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Filed under: Friday Dilemma

85 comments

A colleague of The Punch’s was sitting at the back of the bus, kindly minding her own business. But something was going on at the front: Two healthy young women, prams in tow, boarded the bus and sat down in the designated ‘elderly and disabled’ section.

This cartoon really doesn't have anything to do with today's dilemma…

Then as an elderly woman who barely looked like she could walk got on. They didn’t move for her.

Our colleague fumed. So our question is this: have pram-warriors gone too far with their level of entitlement? And if so, should other passengers tell them to get off their backsides and make way for the elderly?

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85 comments

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- Al says:
  
  01:25pm | 24/08/12
  
  Have pram-warriors gone too far with their level of entitlement? That’s easy, yes.
  Should other passengers tell them to get off their backsides and make way for the elderly? Again quite easy, yes.
  The ones who realy annoy me though are the pram pushers who have stopped to chat with another pram pusher and block the entire footpath, and boy do they get peeved if you ask them to move out of the way.
  Now I just wait for the “bet you aren’t a parent” comments attacking me…............
  
  Reply
Sickemrex says:

02:35pm | 24/08/12

Carry on Al, I totally agree. I also love the indignant looks when there’s a hoard of them across a footpath when I’m out running and expect the in the absence of me having anywhere else to go, that one of them might move a bit!
Bertrand says:

02:42pm | 24/08/12

No… I’m a part-time stay at home parents and think the behaviour of these women is very poor form. The elderly certainly have more right to a disabled /elderly reserved seat than some self entitled mother.

Same goes for footpaths… it’s not hard to park your pram off to the side if you need to stop for some reason.
thatmosis says:

02:54pm | 24/08/12

Have to agree wholeheartedly. The seats are for the elderly and infirm not parents with prams. This brings up another point, went to the hospital today and on entering saw the sign “Please turn off your Mobile Phones as they could interfere with some Hospital Equipment”, fair enough and turned my mobile off but inside what did I see, women texting talking and generally using their phone oblivious to the warning signs. Being the gentleman that I am I asked them if they has seen the signs and was abused for my trouble.
Now I’m not one to take abuse lightly so I called the hospital security and had them deal with these ignorant people and what a gob full I got from these so called ladies. As I left I bid these women good day, what with being a gentleman and all and was informed that several had been placed at the bottom of the waiting list for abusing the Security, what poetic justice, lazy ignorant bitches.
pa_kelvin says:

03:38pm | 24/08/12

@thatmosis Dont believe those signs. I was in surgery about to be put out when the surgens phone rang.WTF
Anne71 says:

04:56pm | 24/08/12

Love your work, Al. Totally agree - this generation of parents seem to have a sense of entitlement that goes way beyond their actual worth. “oooh, lookit us! We’re breeding the Next Generation Of Taxpayers - we don’t have to consider anyone but ourselves!”

In this instance, I believe the elderly definitely have rights to those seats over mothers with prams. You’re not pregnant any more, ladies - you can stand up like the rest of us are happy to do, when an elderly person needs a seat.
OddCreature says:

06:31pm | 24/08/12

Hey I’m a mum, and I agree…. they should have moved and let the old lady sit. It’s just polite.

But I don’t think this is a case of “entitled mother syndrome”. It’s a case of “self-involved apathetic human being” syndrome. Which the entire of society has fallen victim to, not just those pushing a pram.

People these days, parents and childless alike, just don’t give a cracker about anyone other than themselves. My guess would be that these pram pushers never even thought of offering their seat, but I bet no one else did either.
- Ausy says:
  
  01:26pm | 24/08/12
  
  Or the people pushing prams could sit in a normal seat and block the isle with their prams.
  
  Reply
Inky says:

01:57pm | 24/08/12

I dunno, the size of prams I’m used to seeing on buses, they do that fairly convincingly even when they’re in the seats for those with special needs.

After all, every mother needs an off-road pram with four wheel drive.
P. Walker says:

05:22pm | 24/08/12

Agree Inky, some of these prams ought to be in tow behind the f***ing bus!
- Tim says:
  
  01:27pm | 24/08/12
  
  Elderly and Disabled,
  
  I think therein lies your answer.
  
