Chip Chick
In her view, it would make sense for the woman to just take her son into the hallway until he’s quiet and relaxed because she could still watch the ballet on the TV.
It seemed pretty apparent that the boy wasn’t having a good time, and the whole experience was most likely too much for him.
Finally, she had enough and decided to say something.
During the show, she saw only two ushers, and when she and her family got their tickets and saw the line for food, it appeared to her that the theater was understaffed.
There wasn’t an usher nearby to step in, and she thought it would’ve caused more of a scene to stand up, walk through half a row of audience members in order to reach the aisle and find an usher.
It was also not possible for her or any of her family members to switch seats to move away from the mother and her son.
So, she leaned closer to the woman, apologized, kindly acknowledged that the woman’s son was a bit crabby, and asked her if she knew about the TVs in the hallway where she could watch the ballet.
She was as polite as possible and didn’t demand that the woman leave, but she felt like her words were more of a suggestion and a hint.
“The boy is in full meltdown now, kicking other seats and jumping up and down. She told me I wouldn’t understand because I’m a teenager, but kids are harder to take care of than a phone (like, what?). She continues to sit while trying to entertain him, but then he starts saying, ‘Potty, potty, potty,’ and she leaves,” she shared.
A few minutes later, the woman and her son returned, and the boy was quiet for the remainder of the performance.
Later, her parents told her that the boy was unruly and distracting, but they parroted the woman’s opinion about how, since she’s not an adult, she can’t tell this woman to even suggest to the woman what she should do with her child. They told her that it was wrong for her as a teenager to talk to an adult in that way.
