'The worst parenting I've seen': Woman judges 'wild' kid in cinema

"This kid was testing his parents, and they failed! Now he knows he can get away with that every time!" 

A kid-free woman has taken aim at parents who let their young kids run amok during cinema screenings.

But in a plot twist, she hasn't been slain with the inevitable comeback 'wait until you have kids'; instead, most parents have agreed with her.

Sharing that she saw Moana 2 with her partner, TikTok creator Sam Hart claimed it was there that she witnessed "the most egregious parenting" she's "ever seen."

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"Annoying, unsafe and neglectful"

Explaining what happened, Hart says, "It was 8pm and I understand that when you go to see a kids' movie, you are going to encounter children."

But Hart insists that these children had "neglectful parents".

"I understand there might be some talking... standing up to get their wiggles out..." but she was not accepting of the "three or four year old" who early on began to randomly walk around the cinema.

"He was looking at his parents to see if they would do anything.... and I'm like, you're the parents, get up and do something.

"Make him sit his butt in the chair."

Image: Sam Hart/TikTok

But they don't do that, so he's "running up and down the aisles while others are trying to watch the movie."

Hart points out how unfair it is for the other kids trying to watch, and adhering to cinema etiquette. She notes that at some point, the parents begin "ignoring" their child, and she becomes worried that he will escape entirely. 

She captions the video, "This kid was clearly testing his parents, and they failed!! Now he knows he can get away with that every time!"

In the comments she added, "Like it wasn’t just annoying, it was unsafe and neglectful!

"I once attended a movie with a child who was given a volume up iPad and almost cried out of frustration because who the heck thinks that’s okay or acceptable to do to other people?

"And I really support not demonizing parents when their kiddo is being tough. BUT, to sit and just try nothing and let it happen, while eating popcorn and ignoring your kid, is a WHOLE other thing."

@thesam_show

this kid was clearly testing his parents, and they failed!! Now he knows he can get away with that every time!

♬ original sound - Sam Hart

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"How were they not mortified by this?"

Hart's post attracted thousands of comments, which included many valid points - and generally agreed with her stance.

"I get that each kid has different needs, and parenting is hard. But parents need to try," one viewer wrote, with this person agreeing, 

"Parenting is hard. But teaching them to be respectful in public is required!"

Some shared their own experiences: "We had this at Mufasa. Three mum with six kids. Mums at one end of row, kids at other. Kids ran up and down the aisle, yelling out nonstop. Staff spoke to them several times, but did nothing else."

And when parent-shaming is a real thing, this viewer couldn't believe the parents didn't care what others thought: "I tried to take my three year old to a movie and he was talking too loudly and we left immediately. How were they not mortified by this?"

This parent began empathetically: "I just took my [toddlers] to a movie this week. We sat in the back and they both got wiggly and moved around a little but... never would I let them run up and down the theatre! That’s just wild."

And other parents couldn't believe the kids were out past bedtime.

"I have a very chill kid and I would NEVER leave the house past maybe 7pm. He's four and doesn't go to bed until 9pm but evening is a tough time for little kids."

Originally published as 'The worst parenting I've seen': Woman judges 'wild' kid in cinema