  Although I suppose a lot of mothers pushing prams these days could be described as disabled. They definitely have diminished mental function.
  
  Reply
Drama Queen says:

02:17pm | 24/08/12

Tell us Tim why do they have diminished mental function?? (I can already see whats coming being familiar with your other posts)
Al says:

02:29pm | 24/08/12

Drama Queen - probably from sleep deprivation…
Tim says:

02:32pm | 24/08/12

Drama Queen,
pray tell what do you think’s coming?
Drama Queen says:

04:42pm | 24/08/12

Tim says:02:32pm | 24/08/12 “Drama Queen, pray tell what do you think’s coming?”

Another rant about how crap women are ...
- John C says:
  
  01:29pm | 24/08/12
  
  As they were neither elderly or disabled they should have:
  (a) had the good manners to move; or
  (b) been made to move by the bus driver.
  
  Reply
- Fry says:
  
  01:29pm | 24/08/12
  
  Make Prams that dont fold down banned on the bus, I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt to carry your child for half an hour.
  
  Reply
Dan says:

01:56pm | 24/08/12

try carrying a bag of potatoes around for half an hour Fry. Not such a problem for us fellas, but some women don’t have that strength.
Gladys says:

03:05pm | 24/08/12

Whoa! Dan. I agree with you, but if you’re sitting on a bus with the baby on your lap, there’s not much carrying to be done.

The best days of my life have been when my little one has fallen asleep on me, exhausted after a big day out. It’s the greatest compliment a child can pay their mother.
- Elphaba says:
  
  01:31pm | 24/08/12
  
  Those prams have to go near those flippy up seats, otherwise they’d be blocking the aisle. What, should the parents have to take the pram off and on the bus every time people want to get out?
  
  Or should parents with prams not take the bus at all? I’m confused…
  
  Reply
Ausy says:

01:39pm | 24/08/12

Just tow the punch line or you will be flamed!!
Al says:

01:48pm | 24/08/12

Elphaba - how about they actualy fold the prams up and put them in the luggage section and sit with the child on their lap?
Inky says:

01:58pm | 24/08/12

“What, should the parents have to take the pram off and on the bus every time people want to get out?”

Uh, yes, if there’s someone who needs the seat more, that’d be the reasonable expectation.
Elphaba says:

02:07pm | 24/08/12

@Al, there are plenty of seats all over the bus. Anyone could have gotten up and offered the old lady a seat, and helped her there.

Rarely do I see mothers with prams who aren’t juggling something else - like a bag. Disrupting the child to fold the pram, then put them on your lap, have them squirm and scream, and then disrupting them again to get off the bus, unfold the pram - in the amount of time such a shitfight would take, someone could have helped the old lady to a seat.

Look, I’m not a parental advocate by any stretch, I’m not even interested in having my own children. But it seems like this is a bit over the top. If someone in a wheelchair was getting on the bus, I’d say for sure, parents with stroller, make way. But the bus has a certain amount of time to get from point A to point B without folding and storing prams all the time.

I think this is an overreaction. Did someone else get up and offer her seat, Punch Team? if so, I’m still failing to see the problem here…
Elphaba says:

02:13pm | 24/08/12

Ausy, being flamed on here is the least of my concerns. I’m not here to make friends, I’ve already got those in my real life.

This is a place to poke the f*cking bear until it bites. Love it.
sami says:

02:20pm | 24/08/12

No, the prams are fine, I think the problem is with the mothers bums on seats that could have been given to the elderly lady. The mothers were perfectly capable of standing next to their prams, I would assume.

Meanwhile why would no one else offer a seat to the lady either, whether in designated area or not? Jeez.
Star says:

02:22pm | 24/08/12

Agreed. And I was never able to fold my pram up single-handedly. Who would hold the baby while I was doing that?
I don’t travel on the bus, I use the train - and if I’m ever sitting in one of the seats allocated for people with special needs, I’ll always stand up for a parent with kids or a mum with a pram.
Star says:

02:22pm | 24/08/12

Agreed. And I was never able to fold my pram up single-handedly. Who would hold the baby while I was doing that?
I don’t travel on the bus, I use the train - and if I’m ever sitting in one of the seats allocated for people with special needs, I’ll always stand up for a parent with kids or a mum with a pram.
Elphaba says:

02:28pm | 24/08/12

@Sami, yep, I don’t see any issue with the parent standing with the pram.

