Manners Matter

Dear Mary Pat,

My wife and I recently treated some of our extended family to Suzanne Vega’s concert as part of a reunion weekend. My sister-in-law and wife are huge fans and couldn’t wait for the performance. We were all a little annoyed, however, when a toddler was making noise during the show. Suzanne was very gracious and even went so far as to ask how old the child was. The answer was 27 months.

I can’t see how anyone would think it was appropriate to bring such a young child to a concert. A two year old isn’t going to patiently sit during a two-hour concert. We happened to pay over $300 for all of the tickets, but even if we paid $3, the point is that we should expect to listen without distraction. What gives?

One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

Sister Bay, WI

Dear One, Two, Buckle My Shoe,

Maybe this two-year-old is normally exceptionally well behaved and the parents didn’t think that their child would ever act out in public.

I have news for this couple – anytime you need a two year old not to act out is absolutely when they will. You could bet money on it – say, 300 bucks. The thing that I don’t get is why the parents didn’t take Little Miss (or Mister) Sunshine out into the lobby when he or she started acting up. Maybe this couple wanted to get out of the house and see a show. That makes sense, and of course they should be able to do so. However, they need to make some concessions. If they go into a public place with an infant or toddler who misbehaves, they then need to leave. End of story. Their other option was of course a baby sitter.

Little ones can be unpredictable and you have to change your plans on the fly. For example, we took my little niece to church this past weekend in her car seat. For the first 40 minutes, she was a little angel and barely made a peep. After minute 41, she decided that it was time to chuck her sterling rattle (very heavy and therefore very loud upon impact) over about three pews. Pretty good reach for someone who has been around for less than six months. Thankfully, it was the early service with fewer people and no innocent churchgoers were injured. My sister promptly got up and removed baby, cradle and all, from the church. We met her a little while later and were greeted with a huge smile from my niece who was serenely angelic once again.

I hope that when the next Couple X goes into public with their son or daughter – whether it is a concert, a grocery store, or a restaurant – they will be considerate of others.

Good luck,

Mary Pat