Mom's Salty Comeback to Stranger Who Told Her Toddler To 'Be Quiet' Slammed

A mom's salty comeback to a stranger who told her 3-year-old to "be quiet" on public transport has been dragged online.

The angry parent shared the altercation on Mumsnet, under the apt username MumTrain, as she explained that, after a long day out, her son was understandably tired.

But her response to a fellow passenger on the train who asked the toddler to quiet down has been branded an overreaction.

In the U.K., where the mom is thought to be based, trains are a popular mode of public transportation, as data from 2019, from the Department of Transport, revealed there had been 1.8 billion National Rail passenger journeys in Great Britain that year.

Parents are frequent users of public transport, and the government of Northern Ireland shared tips to keep kids safe while traveling.

For young children, parents are advised to "tell your child to avoid talking to people they don't know when you're not around

"Make sure your child knows never to walk away with strangers. Make sure your child understands that they should always tell you if a stranger approaches, and never to keep this secret."

And very young children should always be kept in sight, as the site added: "Use reins for your toddler—these will keep your child nearby even if you get distracted.

"Make sure you all travel together in the same train carriage, or have seats close together on a bus or coach."

The post, which can be read here, has amassed more than 500 responses since being shared at the end of July.

The mom said she was riding a train which still has "some seats free and no one had to stand."

As her son was cranky, the mom explained: "DS [Dear Son] was in the window seat and was standing up so I asked him to sit down and to keep him occupied I gave him my phone to watch a video with on silent so as not to disturb the other passengers.

"When we were nearly at our stop, I asked for my phone to check the time of our connection and he proceeded to cry as he was watching a cartoon."

When her son began crying, a woman walked over, but not for the reason the mom thought.

She fumed: "A mum who was sat behind me heard all this and came to the aisle, bent down beside us, leaned in. I thought she was going to offer DS a toy or a sweet to cheer him up but instead and said 'do you think you could be quiet? My baby is asleep.'

"I told her in no uncertain terms that I would not be asking him to stop crying and that we have a baby at home too. She isn't the first person to have a baby asleep on public transport. She could easily have walked the baby in the buggy further down the train."

She asked the internet for advice over, saying "to think that asking a toddler who is crying and having a tantrum to not cry is bats**t crazy?"

People thought the mom was out of line, as litlealligator thought: "It's a bit unusual but to be honest your reaction sounds worse!"

Raisinghell commented: "You over-reacted."

LibraryFairy said: "I voted YABU [You Are Being Unreasonable]. Sometimes a little distraction from a stranger is exactly what it takes to stop a tantrum in its tracks. I assume that's all she was trying to do and was trying to help you. No need for you to be rude or consider her to be 'bats**t crazy.'"

Sauceyorange replied: "Baffled as to why you can't interact with your child to stop him crying. It's not like it's rocket science."

PeekabooAtTheZoo added: "You over reacted. She was probably at the end of her tether and exhausted if she was that desperate for her baby to stay asleep on a train. Empathy would have gone a long way, or failing that, politeness and an apology."

In a bid to defend herself, the mom responded in the comments, saying: "I wasn't just letting him cry, it was about a minute while I checked our onward transfer.

"Wasn't a full blown tantrum, loud crying and asking for the phone back. I wouldn't usually tolerate this but I made an exception as I didn't want him to disturb people...

"I just think it's bonkers to ask another mother's child to stop crying. I left my own baby at home with DH [Dear Husband] and I'm a sleep deprived mother myself."