Writing Challenge

Mind the Gap

Our blogs are platforms from which we share our experiences, opinions, and views with the online world. For Mind the Gap…

Our blogs are platforms from which we share our experiences, opinions, and views with the online world. For Mind the Gap challenges, we want to hear what you think about a divisive issue. Each challenge will include a poll where you can cast your vote along with your fellow Daily Post participants. After you vote, tell us more about how you feel by expanding on the topic in a blog post. Be sure to visit other participants’ posts to get some healthy discussion going.

To participate, tag your posts with DPchallenge and leave a link to your post in the comments. Please be sure your post has been specifically written in response to this challenge; obvious attempts to link-bait will be deleted. We’ll keep an eye on the tag and highlight some of our favorites on Freshly Pressed each Friday.

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There’s no shortage of contentious political events we could use for this week’s Mind the Gap challenge—it’s nearly impossible to be online for more than 0.2 seconds before seeing something about the upcoming U.S. presidential elections. (If you’ve figured out how to avoid it, please tell us!)

Instead, we thought we’d try another topic, something people don’t get quite so worked up about and that’s not U.S.-centric: kids.

Everyone loves kids, right? Right! Except when they don’t.

This week, we’re particularly interested in what you think about kids in adult-oriented places. I think most of us can agree that it’s not a good idea to drag little Sally to a bar at 1AM, but what about a museum? A fancy restaurant?

As always, we’re looking forward to reading your interesting, well-reasoned arguments—if you’re going to insult parents or condemn anyone under age 18, we’ll pass.

We hope that you visit fellow challenge participants’ posts for all challenges, and especially encourage you to do so for Mind the Gap. Let the debate begin!

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  1. If a child must be taken to an essentially adult-oriented function, parent(s) or whoever should make it clear the child will do as told and behave. Establish expectations before you go to the event–and make consequences of crossing the line clear. If the child is disobedient or disruptive, remove the child–and yourself–from the event. As a parent it’s your responsibility to set limits…and stick to them, however uncomfortable or inconvenient.

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  3. Great one! I love kids! We were often taught as kids that children are the leaders of tomorrow. Today, we are no longer children. Children learn comportment, manners and the bulk of what they carry into adulthood from their observation of what the adults do. Children are a check on us. Rather than hide or teach them lies, we should sit up and do the necessary things that will get them to their peak performance in life. Kids should go along with us to wherever we go. If we consider them a nuissance, then let us learn to stay at home with them, until they are presentable. Would a baby-sitter have my taste? I strongly doubt. I need to put a post together, to participate in this challenge. Alright, I’m off to work on it! 🙂

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  4. I have witnessed terrible kids and terrible parents, and great kids and great parents. It really depends on the event and the family. Every invitation needs to state clearly if children are allowed… or if parents are allowed. I find the above poll silly but the challenge fun because I have kids.

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  5. I voted that kids should be allowed in adult orientated places, but only if they are mature enough not to be a disturbance but able to participate in conversations maturely or listen quietly and blend in with the adults.

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      2. If you’re talking about the average kid, I might say no, but I also know lots of kids that are much more mature than some adults I know.

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      3. Well, first of all you have to consider: About what “kind of kids” are we talking about here? Small children who are barely able to eat properly at the table? Of course, I wouldn’t take such a small child with me to the Ritz Carlton. ^^ If we are talking about teenagers…sure! Some of them are really mature and clever!
        Still I think, that being immature as a child is not a bad thing at all. It’s just natural and kids should have the right to be not yet mature. When in live will you ever get the possibility again to act immature without being judged for it? As an adult you have to care all the time about this “social code”…Aren’t kids heartwarming because of their honesty, directness and naivity from time to time? You can call it bad manners, selfishness or respectless (most probably that’s what most people think about when they use the word “immature”…) I call it charming! (Of course, there are kids out there with REALLY bad manners as well ^^)
        So I think, it’s all about how you define the words “mature” or “immature”. Furthermore it depends on the individual child and on the location you want to take the child with.

        To me every child should have the right to be immature and not be forced to sit with adults at the luxus restaurant table, pretending to be an aduld by copying their “social code” (or talking like an aduld like this well trained girl in the video. Maybe she is really already that intelligent and was not forced to it. Still I think that I child should run around outside, climbing on trees instead of dealing with banking)There are places were kids (and adulds) can act freely. Go there with them.

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  6. Adult-oriented places exist for a reason. Adults without kids and those with kids who want to enjoy a night without children should be able to do so. I love my children and I love working with them. I also love my adult time. There are plenty of time I take my kids with me, and other when I don’t. Get a sitter and get a life. Kids do not need to be everywhere adults are.

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    1. The lack of judgement I see in some parents is breathtaking. Toddlers running loose in expensive restaurants or being brought along to violent movies.

      Museums are a little easier because they generally have hours that are sufficient to accommodate the parent-with-kids AND the childless adult without the two populations crossing paths.

      But generally, here in the U.S., there has been a trend toward focusing all public life on kids. And I’m sorry, but that’s the lowest common denominator there is. Not all art is intended for, or appropriate for, children; and not all other public places are either.

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  7. i imagine those with kids will be voting for kids to be in places and those without will generally be voting for them not to be – would be great if we could have the vote options include that:

    person with kids: should be allowed or shouldn’t be allowed
    person with no kids: should be allowed or shouldn’t be allowed

    and a big aspect is how the kids behave i imagine cos people without kids will be so much more tolerant of kids who behave well and probably less people in general [exceot maybe parents of really not well behaving kids] will be as keen to have tantrum-enducing kids allowed anywhere much

    and at least one old person slash teacher slash grammar police sergeant will head in here brandishing their “kids are children of goats you are talking about children which are children of people” sign…

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      2. [gives self high five fist pump as response from michelle w’s half head portrait is but one space away from being WP’d… as if any of us cared about that]

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  9. wow what an interesting topic! So many times we overlook those who are most vulnerable; our children. We tend to get so caught up in our own selfishes and needs and we dont take into account that there are other who have needs greater than ours

    I usually take a bit of time to comment and read on other posts, but I think this week I will write about this. This is something that is important to me and we should never forget about the children 🙂

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  10. I too would have liked a third poll option because my view on this has changed since having children….children who are well behaved and have been taught manners and proper behavior in a “nice place” i.e. one that is meant primarily for adults vs. children to enjoy. When taken to those “nice places” they understand that children should be seen and not heard.

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  11. Children and adults, alike, who act like they are still in their terrible two’s, should be asked to leave, by the owner of the establishment. That’ll never happen so this whole post is a moot question.

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  12. hey there!
    kids shouldn’t visit bars and restraunts where people smoke! Families should look for kids-friendly places

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  13. Little people running around with you and your mates faces. What a weird concept. Inheritors of our mistakes in an adult setting. Ought to interesting blog-o-bate, hold the hate. 🙂 See you there!

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  23. As an Au Pair living in Germany (one of the things I blog about if you are intrested) I feel I am at least somewhat qualified in answering this. In short the answer is yes and no, it depends entirely on the children but there are some things parents need to take into consideration. To read more click this link:

    http://wp.me/p2mDyz-4O

    Happy blogging!

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