The right answer for people who are being told to sit and shut up is *woof*...

Chill, Phil

Headphones with good music, and "ignore" button. Unless they talk to me directly, and then I am happy to chat away with the little ones - assuming I can understand what they say in Swiss German, which is quite an endeavour. Kids on trains don't disturb me at all.

Kids running around in the HB on a busy holiday day, full of people with heavy luggage, and with obnoxious parents who think it is a playground and then yell at you because said kid run in front of you at the exact moment you were running to catch your train...well...that's all I am saying

P.S. Still waiting for someone to post the thread "Some jerk ran over my kid at the HB"

P.P.S. The kid was fine, luckily nobody got hurt. The obnoxious mom however deserved some serious spanking IMO!

Yes, they are in fact Frog Spawn heading off to Paris (groan away)

Obviously not a father

Poor kid was just standing there all angelic-like minding her own business when this damn, long haired Anglo hippie ran over her with his hippie backpack on wheels.

They won't add more carriages if 1st class is half empty. Simples biz.

I don't mind the uber packed trains though I have to take them a few times a day. But the noise gets me too. I don't really get it. Being in public means not bothering strangers with noise, no? If a 3 yr old can get it why not everyone else.

As far as I have seen, and I'm on trains quite a lot being an OAP and travelling (in the sense of solidarity) partly during those hours called 'rush'; most developed spawn entities (one hesitates to call them frogs in case they should show signs of life) stare into some sort of mini screen gripped by a hand angled in a position seen mainly in Buddhist countries at meal times . Occasionally fingers move, then stop, then the face of such an entity takes on a sort of wistful look and stares into the screen again until the station required is reached, so, should the carriage be lightened by the sound of happy or otherwise noisy children I'm inclined to think that the world can still be saved.

It's true.

The interwebz killed the child.

Which begs the question...what do *you* do on the train?

Unless you're pulling cartwheels up the isle or solving complex 3D mathematical puzzles with peoples luggage as props, I can pretty much guarantee whatever you're doing looks equally zombie-like.

Actually I don't do anything when on public transport - so to speak. I love watching the world go by, landscapes, cities, people, all those things that make travelling interesting, even on the shortest journeys. So I don't spend my time staring into a screen void, nor do I spend my time looking down towards my midriff, nor holding my hand out, nor having my ears blocked by bits of plastic. It may well be another form of zombieism in view of the missing cartwheels but at least the air can get to my face.

I like spawn on trains. My spawn, other people's spawn, no matter. The sound of laughing and happy Spawn makes me smile.

Phil I am with you bro!

I see as many miserable mums as happy ones. Yesterday I saw a huge mum with a pram and 4 grumpy loud kids. She looked so depressed that I was tempted to give her half my chocolate. I thought she would become more fat so I didn't

I would rather also have the sound of kids and laughter than miserable,dull people glaring at you if you dare take out a crisp packet. Come on guys-its summer!Lighten up and be grateful the trains are comfortable,reliable and clean!!

Fixed those oxymorons in light of topic discussion.

Was she from Essex?

Not sure what the next thread will be:
a) Cranky expats eating crisps on train!
or
b) Why are the Swiss so dull?

I wasn't necessarily saying that only expats eat crisps and only the swiss are dull

b) Why are the Swiss so dull?

We already have that one.