If this is actually what the post is about (and it could have been made clearer), then yes, the mothers should have stood next to the pram, not sat. That’s a no-brainer.
Admiral Ackbar says:

03:45pm | 24/08/12

Bottom line is, having kids is a choice. Being elderly is not. Ipso facto, take responsibility for your choice and don’t force others to change to suit you. Folding up a pram isn’t hard, with or without a kid, it’s not fucking rocket surgery. If you lack the ability to deal with the repurcussions of your choice, don’t make it to begin with. Never let your inability to take responsibilty for your own decisions adversley impact on others, it makes you an arsehole. I would have loved to have been there to tell the bitches to move, would have made my day.
Inky says:

04:33pm | 24/08/12

“Bottom line is, having kids is a choice. Being elderly is not”

Weeeelll….

Nah, i’m not gonna go there, it’s too poor taste, even for me.
A Different Rosie says:

07:26pm | 24/08/12

Admiral Ackbar,
I’m what the media refers to as an ‘elderly lady’ and I travel on four buses a day to get to and from work.
I’ve also been a mother with a baby and the shopping in a pusher, on a bus. I take umbrage at your remarks and have to tell you that being a prat is a choice as well. I’d work on it if I were you!
- Ian1 says:
  
  01:34pm | 24/08/12
  
  Old ladies, every time. The baby is already laying down in a pram.
  
  Reply
- pa_kelvin says:
  
  01:35pm | 24/08/12
  
  Did your friend offer her seat?????????If not ,why not?
  
  Reply
Jenni says:

02:13pm | 24/08/12

pa_kelvin - as the author states in the article, her friend was seated at the BACK of the bus; hardly helpful to the elderly passenger who had difficulty moving.
- Chris says:
  
  01:39pm | 24/08/12
  
  Here’s a plan - how about in the bus jam packed full of other people ONE OF THEM got up and let the old lady sit down, so that both the mothers AND the old lady could sit, while the teenager with no responsibility, infinite amounts of optional sleep and vigour gets to stand up.
  
  Those seats aren’t special - they’re just to try and encourage people to do what they should anyway.
  
  C
  
  Reply
Inky says:

01:59pm | 24/08/12

Of course, how could we not realise, it’s all Gen Ys fault.

Silly me.
Chris says:

02:17pm | 24/08/12

you’re showing your age Inky - aren’t current day teenagers in another generation now? I’ve forgotten what they are called, but I’ll bet they didn’t have to walk 150 miles in the snow bare foot to get to school every day…

slackers.
Tim the Toolman says:

02:21pm | 24/08/12

“while the teenager with no responsibility, infinite amounts of optional sleep and vigour gets to stand up.”

I detect a hint of jealousy of youth…
Inky says:

02:34pm | 24/08/12

@Chris

I don’t even know where Gen Y starts and Gen X stops, how am I suppose to know when then next one starts up?

“I’ll bet they didn’t have to walk 150 miles in the snow bare foot to get to school every day…”

Uphill both ways, no less.
Louie the Fly says:

03:38pm | 24/08/12

Chris and Inky,
You forgot, that before we walked to school first we had to milk the cows, and gather fireood for the stove,

Louie had lots of walking though snow this morning to load the car up, before leaving Smiggins. Big windy blizzard up there.
Admiral Ackbar says:

03:49pm | 24/08/12

“Those seats aren’t special…”

Well yeah they kinda are, being located near exits for ease of access to the elderly/ disabled for whom they are desinated. Derp.

This really isn’t a hard question. The self entitled douche bags with the prams should have moved, but they didn’t probably because they were arseholes. The end.
- Ausy says:
  
  01:44pm | 24/08/12
  
  How about:
  
  1. Old lady sits in pram.
  2. Baby sits on mums lap.
  
  Simple really.
  
