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Let's make this clear, folks.
In the SICM, like in most cultural institutions with which I am familiar, you are not allowed to eat outside of the cafeteria. This makes sense, right? You eat in the area designated for eating. Anybody unfamiliar with this rule, you've now been warned.
Of course, this being a children's museum, de facto exceptions are generally made for very young children, so long as they're not making a mess. After all, we all know children need to eat frequently, and it's unfair to drag them up and down every time they want to eat, right? So, for most people, if a child under, say, five is snacking on something, and not dropping it all over the floor - well, no harm, no foul. Who really cares?
Here's something else a lot of people know - popcorn is a choking hazard. I can't even begin to fathom why two 8-10 year old children would be running around screaming while eating popcorn. That's not safe. And it's rude, but more than that - it's not safe.
( I'm slightly bitchy as this goes on - but I do believe the woman deserves to be called out on her obnoxious practice of letting other people clean up her garbage )
Oh, and the rest of you? If I raise my voice to tell your kid that we're in front of them (not behind them), it's not because I "am snotty" to your kid. It's because there are some 70-odd people in the room. Maybe *you* default to assuming the kid in question is rude, but I rather had assumed he simply hadn't heard me over the noise. Yes, I would have been *thrilled* to have spoken to you rather than your child. If, y'know, I had any idea who the heck you were. Next time, might I suggest matching t-shirts? One for you, and one for the fifth-grader* so delicate that the phrase "Excuse me, honey, but I think we were here first" is just too much for his sensitive soul.
The rest of the evening went nicely, I do believe, though next week I'll make clear to both Ana and Deniz that I expect them to at least watch part of the dancing instead of spending all their time running around. They don't have to join in, and they can run around after, but they have to watch a little first.
*It really doesn't matter, of course, how old *any* of these children were. I'm guessing at their ages based on their heights and speech patterns, and could be very wrong. The point is that the adults with these children acted badly.
In the SICM, like in most cultural institutions with which I am familiar, you are not allowed to eat outside of the cafeteria. This makes sense, right? You eat in the area designated for eating. Anybody unfamiliar with this rule, you've now been warned.
Of course, this being a children's museum, de facto exceptions are generally made for very young children, so long as they're not making a mess. After all, we all know children need to eat frequently, and it's unfair to drag them up and down every time they want to eat, right? So, for most people, if a child under, say, five is snacking on something, and not dropping it all over the floor - well, no harm, no foul. Who really cares?
Here's something else a lot of people know - popcorn is a choking hazard. I can't even begin to fathom why two 8-10 year old children would be running around screaming while eating popcorn. That's not safe. And it's rude, but more than that - it's not safe.
( I'm slightly bitchy as this goes on - but I do believe the woman deserves to be called out on her obnoxious practice of letting other people clean up her garbage )
Oh, and the rest of you? If I raise my voice to tell your kid that we're in front of them (not behind them), it's not because I "am snotty" to your kid. It's because there are some 70-odd people in the room. Maybe *you* default to assuming the kid in question is rude, but I rather had assumed he simply hadn't heard me over the noise. Yes, I would have been *thrilled* to have spoken to you rather than your child. If, y'know, I had any idea who the heck you were. Next time, might I suggest matching t-shirts? One for you, and one for the fifth-grader* so delicate that the phrase "Excuse me, honey, but I think we were here first" is just too much for his sensitive soul.
The rest of the evening went nicely, I do believe, though next week I'll make clear to both Ana and Deniz that I expect them to at least watch part of the dancing instead of spending all their time running around. They don't have to join in, and they can run around after, but they have to watch a little first.
*It really doesn't matter, of course, how old *any* of these children were. I'm guessing at their ages based on their heights and speech patterns, and could be very wrong. The point is that the adults with these children acted badly.
