And, for a real child-related-rant....

[conuly]

Folks, let's just ask a simple question.

Let's say that there's someplace you really want to be - a dog park, a playground, a classroom, a bathroom, a fenced yard... whatever. Point is, in order to get inside, you have to open some sort of gate or door. So you open it, and you go inside. Or maybe you're leaving, so you open it and go outside.

When you've done this, do you...

[Poll #992256]

I'm hoping you all answer correctly! Now, let's say you're going in, and the place is just *full* of rambunctious critters who are liable to escape - and you have one too! Assuming you picked anything other than the correct answer before, can I assume that you at least care about your own critter's safety and will properly close the door/gate behind you?

[Poll #992257]

Because we all know that when doors and gates are left open, and dogs and children escape, it's never the fault of the people who kept walking in and out and in and out and re-opening that damn door or gate!!!!!

What should I do when I see this going on?

[Poll #992258]

Comments

[concordantnexus.livejournal.com]

0.) get their attention (and everyone else's):
Get a loud whistle and blow it or snap your fingers
1.) make eyecontact with the cretin
2.) point to the unlocked gate
3.) frown as if you were looking at a miscreant child (actually you are, they just happen to be wearing an adult body) and stare them down

[pne.livejournal.com]

Ooh, is this the I'm-not-a-child/Then-stop-behaving-like-one routine?

[concordantnexus.livejournal.com]

Yeah it is.

Works for me most of the time, but then I'm 5'11", 200 lb guy.

Your mileage may vary of course.

[strega42.livejournal.com]

Explaining my "other" answer on poll 3, as requested.

For me, I'd take my very young child somewhere else at that point, I can find another park/museum/event/something. I really don't want my young, impressionable dear children picking up that kind of thoughtlessness if I can help it. Older kids (7-8 and up) would be a somewhat different story as their attention spans are long enough for the explanation about why being inconsiderate is bad.

[conuly]

Given that this is an ongoing problem *wherever* I go, that's not an option.

At any rate, both niecelings seem to have picked up the message "Always close doors behind you" very well.

[conuly]

They also, even the baby, have a concept of "Don't leave this area", which is what really annoys me, since most of the people I see doing this, their kids don't have this concept (even at Ana's age or older!) or are young enough that, like Evangeline, it's a surprise if they do.

[zannechaos.livejournal.com]

My answer to #3 would be better expressed as "rip them a new asshole".

[conuly]

Hard to do when everything has to be appropriate for little children, though :(

[zannechaos.livejournal.com]

See, I'd be someone with a 4-legged creature, not a 2-legged, and if someone was brain-dead enough to leave gates wide open, I really wouldn't give a damn whether or not I was g-rated.

Besides, ripping someone a new asshole doesn't necessarily involve swear words. It can be extremely effective and quite fun to reduce someone's value of their own existence without a single cuss. Swearing, while easy, is not the be-all end-all of informing someone that they have less intelligence than a brain-dead cockroach floating in a bottle of Everclear.

[conuly]

It's not just the cursing. It's a general way of responding to things which I don't think I'm supposed to be inflicting upon kids I don't even know.

[zannechaos.livejournal.com]

I guess the difference between you and me is that my give-a-damn no longer functions. Too many people too willing to think they're the exception to everything and ruining shit for everyone else has me not caring. And I don't believe in bubblewrapping the world.

[sunnydale47.livejournal.com]

I answered "Go over to the person in question and ask them to show some fucking sense and common courtesy," but what I would actually do is "several of the above." I would start out by getting up and closing the gate -- not for the sake of the jerk's children or pets, but those of the other people whose charges could get out (including mine).

After the second time I would also be covertly grumbling to those around me about the jerk's carelessness and thoughtlessness. After the third or fourth time -- assuming I had a child/pet who might get out unsupervised (which would make it "my business") -- I would go over to them and say quietly, "Excuse me, but would you please make sure you latch the gate when you go in and out? The rest of us are worried about our children getting out."