  Reply
- RJB says:
  
  01:47pm | 24/08/12
  
  At the local shopping centre recently I was hit in the back of the leg by a pram with a young mum on the phone at one end, could not get over the size of the thing, it looked to have its own ensuite.
  
  Reply
Ausy says:

01:57pm | 24/08/12

I thought phones were getting smaller these days.
Chris says:

06:52pm | 24/08/12

In defence of large prams, imagine that you need to go to the supermarket to do your shopping by yourself (you might even need to walk to the shops with pram if you don’t have transport). So you need something that can carry your baby, random stuff for the baby as well as all of your shopping. A little pram won’t handle that.
- Mahhrat says:
  
  01:53pm | 24/08/12
  
  The prams need the room, the mothers don’t. Stand up for those who need seats more than you do. Far out, is common decency that hard to come by nowadays? Entitled little shits.
  
  Reply
A Different Rosie says:

07:41pm | 24/08/12

Oh come on now! For heaven’s sake, this is just one story. As I mentioned in an earlier comment, I use four buses to get to and from work every day. I’ve never seen an incident where an elderly person was left standing while mothers with strollers sat.
A Different Rosie says:

07:41pm | 24/08/12

Oh come on now! For heaven’s sake, this is just one story. As I mentioned in an earlier comment, I use four buses to get to and from work every day. I’ve never seen an incident where an elderly person was left standing while mothers with strollers sat.
- stevem says:
  
  01:58pm | 24/08/12
  
  I was on a bus last year where there was a pram on each side of the bus occupying the disables seats, one occupied by a mother with twin babies, the other with a father and a toddler. I suggested the father should move to a normal seat and was thoroughly abused for my efforts.
  The man in the wheelchair waiting to get on was left to wait 30 minutes for the next bus because there was nowhere for him to sit.
  
  Reply
pa_kelvin says:

02:15pm | 24/08/12

The bus driver should have made a spot available for the wheelchair.
Elphaba says:

02:22pm | 24/08/12

pa_kevin is right. Prams can sit in the flippy seats for sure, but if someone in a wheelchair needs that seat, the parents should get off and wait for the next bus.
the cynic says:

03:12pm | 24/08/12

“The man in the wheelchair waiting to get on was left to wait 30 minutes for the next bus because there was nowhere for him to sit.” ,,,,,stevem, your comments are a bit suspect. 1.How did you know the guy only had to wait 30 minutes, are you that confident that Brisbane busses are so punctual? 2. The guy did have somewhere to sit, I give you it wasn’t on the bus though. 3. He had wheels so he could have toddled off to where he wanted to go rather than have to sit idle for the said 30 minutes.
Chris says:

03:51pm | 24/08/12

@Elphaba,

Why is the agenda of the wheelchair bound individual more important than that of the parent?

The fact that they are in a wheelchair doesn’t have to mean that they have a greater right to get somewhere in a timely fashion than does a parent.

That said - I agree the parent might have better flexibility about where to sit, should it be required.

C
stevem says:

04:33pm | 24/08/12

All I know is that the bus timetable has the buses at twenty past and ten to the hour, so I assume the next bus was in 30 minutes. The pram concerned was a small, fold up type and the man concerned had no additional luggage. The bus was only half full so the father could have folded up the pram, put it in the luggage rack and moved to a vacant seat.
Everybody could have fitted on the bus easily and comfortably.
Elphaba says:

04:40pm | 24/08/12

@Chris, if you feel comfortable letting a person in a wheelchair wait for the next bus, you go for it.

I think he wheelchair person has rights over the parent. Fine, if you want to be picky about it, I retract. In that scenario, the parent can have their pram folded and the bub on their lap. But I think wheelchair trumps pram.
- KD says:
  
  02:09pm | 24/08/12
  
  A resounding YES to both parts of your question!
  
  Reply
- PhoenixGirl says:
  
  02:17pm | 24/08/12
  
  Leftist, new-age mother entitlement, screw the elderly!
  Common scum!
  
