kids are not inherently annoying oh my goddddd. i have been witnessing an uptick in this behavior IRL and online, but especially IRL? it’s disturbing to me. kids playing is not inherently annoying. kids laughing is not inherently annoying. kids making mistakes is not inherently annoying. kids not knowing things is not inherently annoying. kids needing help is not inherently annoying. kids crying is not inherently annoying. kids stimming is not inherently annoying. kids being overstimulated is not inherently annoying. kids needing to use the restroom is not inherently annoying. kids getting sick is not inherently annoying. kids being hungry, thirsty, or needing the bathroom is not inherently annoying.
kids are not inherently an inconvenience. kids do not have to be completely still and dead silent in order to be around adults or in public. if you feel as though kids having basic needs or being happy in your vicinity is annoying, you really need to reassess why, because that is not a healthy mentality to be trapped in because it ends up hurting both you and the child. kids don’t deserve to be made miserable because you view them as a wholesale inconvenience. they will pick up on the fact that you view that way. kids aren’t as stupid as you think they are- they’re learning, and they learn fast.
thank you to the folks who pointed this out in the reblogs:
children ARE allowed to be annoying sometimes, whether or not you like it. children are learning, and they will make mistakes, sing too loud, chew with their mouths open, grab things too hard, pull on hair, and do things that are inconveniencing at times. kids are allowed to do this. annoyance does not need to beget violence and cruelty. even if a child annoys you, that doesn’t mean they deserve to be punished, abused, or miserable. even if a child is mean to you, they don’t deserve to be treated like shit for it. we have to give children permission to make mistakes so that they can learn.
we have forgotten how to deal with being annoyed as a culture. annoying shit happens all the time. the person in their 40s who looks like they should clearly be able to use their debit card that they guaranteed use multiple times a day who keeps putting their pin in then hitting “cancel” on the keypad at the grocery store is really fucking annoying, but do they deserve to be screamed at? no. adults can be just as if not MORE stupid and annoying than children. and yet we don’t encourage people to scream at other adults and make them feel embarrassed for existing. adults piss me off and annoy me all the goddamn time. i let them do it because i don’t have the right to be rude as fuck to them because they did something that temporarily inconvenienced me.
you being temporarily inconvenienced does not give you a pass to be cruel to anyone. children are going to inconvenience you at times. you have to learn how to deal with inconveniences and annoyance. sometimes you will be uncomfortable and there’s nothing you can do about it. sometimes you will be annoyed or embarrassed and there’s nothing you can do about it. taking it out on someone else won’t make you feel less embarrassed. learn how to cope with transient emotions, especially when they’re “negative”.
Not for everyone but I personally started feeling less annoyed by children once I started asking “am I annoyed by this trait in them, or is it something I’m ashamed of in myself?”