Mom Complains About the Etiquette of Train Passengers on 2-Hour Journey with Baby — But Is Told She's in the Wrong

Yahoo

2 days ago

'I spoke out and was given a seat, but everyone gave me dirty looks as if I was in the wrong,' she shared
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A mother was unimpressed by the behavior of her fellow passengers on a recent train journey
In a Mumsnet post, she recalled getting "dirty looks" after asking for a seat with her child
'Is there an unwritten rule that you don't get trains with kids? I don't have a car,' she wondered
A mother was left unhappy after struggling to get a seat on a crowded train for a 2-hour journey with her baby.
She penned a lengthy post on the parenting forum Mumsnet, explaining that she and her husband arrived on the platform in Folkestone, England, two hours before their train to London was set to depart.
She said the moment the hourly train arrived, everyone began pushing to get on without regard to them and their 1-year-old child. The situation was worsened by a man with two bikes who was blocking access to another carriage.
'People tutted and moaned because I was having trouble getting on,' the mom said. 'There wasn't space to keep the buggy up, so I had to carry him, and people thought it was acceptable to let me stand holding a [26-pound] toddler, he can't walk yet and is very energetic.'
The mother said she eventually spoke up and someone offered her a seat, but she noticed other people giving her 'dirty looks.'
'If I rocked up late or if seats were assigned, I would say fair enough, but I was there early and they all pushed in front,' she said.
'The icing on the cake was that the seat I was given was in the area with the tables, so he was given a makeshift drum and thought it was a social event so he proceeded to babble at everyone for the hour, people were not impressed,' the mom continued.
'Is there an unwritten rule that you don't get trains with kids? I don't have a car,' she added.
Many responses to the post argued the woman's husband could've held their child if she didn't want to, while others admitted they weren't surprised passengers weren't empathetic to her situation.
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'It's public transport. What did you expect?' one person wrote. 'Your child does not pay a fare and their buggy took up the space of about 2-3 adults standing. The adults with bikes had paid a fare, but you objected to their bikes, and you had a buggy. You expected train etiquette to give way to you? Good luck.'
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Another commenter said, 'Direct your anger at the train company for not providing enough space (longer and/or more frequent trains), not the other travellers who have every much as right to a seat/space as you. Did you expect them all to stop and let you on first or something?'
A third person wrote, 'I'm not sure what day you travelled, but it drives me mad when parents with kids (during the holidays) use the trains at rush hour. And then act so surprised that the trains are absolutely packed. Wish they'd use some common sense. In your case, there's no train etiquette any more, it's every man and woman for themselves, unfortunately.'
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