Twitter Users Debate Whether the General Population is Responsible For Children in Public Spaces

Ada Elder

Apr 28, 2023 12:00 PM EDT

There's been a lot of discourse lately about where in public children do and don't belong. The "children shouldn't be on planes" take has been popular for many, many years - and we just witnessed the insanity that controversial yet ubiquitous stance can lead to. Basically, owning that opinion too passionately can land you in jail. The contempt for kids and/or babies in the air travel sphere isn't where these feelings stop. A restaurant in New Jersey was both criticized and celebrated for making the decision to ban children under ten years old.

While I can admit that I've bemoaned the presence of a screaming child while trying to get from point A to B, I can also admit that society feels a lot less kid-friendly these days. It's true that enjoying a pint while surrounded by rambunctious children may not be my ideal bar experience, but what are parents supposed to do? We're not in the middle of a lockdown anymore, and having children shouldn't exile families to park playgrounds and Chuck E. Cheese.

All this kid-related discourse has inspired quite a few controversial Twitter threads, one of which comes from @mrlionflower. In a tweet from April 21st, he shares his own 'hot take' on children:

"My 'hot take' on children that isn't really a hot take is when a child is out in public and whether you are childless or not, that child is now peripherally under your care also. Children's safety is a community effort."

In the ensuing thread, he decries the "asinine" trend of openly hating children and babies and also expresses appreciation for strangers who go out of their way to calm his children when they're fussy in public places. While I, personally, think it's a stretch to say that we're all responsible for the children of strangers, I do think we should show kindness to humans in general. And guess what? Kids (and babies) definitely fall into the "human" category.

While some Twitter users agreed with @mrlionflower's sentiment, many others rejected the notion that other people's children are their responsibility. That particular interpretation of the tweet isn't exactly fair, but you know what? To each their own. We just hope our hypothetical or eventual children don't find themselves in harm's way around folks like that.

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