  Reply
A Different Rosiek says:

07:44pm | 24/08/12

That’s not my experience dearie, they kill me with kindness whether I want/need it or not.
A Different Rosiek says:

07:44pm | 24/08/12

That’s not my experience dearie, they kill me with kindness whether I want/need it or not.
- Ironside says:
  
  02:18pm | 24/08/12
  
  Where else would you have expected the women with prams to go? The average bus only has room for prams at the front of the bus in that elderly/disabled area. The alternative would have been to block the isle of the bus with the prams inconveniencing every passenger. The elderly woman was probably quite capeable of sitting in any seat, although granted the seats at the front are more convenient.
  
  Let me as a question, if it was two people in wheelchairs sitting there would you have demanded they move for the old woman? What about a parent with a child in a wheel chair, in effect not really that different to a child in a pram.
  
  Reply
marley says:

03:20pm | 24/08/12

Simple - in most of your scenarios, the moms should stand by the pram/wheelchair and let the old lady have the seat. If there were two people in wheelchairs and one old lady, then it’s a line call. But one old lady and two healthy young ones is straightforward: stand up beside the pram.
- Rewound says:
  
  02:37pm | 24/08/12
  
  IMO prams and elderly should not be on public transport during peak times. I’m guessing this was during peak time due to the bus being full. Everyday I catch the same bus and the same trains to make my nearly two hour trip to work. When I am standing from point A to point B whilst there is a mother who is clearly not going to work of any form occupying what could possibly be three seats for other passengers it does irk me quite a bit. At 0630 there is also nothing worse than a screaming, bawling crying child.
  Do not mistake this as a term of entitlement but merely figuring that peak hour services should be somewhat designed to accomodate those who need over those who choose.
  
  Reply
Star says:

02:55pm | 24/08/12

How do you know they are not going to work?
Randy says:

03:08pm | 24/08/12

Yeah I also hate it when old people catch the bus on my way to work they are so dam slow getting on and this holds the whole bus up causing me to run late to work. If you cant fit in to modern day society then you belong in a home!

Some old people are just to selfish! holding up the bus because they want to have a chin wag with the bus driver or they cant work out how to use the ticket machine, just HURRY UP FFS other people on the bus have places they need to go.
Rewound says:

03:18pm | 24/08/12

@Star: “whilst there is a mother who is clearly not going to work”, this means I know they aren’t going to work. You can pick them. Large nappy bag, shorts, wide brimmed hat, plastered and smelling like sunscreen and worst of all wearing ‘crocs’. BANE OF MY EXISTENCE!!
- ant says:
  
  03:11pm | 24/08/12
  
  Since successive governments have mined the rich vote-lode of Working Families, showering them with money and a sense of entitlement, you’ll see this eveywhere. They’ve been elevated to higher status than anyone who doesn’t have small children, and thus they act like they are more important, and have more rights, than anyone else.
  
  And aren’t they obnoxious? Time people spoke up, about the lot of it.
  
  Reply
- Jem says:
  
  03:14pm | 24/08/12
  
  I’m sure no matter what the answer the blame must ultimately sit with Julia… am I right punchers?
  
  Reply
- Jayne says:
  
  03:20pm | 24/08/12
  
  Use Baby Bjorns or other slings on public transport, not a hard concept!
  
  Reply
Sickemrex says:

05:36pm | 24/08/12

I see you and raise you to use a sling in all public places! Hands free, good for your fitness. Fantastic invention! When they’re too big for a sling, they’re big enough to walk.
- julie says:
  
  03:23pm | 24/08/12
  
  perhaps the old ladies now days, who were mostly of the generation that popped out 6 or so kids, could wear a sign for the number of kids they did push out. That may give em props with these pram nazis ... hopefully bring them back to awareness, respect, appreciation!
  
  Reply
Childless says:

07:39pm | 24/08/12

Yep, and they did all that without needing flip up seats on the bus, massive prams and special car spaces. How did they do it?
- Anya says:
  
  03:33pm | 24/08/12
  
  Were there only 2 seats in the bus? Both new mothers with prams and little old Ladies should have seats - all the rest of us should get off our on asses and in this context - give the moms a break. In my opinion these moms really should not have to deal with whether they come off as ‘entitled’. They have enough on their plate, so show some surplus, be the bigger person and give them some room - even if they don’t fall down on their knees in eternal gratitude for it…
  
  Reply
- Shane From Melbourne says:
  
  03:41pm | 24/08/12
  
  Simple- ban people with prams and the elderly from buses (ducks for cover)......
  
