have taken the child out, but the OP didn't say that.

Honestly, it's not easy to be a parent (I'm not one) and I can't imagine how difficult it would be go to out to eat on a vacation or anywhere for that matter and hoping your young child, who may or may not even know better, doesn't make a peep at dinner. It's not like you can tell your young child "ok, you can't cry now for the next hour we're going to dinner"

People are so quick to get angry and judge the parents, instead of putting themselves in their shoes.

If a fussy child bothers you that much, perhaps cruising on a cruise line that calls themselves a family cruise line is not for you?

 

You state you're not a parent. Well I am and have walked many a mile in those shoes. Many a time I have taken my children out of a land based restaurant when they couldn't behave in public. Should be exactly the same on a cruise ship. Then again, I waited until they were past that stage before I took my kids on a cruise because there are limited options on where to go on a cruise. Anyone who thinks it's okay to let a screaming baby disrupt other people's lives must be of the Me, Myself, and I group of folks out there.

[Who Cares?]

Unfortunately, parents don't get it, their loud child is not cute to anyone but may them!! Speaking up probably is the only thing that works.

 

We were once on a 12 hour flight, there was a young women, sitting across from us, with a 2 year old who was crying because she wanted her mother to hold her. The mother had put her in an air plane bed on the floor and was trying to ignore her... this went on for 30-45 minutes, until my DH said, "hold your baby". Then the mother picked up the child, within 15 minutes she went sleep... it was the only way we all were going to enjoy the flight. Trying to win a battle of wills in public with a child never works...

 

You were lucky. 10 hour flight from Germany, 2 year old screaming for 9 of those hours. Mother refused to do anything even when spoken to by the stewardess and no where to land early to drop her and her brat off. Wanted to slap both the kid and mother when I got off that plane! :mad:

Edited November 6, 2015 by Who Cares?

[CruiseBride926]

I think the reason why some of the replies got to me is because I know I would both apologize and remove my child so at that point someone saying something to me would offend me. I don't understand how someone thinks it's ok to leave there child to sit there and cry. Even if you take the other diners out of the equation removing the child from all the stimulation is also what's best for the child.

 

 

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[CruiseBride926]

Why oh why do people insist on bringing babies & toddlers on cruises..... Leave the little ones with Grandma or Auntie.

 

Do yourself and your fellow cruisers a favor and leave the little ones at home where they belong !

 

 

It's a family friendly line. We just went on our honeymoon on the pride (without the baby) and saw a lot of things that I thought she would enjoy. When it came time to book our next one we decided she would come along even though we originally planned on waiting a few years.

 

 

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[luddite]

Now now.

The babies paid good money to go on a cruise!

They should be allowed to do whatever they want. After all,

it's THEIR money and they deserve a vacation too. And it isn't their fault that they are screaming and crying in the dining room........

 

 

 

Oh wait.

Huh. Only the last sentence above is actually correct. Since the parents are responsible.........

[Hflors]

I have had a couple of experiences with screaming babies. One on an airplane where the mother and father thought it was a good idea to put their screaming kid between then like up near their shoulders so the little darling could see "all the people in back of her while she screamed" Not going to happen. I merely started to kick the back of their seat and inform that they needed to get their baby. Hearing it is one thing. Looking at it as it screamed is quite another.

 

On a cruise we did have a baby crying in the cabin next to ours one time. I guess the baby got up at night because I would hear the baby late at night. One night we heard her earlier. We just turned up the tv a bit louder. Problem solved

[Badfinger]

Many couples now sit and ignore it and seem to look around as if it is something to be proud of to have a screaming baby/ toddler. Something to be said for adult only ships.

 

Makes me wonder who in the heck raised today's parents? Who set their example for parenting skills? Um...errrr...never mind.

[kelkel2]

You state you're not a parent. Well I am and have walked many a mile in those shoes. Many a time I have taken my children out of a land based restaurant when they couldn't behave in public. Should be exactly the same on a cruise ship. Then again, I waited until they were past that stage before I took my kids on a cruise because there are limited options on where to go on a cruise. Anyone who thinks it's okay to let a screaming baby disrupt other people's lives must be of the Me, Myself, and I group of folks out there.

 

I agree the child should have been taken out if it was having a screaming problem. I'm not disagreeing with that. But my impression from the original post, was that it was a scream every 10 minutes or so. From that I can't decipher if that's a happy squeal, a baby wanting attention, a baby who is upset, or a full out cry. Depending on the situation determines how I would handle it. I don't really think it's fair to take a baby out of dinner because every now and then they squeal with delight, which could have been the case.

