Nothing is perhaps more divisive than the subject of children on public transport – particularly trains.
Should they sit? Should they give up their seats for adults? Should they be allowed on there full stop? (Just kidding on that last one, although some people probably do wonder this.)
“It drives me mad when I see children over six years old not offering train seats to adults (especially older adults) standing in aisles on commuter trains,” a commuter recently shared in a mini rant on Mumsnet’s ‘Am I Being Unreasonable?’ forum.
They added they don’t have a problem with kids sitting in seats for longer train journeys where the seats are booked, but continued: “When I was brought up we were expected to stand for elders. What is wrong with the world? AIBU [am I being unreasonable]?”
So what did the masses think?
Well, a lot of people believed this was an unhelpful and pretty controversial request.
One commenter suggested if it’s a commuter route and they’re talking about adults of working age, then it’s unreasonable to think this. But if the adults are pensioners, then less so.
They did caveat however that they’d stand instead and let the person sit while leaving their child seated “out of the way and less likely to be trodden on”.
Others questioned why an able-bodied adult would be considered more important than a child.
“Anyone able-bodied and capable of standing should stand for elders, but I don’t see why an able-bodied capable adult is more worthy of sitting than a six year old child tbh [to be honest],” said one respondent.
“Regular train commuters are pretty used to standing I would expect.”
Parents also voiced concerns over the thought of young children standing up on trains due to safety reasons – especially as some of them might not be able to reach handrails.
One said: “I wouldn’t like them standing getting knocked around on a busy train, to be fair. I would probably have them on my knee or I stand and they have my seat.”
They added: “To be honest unless you’re elderly, disabled or pregnant I don’t know why you have more entitlement to a seat than a child?”
There were some who suggested it should be first come, first served, while another commenter said that, as an adult, they would actually offer their seat to a young child.
Though seemingly in the minority, there were some who agreed with the original poster that children should stand and give adults their seats.
One commented: “I think children are either more stable and also more energetic than adults, or small enough to sit on a lap. I’m really surprised they sit these days.”
Another added: “If the child needs to sit down, their parent should sit them on their lap OR should sacrifice their seat.”
One person even argued that kids “can stand a lot more safely than adults” because they have a “lower centre of gravity, [are] more agile, [have] better balance, [are] lighter and less likely to get hurt if they fall”.
But some parents with little ones disagreed. As one explained: “My six-year-old fell over when he sneezed yesterday.”
What do you think? Should children have to give up seats for adults? Let us know in the comments below.