Times
have changed so that it is now acceptable to run and scream in the library.
Also, make and receive phone calls, shout across to others, and utilize the
public computers to chat on Facebook for hours while people who need to do
actual research wait in line.
Either
that, or I’m getting old and crochety. Probably both.
I
do love my library, don’t get me wrong. I just don’t enjoy actually being
inside it as much as I used to.
For
example, when my kids were babies (they are only 10 and 13 now), I used to take
them to Story Time at the library. All of the mommies and toddlers would
respectfully walk to the children’s area, where we would use our quiet voices.
Even after the story, when we would sing the Itsy Bitsy Spider, it was done in
hushed tones.
Of
course, there were plenty of times when my kids or others started crying,
screaming, or trying to run around. However, we mommies did our best to stop
them and I can recall more than one occasion when I carried them out… with them
kicking and screaming, and me apologizing.
Not
so today. Nowadays (see, I told you I’m getting old) the Story Time songs are
sung at top volume, regardless of the fact that the other 4/5 of the library
contains adults trying to concentrate. Afterward, the kids are literally
running everywhere, while their parents either ignore them altogether, chatting
as if in a coffee clatch, or roll their eyes and shrug as if there’s not a
thing they could do about it.
This
phenomenon carries through to other times of the day too. Loud conversations on
cell phones, toddlers having screaming tantrums while the mom decides this
would be the perfect time to chat with the librarian for twenty minutes, etc.
While
the library is an extreme example, I have also noticed this in other places,
such as restaurants, grocery stores, etc. Which makes me wonder, Was I too
strict when my kids were babies? Or are people just letting them run haywire
now?
Do
you notice this too? I’d be curious to know what you think!
