@Gillian166 "Perhaps when out of normal routine and environment the mums and kids just drop all standards?"
I certainly never did- I saw my job as a parent to civilize them, teach them to respect others and other people's stuff, etc. and they didn't get to run wild just because we were somewhere else other than home.
I had a hard time with my first one, not in terms of staying organized, but because I was in my early twenties and none of my friends had kids and had no family around. But there's a five year gap between each of them, so I didn't have more than one toddler and baby to deal with at the same time.
I kind of think these parents who seem to impose no rules or standards of behavior with their kids as guests, don't do so at home, either. I see young parents these days in restaurants, letting their kids be loud and disruptive and patiently and endlessly explaining to them why they need to quiet down, meanwhile they are disturbing all the other diners. If my kids misbehaved in a restaurant, they were immediately taken outside until they calmed down and agreed to behave themselves appropriately.
