I'm Not Sorry that I'm Not Sorry for Having a Child.

 Photo Source // No Kids Allowed | Strollerderby

I'm sure, by now, most of you have heard about the parents of the infant twins who passed out treat bags with a pre-written apology should their 14 week old twins cause a ruckus. First of all, I want to make it known that this post is not to bash them in anyway whatsoever. I think what they did was extremely considerate. That said, it's really sad that most people aren't that considerate and they found it necessary to do that to begin with. It's really unfortunate that we live in a world where people have to apologize for being parents. We shouldn't have to apologize for our babies crying. Babies are babies. Babies cry. Anyone with half a brain knows that and although some people have obviously forgotten, they were once babies too (I KNOW RIGHT? THE HORROR!).

But this post isn't about that one incident as much as it is about this "No Children Allowed" mentality that people and businesses are bringing to the forefront here lately. I'm not sure when it became trendy to hate kids but it's a good thing these adults are adults now so they don't have to hate themselves (or maybe they are miserable and that's why they're so darn grouchy?). I have a huge problem that people are finding an issue these days with allowing babies and children in public and while the articles themselves are pretty pathetic, the comments sections are even worse. I get so tired of hearing (and reading) people say things like "When I was a kid, if I acted out I got smacked but parents are too lazy these days." First of all, these people saying that misbehaved kids need to be smacked would probably be the first ones to call CPS if someone actaully DID smack their child for being a brat.

We shouldn't feel the need to apologize for taking our kids on an airplane, bringing our kids into a restaurant that doesn't have a talking mouse, taking maternity leave or staying home a few days to take care of our sick child. I'm a single mom. I'm doing the best I can and AT LEAST I'm not sitting on my rear at home eating the bag of chips I got with foodstamps. I'm trying to be a good employee while being a good mom but it's hard, especially when you have people judging your parenting choices with every move you make. This new "No Children Allowed" mentality is nothing but an excuse to condemn parents for doing a "shitty job" in a world that, generally, isn't all that supportive of families anymore to begin with. I'm not sorry that I bring my son to nice restaurants to eat because he deserves good food just as much as you do and I will not be told that I should just stay home or stick to Burger King until he's "older." If he happens to get a little bit loud because he has something exciting to tell me or he gets a little bit cranky, well, deal with it, because your little business partner on his phone discussing contracts at the top of his lungs is no less annoying to me than my child is to you but I haven't grabbed his phone away and dunked it in his glass of water (yet). I'd rather hear a baby cry at Macy's because its tired than hear a grown women gripe out an employee for not holding her dress an hour past the hold time because, well, THE ADULT KNOWS BETTER and I'd much rather smack that snooty woman around, believe me. The point is, just because someone is an adult doesn't mean they're going to be quiet anymore than it means a kid is going to be loud.

I respect that people desire peace and quiet. I'm fairly certain that's normal for, like, everyone. I've never met someone who just LOVED noise. But life is short and the "child" time is even shorter and I want to spend some of that time in public and no one is going to tell me where I can and can not take my child just because they think their ears are too good to hear a little bit of noise every now and then. Now, am I going to just allow my child to scream at the top of his lungs for no reason? Of course not. Aiden is very well-behaved in public and he very rarely throws any kinds of fits. If he did, I would take him to a restroom until he calmed down if it was that bad. Some parents are obviously not that considerate but that's just one of those "it's part of life" kind of things. We have movie theaters banning children under 6 except for certain days, select Whole Foods offering kid-free shopping days by providing a daycare, and even restaurants banning children under 6. Is this not discrimination? Why is this okay?

As a single mom, I already have to share the little time I do have every other weekend with his dad. On top of that, I spend another 40 hours a week feeling like I'm inconviencing the work world for having a kid and, God forbid, putting him first. And now, our children are inconveniencing the entire population just by being out in public? No thank you. Children NEED to be out in the world. They need to experience the outside environment and general socialization. Children can not learn how to thrive or behave in public if they aren't allowed out in it. Children are not second-class citizens and I will be damned before I even think about apologizing to the rest of the world for being a parent.