Singaporean asks young locals if they “hate” children after learning about kid-free areas overseas
A Singaporean Redditor recently sparked an online debate after wondering if young people here “hate” kids.
This followed a conversation they had about the growing “no kids zone” trend in South Korea and China.
In a post on r/askSingapore on 12 Oct, the Redditor said they recently learned about kid-free areas in certain cafés, restaurants, and even public spaces, overseas.
According to the post, this “no kids zone” movement stems partly from frustrations over rowdy or disruptive behaviour from some children.
As young people in SG do you "hate" kids?
byu/SilverSmith09 inaskSingapore
In some cases, parents in South Korea and China have reportedly been harassed in public when their children misbehave.
Curious if Singaporeans feel the same way, the original poster (OP) asked: “As young people in Singapore, do you hate kids?”
Netizens take issue with uncontrolled children
Although the OP admitted that they do not like kids and have no plans to have any soon, they wondered if there were others who genuinely feel irritated or uncomfortable in the presence of children.
“I don’t hate kids that are well controlled and not stomping around like untamed animals,” they wrote.
Source: Aflo Images on Canva for illustration purposes only
“The only kid incident that drove me nuts was when my upstairs neighbour’s children kept making noise the whole day when I was working from home.”
The post drew a mix of serious and lighthearted responses from netizens.
According to one commenter, the “hate” towards children in South Korea stemmed from an incident where an unsupervised child was scalded at a restaurant after running into a server carrying hot soup.
Source: Reddit
They alleged that the parent sued the restaurant and the server, causing an “uproar” from the public which sided with the restaurant.
On a similar note, another netizen said that parents “not doing the parenting” is the real problem behind such disruptive behaviour.
Source: Reddit
Meanwhile, one Redditor said that they do not hate kids, but just find it “annoying” when they are being rowdy and out of control.
“I can’t help but to find it overstimulating, especially on a weekend outdoors or in malls,” they wrote.
Source: Reddit
In an ironic comment, another commenter who claims to be a parent revealed that they love their own kids, but “hate kids in general”.
Source: Reddit
Kid-free spaces a growing trend in Asia
In South Korea, “no-kids zones” have gained significant popularity in recent years.
According to CNN, hundreds have sprung up across the country, aimed at ensuring disturbance-free environments for the grown-ups.
According to a local think tank, Jeju alone has nearly 80 such zones, while activist groups report more than 400 across the rest of South Korea.
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Featured image by MS News and Boom Campaign.
