People can get pretty irritable around a noisy baby. But when it’s your own child who can’t be silenced, what’s a parent to do?
An Australian woman and her 13-month-old baby were kicked off a public bus because the child was too loud, The Australian news website reports.
Toni Hay told the media she and her daughter, Heather, were riding the bus home, and the child was making “happy squealing noises” because she was excited. The bus driver, a woman, told her to get her daughter to be quiet or she’d have to leave the bus.
Ms. Hay said she was embarrassed and frazzled, and apologized to the other passengers. She also tried to shush the toddler by playing with her and offering her a cookie and a drink.
“She’s 13 months, what can I do?” Ms. Hay said.
The bus driver was reportedly not appeased by the mother’s efforts and after repeated threats, kicked them off the bus just ahead of their stop.
Sure, a noisy child can get on one’s nerves, especially in a cramped space like a bus or an airplane. But who’s got it worse--those stuck listening, or the frantic parents who have to shush their kids up?
How do you keep a toddler quiet in a public place?
