To all the judgmental jerks on the bus that gave my crying baby and I the stink eye: my baby was not having a temper tantrum, and the reason I patiently rocked him in my arms- as opposed to reprimanding him- was because, in touching his face with his hand, he had accidentally smeared sunscreen from his cheek to his eyes… which made them burn and swell.
It feels so great to be caught out in public with a crying baby; I’ve always tried my best to escape scenarios like this asap, but when it isn’t possible, the looks you get are what I imagine to be that you’d give someone walking around with a white pointy hood and cape! —DFGTNP
This article appears in May 20-26, 2010.
I’m not judging you…but didn’t you know that you can get that stuff for babies (& adults too)so it doesn’t hurt their eyes if it accidentally gets in them ?
I have a female friend who is into naturalistics etc & she has a great all natural recipe she uses, & I just did a quick google & found several readily available…no more burning eyes & they aren’t full of chemicals !
Hell lady, you’ve got a baby do some research !
isn’t it just great to be a fucking caring parent in this city.so, what did they expect you to do, smack the kid. fucking absolutely brilliant bunch of idiots, that probly has kids out running the roads under no supervision whatever, day and night. fuck them all that was there.
I’m sorry that you didn’t take the time to select a sunscreen to use on your child that would not sting or burn their skin/eyes but, I don’t think expecting people who are stuck in a confined space with a screaming child to not feel irritated by it is reasonable. Just as you have the right to have your screaming child on the bus with you, other people have the right to feel annoyed by it.
I had my toddler in the grocery store last week, and he decided to take a screaming tantrum, in the lineup. I got him out as fast as i could, but i still got a LOT of dirty looks.
Didn’t you realize that Haligonians are child-haters?
I want my baby-back baby-back baby-back ribs….
I want my baby-back baby-back baby-back ribs….
Chili’s…. baby-back ribs.
Maybe this lady just wasn’t aware that they had that type of sunblock? Jesus people. I don’t think she was literally trying to hurt her child or anything.
It will never stop being annoying, sorry.
I don’t think it’s this woman in particular or the woman in the grocery store people are mad at necessarily, I think it’s all of those times there’s a screaming baby/child in a restaurant/store/airplane and the mothers tend to just ignore them. THAT’S what I glare at. If your baby/child is crying for more than a couple minutes, take it the fuck out of there. But on the bus, of course there’s nowhere to go but I just assume that’s why people were glaring. And yeah, it is annoying, it doesn’t matter the circumstances behind it.
PS: did anyone see the Family Guy a week ago with the crying baby on the plane? Teehee, made me laugh. “Yes its crying. Babies cry.” *goes back to ignoring it*
As long as you’re trying calm them down or fix the problem, then what’s the big deal? Yes babies cry. In BC where we have hundreds of thousands if not millions of immigrants most Asian cultures never reprimand or discipline their kids especially a first born son, they will allow them to cry/scream/ yell/ caterwaul to their hearts content irregerdless of the other people around them.
Jai, I really hope you get something out of being such an asshole…would be such a pity for you otherwise! I am the OP, and I DID do my research, you dinkus; I asked at the pharmacy for a good brand, and I asked my sister who is a doctor and also uses the same cream on her kids. So I trusted a well-known brand. And I didn’t rub it anywhere near his eyes (or hands)- I know enough that all sunscreens share a few active ingredients that are irritating- that’s what I was told, anyway. Although I was careful, he still managed to get it into his eyes. Quick…you’d better go call social services, Jai!!!
To More: Thanks for your great advice! 🙂
Another thing: Just because a parent DOES their research does not guarantee a mistake will never be made!!! This is my first child, and so I realize that although they often work well, not all of my parenting instincts are going to be sopt-on. So yes, I regularly surf child-rearing websites and go back and fourth between asking the good parents I know, checking my “What to Expect in the First Year” book, my “Secrets of the Baby Whisperer” book and watching the Supernanny on tv for tips.
Does that count as doing my research????
Sorry Jai, I think I was a little harsh. But your comment: “I’m sorry that you didn’t take the time to select a sunscreen to use on your child that would not sting or burn their skin/eyes” was infuriating to me.
