Do you let your toddler eat/drink on Metro?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We metro'd with our three children this weekend down to DC - from Shady Grove - long day of museums and walking. I did let them have a snack on the way home - they were tired and starving. They are little - 4.5, 2.5 and 1 and would've totally melted down if no food was provided during the time in which we finally sat down for the day! I did feed them sort of discreetly and didn't hand them each a bowl of their own snack. I agree with their rules and the reasons behind them but feel that some circumstances are beyond the snack rule...

I hope you checked your seats and the floor around them and picked up any spilled food, crumbs and litter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I believe there is also a handicap rule for certain seats - no one seems to follow that either. So, my kid will get her snacks (she's 15 months).

By this logic, because others may disregard traffic laws, you're entitled to do so also.

[Anonymous]

My sister sipped a bottle of water on a metro train this summer when the a/c was broken and it was 100 degrees. A metro employee gave her a hard time about it. Logical?

[Anonymous]

21:18 - It is when it says "no eating or drinking" and not "no eating or drinking except water."

[Anonymous]

Why are you giving your toddler Goldfish crackers in the first place?

[Anonymous]

I try and do snacks before or after the train. It is frustrating for people on their way to work to sit on crackers and snacks as most leave a bit of a greasy mark on your clothes. If you teach them young that there is no eating on the train then it really isn't an issue. Bring a book or special toy if they are getting grumpy. I think once you start giving them snacks on the train you are stuck always feeding them. Otherwise they will melt down if you say no because of being inconsistent. If I could eat crackers last time why not this time. Much easier to just a have a no eating on the train rule. By about age 2 they can get this.

[Anonymous]

I admit to having (infrequently) given my small child a little nibble of something on the metro. Only when the alternative was a noisy fit. I've also discreetly offered a mini box of raisins to other parents with melting-down kids. It seems like the kindest thing to do, vis a vis the other passengers.

My daughter is four now, and understands perfectly that it's not allowed. She doesn't even ask anymore. So as long as you're keeping it minimal and emergencies-only, and you're doing your best to phase it out, you'll get no stink-eye from me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:21:18 - It is when it says "no eating or drinking" and not "no eating or drinking except water."

But when it says "air conditioned", it's OK for that to mean "air conditioned excePt on really hot days"? When conditions change, people adapt. I am not the pp, but have no problem with someone drinking water under those circumstances. Why do you?

[Anonymous]

Yes I let my kids eat on the Metro. It's either that or let them scream. I also -as I do anytime we eat- check our area and pick up any trash or spills.

[Anonymous]

When my kids were younger, I tried to make sure they had a snack before getting on the Metro. That said, it doesn't bother me to see very small children with a non-messy snack or a sippy cup. I know it can be hard on little ones to wait when they're hungry, especially if there's some kind of (increasingly frequent) delay.

However, I did roll my eyes at the mother who got on one morning with her two kids. She settled them into a seat, then pulled out a big container of cut-up fruit, which all three of them began to snack on, and her pre-schoolers left sticky handprints all over the seat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I commuted for two years with DC on metro. As he got older I had to allow snacks even though I was worried about the germ factor. We were commuting home at snack time, it occupied him when he otherwise wanted to get up and play, and I always cleaned up after us. I learned my lesson about not having a snack when we got stuck for 45 extra minutes (in addition to our hour commute) one day on the red line. From that point on I always has food on metro.

If you're commuting home at snack time, you should be better prepared. You should stop and feed your child a snack before you get on the train, especially since you KNOW that it's at snack time for your child. Why can't you give your DC a snack at the daycare before you leave? That would tide the child over until you get home. While I am sympathetic to the water on the hot day without A/C, this is just elitism. Some rules just don't apply to us, so I'll break them because the rules are inconvenient. You are just as disrespectful and bad as the teens who willfully ignore the rules.

[Anonymous]

It is illegal to eat or drink on Metro.

It is entirely possible to last a half-hour or so without food or water. As for occupying your toddler, do you not have any non-food/drink alternatives in your bag?

And when did eating and drinking become a diversion (rather than a source of sustenance), anyway?

Crazy, we are all going crazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are you giving your toddler Goldfish crackers in the first place?

+1

Goldfish = Toddler Chow

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I commuted for two years with DC on metro. As he got older I had to allow snacks even though I was worried about the germ factor. We were commuting home at snack time, it occupied him when he otherwise wanted to get up and play, and I always cleaned up after us. I learned my lesson about not having a snack when we got stuck for 45 extra minutes (in addition to our hour commute) one day on the red line. From that point on I always has food on metro.

If you're commuting home at snack time, you should be better prepared. You should stop and feed your child a snack before you get on the train, especially since you KNOW that it's at snack time for your child. Why can't you give your DC a snack at the daycare before you leave? That would tide the child over until you get home. While I am sympathetic to the water on the hot day without A/C, this is just elitism. Some rules just don't apply to us, so I'll break them because the rules are inconvenient. You are just as disrespectful and bad as the teens who willfully ignore the rules.

I agree. I'm astonished at all of the people on this thread who think it's ok to do what is clearly illegal (and for good reasons). It is NOT THAT HARD to go without food for the duration of a Metro ride, people. Really, it isn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:21:18 - It is when it says "no eating or drinking" and not "no eating or drinking except water."

21:38-- you are a crazy person.