[spookwife]

"a" loud screeching scream every 10 minutes. You don't mention if it was a happy noise or if it lasted only a second. Personally if I heard a happy screech every 10 minutes that lasted only a second, i'd smile and welcome it. Sounds like you'd be better off with a cruise line that didn't allow children.

 

I totally agree that out of control children should not be in the MDR, but this sounds like a baby making happy noises to me.

 

not everyone agrees with your assessment and would be willing to tolerate it.

 

sorry but would you accept "a" loud screech every ten minutes if this was at the movie theater?! I think not and no there is not much difference in situations. both are public venues where certain standards are to be expected.

 

and not everyone agrees what 'happy noises' means.

 

since the overall societal mindset is me me me and all about MY enjoyment, I now have to be the rude one and go out of my way to expend time and energy to enjoy MY self by sacrificing MY comfy spot by the window since everyone around me has no empathy for anyone but themselves.

[cruisead]

After raising four rambunctious boys, I can understand. But one thing many parents don't realize or admit, after while, you tune kids and their sounds out. Parents might not realize that the noises they're used to hearing is not what everyone else hears. Three of our boys were well behaved but our fourth was a total handful. We didn't go out for fancy meals until he was three. One of the reasons we no longer go to movie theaters in the afternoon is because moms bring their babies with them, and it's not usually a good experience. Theaters in some cities have designated child friendly movie showings and that seem to have helped.

[cruisead]

I think I must be a very lucky person. Noisy babies don't bother me at all. Now if the thread were about loud, obnoxious adults ...

 

Everyone always brings up the "obnoxious adults" argument and that doesn't hold water. If that's the case, the security people step in to manage the behavior to the point of kicking repeat offenders off the ship but you don't ever see ship staff trying to manage unruly kids/babies. You can't kick misbehaved toddlers/babies off the ship like you can with adults.......or can they?

[PTMary]

.....Now if the thread were about loud, obnoxious adults ...

 

Everyone always brings up the "obnoxious adults" argument and that doesn't hold water......

 

I agree. I have to wonder about a person's value system when they use one form of bad behavior to excuse another form of bad behavior. :rolleyes:

 

Bad behavior is bad behavior. It isn't a rational argument to claim that another is worse to somehow justify the bad behavior being defended. :mad:

Edited November 6, 2015 by PTMary

[CapCrunch]

You know, I've read countless articles, columns, and posts about this happening in restaurants, followed by the inevitable disagreement (this includes crying/screaming babies, and toddlers running around restaurants), yet I've never encountered it in my life. And I've eaten in plenty of restaurants. I haven't been on a cruise yet, but I've been to places such as Club Med a few times, and Disney World a few times as well. I've just never seen it happen. And I've lived in child-packed places such as the Upper East Side and Upper West Side of Manhattan.

 

I've encountered crying babies and noisy toddlers on airplanes, but I'm always completely sympathetic since it's very limited as to what the parents can do except try their best, and stressing them out more is only going to make it harder.

[legaljen1969]

If an adult made that amount of noise in the MDR then they would be asked to quiet down or leave.

 

If you realize your child is about to have a meltdown or your child is being loud, whether good or bad, then I agree you should certainly consider that in your dining choices and plans. However, babies can be pretty random and will just let out happy screeches from time to time. You have no way to predict that and you never know what might cause it. They might see their reflection in the window. They might see a banana or a strawberry. The lady at the next table might look like grandma. Who knows? To say that a child should not be allowed in the dining room on the off chance it might make a noise is absurd.

[JVilleGal]

I don't think any one has issues with happy baby noises!

[legaljen1969]

no it is not to my spouse who gets physically ILL at the sound of a 2 year old's screeching due to some prior ear surgeries and infections.

 

as in yes a single screech gives him a blinding headache of biblical proportions and ruins his meal.

 

Not that it's okay for children to screech and scream, and I certainly feel terrible for your husband to have to endure blinding headaches.

 

Does the noise of the dining room overwhelm his senses in general? I know it can overwhelm mine with all of the clattering dishes and folks roaming around making noise, coupled with the occasional baby noises.

 

If I am feeling particular sensitive to noise on a given night, I will likely skip the dining room. It just gets too chaotic sometimes.

 

I don't expect others to scream and yell, or to allow their children to do so, but I also don't expect others (who likely have no idea if I am ill or could get ill from their noises) to be particularly sensitive to my needs.