  Reply
- Mpee says:
  
  03:44pm | 24/08/12
  
  I have carried (yes carried, not pushed in a pram) an 18 month old nephew up, down, around and all over Hong Kong. Prams, what prams!? I have not once seen a pram used by locals in HK, despite how often I’ve been there, and despite how much they rely on foot power and public transport. Mind you, points of origin and destinations do tend to be closer together in HK than in OZ.
  
  We are spoiled in OZ to even have the space to use prams. My in-laws in HK do not own a car, so point A to B is always foot, bus or train. Even in the jam-packed public transport system of HK people always stood and let me sit with an infant in my arms. Maybe being a solidly built Gwai Lo helped
  
  The moral of my story is: Don’t mess with a HK mum…they may not look like much, but boy are they strong for all the hauling they do - no prams, no shopping trolleys.
  
  If you must use a pram and be using public transport I cannot understand why you wouldn’t use the compact foldable variety. I suppose the advantage of the 4WD pram variety is that it can be used like a battering-ram. I can attest to that, and I have learned to duck to the other side on shopping centres when I see a line of them coming towards me, coz I k now they are not going to give way.
  
  Reply
Sickemrex says:

05:39pm | 24/08/12

It blows my mind to see 2, 3 and 4 year olds in prams.
kitteh says:

06:59pm | 24/08/12

I saw the same thing in Japan. Nobody had a stroller with its own postcode; it seems to be entirely a Western phenomenon. In Australia, I’ve been on plenty of buses and trains where the kid in the all-terrain pram immediately wriggles free and starts climbing over everything anyway. Not to mention the kids that are running loose because the mother has filled the pram with shite from JBs and Target.
- iMitchy says:
  
  03:55pm | 24/08/12
  
  In Perth the Disabled/Elderly seats are also signed as mothers with prams/small children/pregnant so then it becomes a question of who needs the seat the most.
  The old woman could have sat in any other seat, and from my experience - once again in Perth, there are two double seats (one on either side) between the front of the bus and the side facing flip seat area which are also designated for elderly/disabled but have no room for a pram.
  So there are a few variables due to the design of the bus. Plus we don’t know anything about the mothers. They might suffer from chronic back pain or something else hidden yet debilitating - unlikely but possible. We simply don’t know.
  
  I once read a book called “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” and in the prologue the author tells of one time he was on a train and a man got on with his kids (2 or 3 of them) who were being loud, disruptive and bothering other commuters. When someone finally piped up and told him to control his damn kids he softly and sombrely said “Look, I’m really sorry, we’ve just come from the hospital where there mother died earlier this morning. I guess they don’t know how to deal with it and are acting out a bit. I’ll try to keep them under control.” Every passenger on the carriage who had thought that their patience was all but gone suddenly found a whole lot more and let the kids go about carrying on the way they were with sympathy rather than begrudgement.
  About a week after I read this, I was sitting on a train in a carriage with only 45+year olds then me, 25. The disabled seats were full of elderly and I was in a normal seat. The train stopped at a station and among the people who got on board was one perfectly healthy looking, very rude woman, about 50 years old (not elderly by any means) who chastised me for not standing up and offering her my seat. I stood up and said “Sorry, here you go…” and walked toward the yellow hand bar. But I didn’t walk normally, oh no…. I bent my knees inward and kept my feet out and bent my back slightly to one side, creating more of an awkward hobble than a walk. Think MS.
  The look on the woman’s face was priceless. She was mortified yet she was too proud to apologise and offer me the seat back. She got some pretty dirty looks from other passengers too. And they gave me some very sympathetic looks and humble nods.
  I did however feel that she had learned her lesson and I felt bad for duping the other passengers so when I got to my stop, I stood up straight rubbed my hands together and walked off the train normally in full view of everyone. When I got to the turnstiles a guy came up behind me patted me on the back and said “Good on ya mate” and a few people shone congratulatory smiles at me as they passed. They had obviously bared witness to her unfounded tirade.
  