If they still didn't cooperate, the next time I'd shut the door loudly and ostentatiously, and then call out to them so everyone else could hear, "Excuse me, ma'am! Please CLOSE THE GATE when you go in and out. The rest of us are concerned for the safety of our children."

If it continued I'd have to evaluate how confrontational to get. I dislike confrontations, but having grown up in the Bronx I learned early on to do it when I have to. If there was a person with authority on the premises I'd go to them for assistance. If not, and I wasn't ready to leave yet (e.g., my child was deeply engrossed in something) I'd judge if it was physically safe to confront the person, and if I thought it was, I'd do it.

[mephron]

I'm afraid I picked "Encourage their kids/dogs to escape through the aforementioned open door/gate and wait to see how long until the responsible party notices".

But then, I'm evil.

[fjorab-teke.livejournal.com]

I was raised around horses, for starters, and these creatures are famous for such phrases as "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence," and I have known several sneaky individuals who would take any chance to sneak out through a gate.

Always immediately and gently shut a gate after going through, unless someone is coming immediately afterward, or you're CERTAIN that nobody is going to sneak in/out and you're coming right back through. The "gentle" part is so that there is minimal wear and tear on the gate and its latch (gates are notorious for needing repairs/adjustments even with proper use), as well as keeping from hitting anyone with the gate.

Doors should be handled the same way, as the situation deems it.

I think it's just common sense anyway.

[fjorab-teke.livejournal.com]

As for #3, there were several I could have picked, but my mood at the time chose the one it did.

I think that if I had the guts, I would politely confront the offender(s) and tell them to please close the door/gate and why. But I'm nonconfrontational and am more likely to just keep an eye on the situation and close the gate myself (with an obvious look of contempt and maybe some audible grumbling about why it's bad they left it open) if I saw the need and felt compelled to do so.

[brownkitty.livejournal.com]

For the last question, several of the above in random order plus a couple you haven't mentioned. Probably my main tactic would be explaining to my children, at somewhat above normal conversational volume, why the person was wrong and what would be a better way of doing things. Even better if the children would ask me, but I don't want to teach them to do that (besides, at 14 and 10 they're a bit old to pull that routine).

[conuly]

Yeah, that's the passive aggressive option.

[concordantnexus.livejournal.com]

0.) get their attention (and everyone else's):
Get a loud whistle and blow it or snap your fingers
1.) make eyecontact with the cretin
2.) point to the unlocked gate
3.) frown as if you were looking at a miscreant child (actually you are, they just happen to be wearing an adult body) and stare them down

[pne.livejournal.com]

Ooh, is this the I'm-not-a-child/Then-stop-behaving-like-one routine?

[concordantnexus.livejournal.com]

Yeah it is.

Works for me most of the time, but then I'm 5'11", 200 lb guy.

Your mileage may vary of course.

[strega42.livejournal.com]

Explaining my "other" answer on poll 3, as requested.

For me, I'd take my very young child somewhere else at that point, I can find another park/museum/event/something. I really don't want my young, impressionable dear children picking up that kind of thoughtlessness if I can help it. Older kids (7-8 and up) would be a somewhat different story as their attention spans are long enough for the explanation about why being inconsiderate is bad.

[conuly]

Given that this is an ongoing problem *wherever* I go, that's not an option.

At any rate, both niecelings seem to have picked up the message "Always close doors behind you" very well.

[conuly]

They also, even the baby, have a concept of "Don't leave this area", which is what really annoys me, since most of the people I see doing this, their kids don't have this concept (even at Ana's age or older!) or are young enough that, like Evangeline, it's a surprise if they do.

[zannechaos.livejournal.com]

My answer to #3 would be better expressed as "rip them a new asshole".

[conuly]

Hard to do when everything has to be appropriate for little children, though :(

[zannechaos.livejournal.com]

See, I'd be someone with a 4-legged creature, not a 2-legged, and if someone was brain-dead enough to leave gates wide open, I really wouldn't give a damn whether or not I was g-rated.

Besides, ripping someone a new asshole doesn't necessarily involve swear words. It can be extremely effective and quite fun to reduce someone's value of their own existence without a single cuss. Swearing, while easy, is not the be-all end-all of informing someone that they have less intelligence than a brain-dead cockroach floating in a bottle of Everclear.