If I was on the bus I would have probably given you the “stink eye” too. If I just had a long day and had to spend it on the bus with a screaming kid it would not be my idea of a good time.
but in the end SO WHAT!!!??? So you got some dirty looks because your kid was screaming. If you can’t take dirty looks get off the fucking bus. Ohhhh…scary, someone looked at you. Get over it.
No one said anything. Maybe if you were more concerned with your kids eyes than everyone elses on the bus we wouldn’t all have to be subjected to the little fucker screaming
Z, I’m sorry. I admit that I could have not have been more wrong about the situation you presented. The people on the bus were indeed huge jerks for being annoyed by your child’s cries and I was an indisputably gigantic asshole for pointing out that the whole situation could have been avoided by selecting a non-stinging sunscreen product. I can clearly see that you did everything humanly possible, aside from reading the labels on the products when selecting one and using it on your child, to ensure that this would not happen. I just don’t know what I was thinking; after all you are clearly the victim of the rest of the world’s rampant assholery and the tiny print on sunscreen packaging. Keep your chin up, don’t let the world’s jerks and small typefaces grind you down.
good point blue n; the thing is people w/o kids are getting so tired of parents letting their offspring ” be themselves” Holy shit I work in the food industry and omfg when a big family comes a call’n it’s like fuck no here we go; what million special requests can we cheerfully fufill for you and better we book an extra busser in a bio-hazard suit for the post dinner renovations.
I think there’s a HUGE difference between a crying baby/child because they’re hurt, and one who’s just having a fucking temper tantrum because they can’t get what they want. It’s not hard to spot the difference! And sometimes kids have tantrums because they’re just tired. I have two minds on that one — sometimes it’s unavoidable to be out with a tired toddler, but if you’re just out galavanting with a tired tot, then go the fuck home ffs! I’ve seen too many of those types in walmart on any given day. If your kid is tired, take him/her home for a nap!
Anyway, I hope your little guy’s eyes are ok, OP and that he’s feeling better!
Don’t worry about what people think about your crying baby OP or your selection of sun-block these people will always have something negative to say. I bet that if you asked their friends they would be a negative nelly all the time.
Facts of Life:
1. Dogs will bark
2. Baby’s will cry
3. pricks will be pricks all the time
everybody poops, pees, barfs, bleeds and dies
Don’t buses stop every 500m? Wouldn’t it have been easier to get off the bus and avoid the flood of stink eyes?
@ Z, your welcome, & a lot of people don’t know there are some really great naturalistic /holistic /alternative medicinal products out there. The one for keeping black flies & mosquitos off you, that my female friend makes, is the bomb & it smells nice, not chemical like. THat is where I learned about the sunblock & some other things for sore aching bodies…
I vaguely remember having my first child “Z”. But I did successfully raise a couple of kids & am now enjoying grandchildren, hopefully you will too… & sometimes babies cry which IMO is better than adults who sulk & pout because somethings pissing them off ~;)
More: I would love the recipe or name and where to buy of the bug repelent!
OP, I’m assuming your baby is still quite young… dont worry, you’ll get VERY used to dirty looks when you have children. Doesn’t matter how you handle situations, or what the situation, someone somewhere will always have something to say about it. You learn to brush it off quickly or it will eat you alive. Do what you feel is right with your child and fuck everyone else.
Thanks virgomom, you are great 🙂 This is what I’m starting to realize; like you say; to be worried about other people when it comes to raising my baby is useless.
I add a couple of drops of pure citronella oil to sunblock for the best protection from bugs and burns.
Sorry, I meant to type pure citronella essential oil.
Hey devil-girl – “little fucker screaming?” You’re calling this kid who was in pain a little fucker? Seriously. How old are you. That’s just kinda disgusting, taking the time to respond to a “bitch” about someone having a hard time with a baby by spewing such vitriolic, utterly junior high comments.
Other people here who are picking up for the stink-eyers are at least respectful. Crying babies/ children are grating on the nerves. Big surprise. They are wired that way and we are wired to be annoyed by it so that they will get their needs met. Google it. I confess I have been aggravated by those sounds before too, but it’s life. Moms: ignore the stink eyers and do what your child needs you to do. Stink eyers: keep a corner of your minds reserved for empathy while you are feeling reasonable levels of frustration and aggravation. You were all criers too at one time and your parents weren’t perfect either.
And devil girl: may you never, ever reproduce. Your poor hypothetical child doesn’t deserve it and you don’t deserve the honour of being a parent either.