  I often wonder if the lesson was lost on her after seeing that my “disability” was farcical, or if she remembered how it all started and chose to make a change to the way she treats total strangers.
  
  I also wonder if I missed the point of the story from the book…. Haha. But the reason that I stick by my actions to this day is that if the woman had have politely asked me for the seat, I would have happily given it up no-questions-asked. I figure, if you are going to go out of your way to ask someone for their seat, then you must have a pretty good reason to need it. The woman may well have had a good reason to need the seat more than I did, but nothing excused her approach.
  
  Reply
- Your name:Damien says:
  
  04:22pm | 24/08/12
  
  Move with the times! Demand better public transport! There are plenty of bus designs that carry 2 Pram, One Wheel Chair, and Multiple Elderly seats! Blame your Poli’s not each other!!
  
  Reply
- Melrusk says:
  
  04:29pm | 24/08/12
  
  Having had to catch a bus with two children & a pram for several years I can say beyond a doubt it is a challenge. There is the juggling of the payment, the pram & it’s contents, two little ready to move at any opportunity, in an unpredictable manner people Oh & of course the most important factor “DON"T DISPLEASE THE NON BREEDERS”. They really notice those little inconveniences such as noise, unexpected movement, noticing another’s experience, etc. It makes them uncomfortably aware that life isn’t always as one would like to believe.
  Having said that, if it was so obviously a social faux par by the mother not to have taken the time to pack up the pram, shuffle the children into another seat & do so with the minimum of inconvenience for all other travellers, why is no one else expected to make such an offer?
  
  Reply
- s101 says:
  
  04:30pm | 24/08/12
  
  Yes the women should have offered their seat. But why didn’t anyone else? Was there realistically enough room to stand up next to the prams without blocking aisles? I know buses down here in Hobart are a nightmare to get on and off if you have a toddler on foot, let alone a pram. I have never attempted getting on a bus with a pram, so tight for space are our buses. And my pram is a 3 wheel very small fold up one.
  And for those suggesting baby bjorn slings when using public transport - slings are generally only good for babies up to about 6 months. And clearly people like Jayne have never walked around the city with a baby in a sling, a handbag, shopping bags and a nappy bag. I’m very fit, do weight training and am a healthy weight and lugging all that around would have done my back in.
  
  While I think these women were rude, why did no other commuter offer their seat? I’m not talking about people up the back of the bus but ones at the front right near the mothers with prams? The other commuters were just as rude. Was the Punch’s colleague as outraged by the rudeness of these people nearby? Apparently not!
  
  When did it become so fashionable to forever bash mothers? Fathers getting about with their young children cop no such wrath and scorn.
  Since becoming a parent 2 years ago, I have bent over backwards to avoid doing everything that used to annoy me about parents before I had kids. And yet I have been astounded by the animosity and derision directed at someone just because they are carrying a baby, holding a kid’s hand or pushing a pram. As a relatively new parent, I was also shocked at just how difficult and pram unfriendly shops, public areas (shopping centres, streets etc) and public transport is. And as previously noted, I have a very small fold up 3 wheeled pram.
  
  I am also heartily sick to death of parent bashing articles where government handouts are mentioned by outraged and uninformed readers. You know, some of us worked our arses off for years and had our kids in our mid-late 30’s when we could afford to and therefore do not receive a single cent from the government. Don’t tar us all with the same brush thanks!
  
  Reply
Sickemrex says:

07:02pm | 24/08/12

I agree with you on most points but did use the sling for shopping up until mine could walk, nappy bag and all. She didn’t like the pram anyway and I generally found it a pain in the arse.
- Bec says:
  
  04:37pm | 24/08/12
  
  Why do so many Australians say “mom” instead of mum? Do you speak in a fake American accent too?
  
  Reply
- Steph says:
  
  05:02pm | 24/08/12
  
  I once lived overseas, and in the country we were in, the special seats, special parking etc were for the elderly, disabled and heavily pregnant women. Much fairer system, IMHO.
  
  Reply
- Kathy says:
  
  07:23pm | 24/08/12
  
  There were no designated pram parking spots when I had my children. Can I park in one now, on a retrospective basis?
  
  Reply

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