 

I would think a cruise ship, in general, would be quite an unpleasant experience for your spouse.

[akcruz]

Unfortunately, parents don't get it, their loud child is not cute to anyone but may them!! Speaking up probably is the only thing that works.

 

We were once on a 12 hour flight, there was a young women, sitting across from us, with a 2 year old who was crying because she wanted her mother to hold her. The mother had put her in an air plane bed on the floor and was trying to ignore her... this went on for 30-45 minutes, until my DH said, "hold your baby". Then the mother picked up the child, within 15 minutes she went sleep... it was the only way we all were going to enjoy the flight. Trying to win a battle of wills in public with a child never works...

 

Be thankful she listened to you. On a recent 6 hour flight there was a boy about 8 in front of us, he was at the window, dad on the aisle and mom in the middle. The boy was constantly dad, dad, look at this, and not quietly, dad in turn would ignore him and finally say something after a bit. He bounced around the whole time while our trays could barely hold anything as they kept bouncing. About 4 hours or so into the flight he knocked over the bottle of red wine mom had which proceeded to go all over his seat and on the floor down by my feet. Once it was all cleaned up we figured they would calm down. Nope, he kept getting worse. I finally tapped the mom on the shoulder and asked nicely (which was very difficult at that point) if she could have him quiet down a bit. Her response to me "NO" and she turned back around and riled him up even more. I was shocked but decided at that point not worth the fight that I knew would start if I pushed it.

 

Too many "parents" out there that do not know the first thing about parenting!

 

I don't think any one has issues with happy baby noises!

 

No, but the ones that get me are the supposed grown ups that will make all kinds of noises, gestures, etc to make the baby make those happy noises.

 

 

Fortunately my kids are grown and I don't have to concern myself too much with what others are doing. We were always of the mind that if the kids fussed we got up and took them out of the situation. Did we stay home a lot when they were young, absolutely, but they learned at a fairly young age how to be polite, respectful people. We still get compliments from others on how respectful they are. Haven't hit the grandchild stage yet but hoping they learned something from us.

[momonthego17]

If you realize your child is about to have a meltdown or your child is being loud, whether good or bad, then I agree you should certainly consider that in your dining choices and plans. However, babies can be pretty random and will just let out happy screeches from time to time. You have no way to predict that and you never know what might cause it. They might see their reflection in the window. They might see a banana or a strawberry. The lady at the next table might look like grandma. Who knows? To say that a child should not be allowed in the dining room on the off chance it might make a noise is absurd.

 

People who don't take responsibility for their children's behavior seems to run rampant in today's society. If an adult made that amount of noise in the MDR then they would be asked to quiet down or leave. Why can't that be the case for the parents of noisy children?

I wanted my whole comment shown. I didn't say "babies shouldn't be allowed in the MDR". Where did you get that out of my comment, legaljen? Looking through this thread there are other comments that would support your statement. I don't know why you picked mine.

[Who Cares?]

"a" loud screeching scream every 10 minutes. You don't mention if it was a happy noise or if it lasted only a second. Personally if I heard a happy screech every 10 minutes that lasted only a second, i'd smile and welcome it. Sounds like you'd be better off with a cruise line that didn't allow children.

 

I totally agree that out of control children should not be in the MDR, but this sounds like a baby making happy noises to me.

 

You have absolutely no idea what type of "loud screeching scream" the child was making as the OP never stated. Only that it was every 10 minutes every single night. That simply should not have to be tolerated by anyone within earshot.

Edited November 6, 2015 by Who Cares?

[Who Cares?]

Everyone always brings up the "obnoxious adults" argument and that doesn't hold water. If that's the case, the security people step in to manage the behavior to the point of kicking repeat offenders off the ship but you don't ever see ship staff trying to manage unruly kids/babies. You can't kick misbehaved toddlers/babies off the ship like you can with adults.......or can they?

 

Would be nice. :)

[Who Cares?]

I don't think any one has issues with happy baby noises!

 

If it's a "loud screeching scream" happy sound every 10 minutes, every night, then I do.

[spookwife]

I don't think any one has issues with happy baby noises!

 

 

you would be WRONG on that assumption.

 

as I have said a happy baby screech is PHYSICALLY PAINFUL for my husband. as in DEBILITATINGLY SO.

 

any sharp loud noise also triggers my panic response. so yes my husband and have serious issues with 'happy baby noises'.

 

while we understand and are resigned to the fact that we have zero control over being subjected to them in most places it doesn't mean we are willing to tolerate it for more than a one off occurrence.