[conuly]

It's not just the cursing. It's a general way of responding to things which I don't think I'm supposed to be inflicting upon kids I don't even know.

[zannechaos.livejournal.com]

I guess the difference between you and me is that my give-a-damn no longer functions. Too many people too willing to think they're the exception to everything and ruining shit for everyone else has me not caring. And I don't believe in bubblewrapping the world.

[sunnydale47.livejournal.com]

I answered "Go over to the person in question and ask them to show some fucking sense and common courtesy," but what I would actually do is "several of the above." I would start out by getting up and closing the gate -- not for the sake of the jerk's children or pets, but those of the other people whose charges could get out (including mine).

After the second time I would also be covertly grumbling to those around me about the jerk's carelessness and thoughtlessness. After the third or fourth time -- assuming I had a child/pet who might get out unsupervised (which would make it "my business") -- I would go over to them and say quietly, "Excuse me, but would you please make sure you latch the gate when you go in and out? The rest of us are worried about our children getting out."

If they still didn't cooperate, the next time I'd shut the door loudly and ostentatiously, and then call out to them so everyone else could hear, "Excuse me, ma'am! Please CLOSE THE GATE when you go in and out. The rest of us are concerned for the safety of our children."

If it continued I'd have to evaluate how confrontational to get. I dislike confrontations, but having grown up in the Bronx I learned early on to do it when I have to. If there was a person with authority on the premises I'd go to them for assistance. If not, and I wasn't ready to leave yet (e.g., my child was deeply engrossed in something) I'd judge if it was physically safe to confront the person, and if I thought it was, I'd do it.

[mephron]

I'm afraid I picked "Encourage their kids/dogs to escape through the aforementioned open door/gate and wait to see how long until the responsible party notices".

But then, I'm evil.

[fjorab-teke.livejournal.com]

I was raised around horses, for starters, and these creatures are famous for such phrases as "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence," and I have known several sneaky individuals who would take any chance to sneak out through a gate.

Always immediately and gently shut a gate after going through, unless someone is coming immediately afterward, or you're CERTAIN that nobody is going to sneak in/out and you're coming right back through. The "gentle" part is so that there is minimal wear and tear on the gate and its latch (gates are notorious for needing repairs/adjustments even with proper use), as well as keeping from hitting anyone with the gate.

Doors should be handled the same way, as the situation deems it.

I think it's just common sense anyway.

[fjorab-teke.livejournal.com]

As for #3, there were several I could have picked, but my mood at the time chose the one it did.

I think that if I had the guts, I would politely confront the offender(s) and tell them to please close the door/gate and why. But I'm nonconfrontational and am more likely to just keep an eye on the situation and close the gate myself (with an obvious look of contempt and maybe some audible grumbling about why it's bad they left it open) if I saw the need and felt compelled to do so.

[brownkitty.livejournal.com]

For the last question, several of the above in random order plus a couple you haven't mentioned. Probably my main tactic would be explaining to my children, at somewhat above normal conversational volume, why the person was wrong and what would be a better way of doing things. Even better if the children would ask me, but I don't want to teach them to do that (besides, at 14 and 10 they're a bit old to pull that routine).

[conuly]

Yeah, that's the passive aggressive option.

[pthalo]

i'm pick two for the first question just because it really depends on what gate/door is in question. When I go into my house, I always lock the door. When I go into a restauraunt, I close the door but don't lock it. If I had reason to go to a gated playground, I wouldn't latch it unless it was latche when I found it. if it was a classroom, i wouldn't lock the door because classrooms are generally not locked. if it's a bathroom, it depends on whether i'm at home alone (don't close the door), at a friend's house (close the door), at a restauraunt with a bathroom that consists of one toilet and no stall (latch the door), in a restaurant with multiple stalls (don't lock the door to the bathroom, latch the door to the stall)

generally, though, i don't have trouble figuring out whether a door should be only closed or latched as well upon entering/leaving a place and i'll do the right thing.