How do you approach parent of screaming child?

[Sleepeeze_dad]

Sorry gingerwitch - we don't seem to have arrived at an answer for you

As for heated - I think this thread has amply demonstrated why there are "adult only" yards.

It's not the kids I mind so much - most of them are great and have a wicked sense of humour and are also very good at keeping you grounded. I am highly allergic to the self righteous (to the point of fascist and in the case of parking round schools, downright dangerous) yummy mummies that occasionally come with them, like baggage

I'd emigrate, but they are everywhere...

 

[cavalla]

[ QUOTE ]
Ooh reading through the replies you can tell there are a few mothers getting tetchy! I'm sorry, but a professionally run livery yard is NOT a place for young children. Our yard has a lot of competitive riders with highly strung competition horses, and it would be inconceivable to imagine toddlers running around screaming!
I'm surprised your YO hasn't dealt with this already. Perhaps you and the other liveries could ask the YO for a meeting to discuss the matter. If the YO isn't interested, then I think you need to move to a better organised yard with more like minded people, where you can enjoy your horse.

[/ QUOTE ]

I came back to read the rest of the postings on this as I had posted on it earlier and this one really made me smile. Excuse me but a professionally run livery yard, CAN be a place for kids. I know this because I run one. Also what do you think the real top end riders who have kids do - never let thier children or their friends near the horses? No they teach them how to behave around them. My clients are a mixed bunch of people and I myself keep competition horses, which I'm sure on your yard would be classed as 'highly strung'. All children which are on my yard, including my own, are supervised and are quietly taught how to behave around the horses. One of my horses, a Grade B, came to me a bit of a nervous highly strung wreck but it is interesting that now he has settled in and got used to life here how much calmer he is and less neurotic than he was on his old 'competion yard', even though the odd football might roll past him!
Also my friend, who is one of the country's top sj'ers and producers of horses has a yard nearby and she welcomes kids coming to stay and ride ponies there. As she says it make her own horses more able to cope in the 'real world' and able to cope with the general hustle and bustle of shows more easily. She also says that sometimes just when you are getting 'stuck up your own backside' with your own importance they say something that makes you smile and brings you back to the real world!
She also send horses to me occasionally to chill out - even though, horror of horror, there are kids on the yard here.
You might be throwing your hands up in horror by now but one more point before I ramble off into the sunset - I have also bred good competition horses here and I promise you that one of the things that prospective clients love is the fact that they can cope with kids and dogs ie they don't bat an eyelid at them.
All I am trying to point out is that there is a place for children on yards and personally I would rather make sure that kids grow up knowing how to behave around horses than ignoring them and hoping they'll go away. Then, even if they turn out non horsey at least they will have an understanding of horses and when they get behind the wheel of a car when they're older will drive carefully past, rather than thinking 'god most of the horsey people I met were the most unfriendly bunch' before speeding past.
Don't get me wrong, before I had my own kids I didn't have much time for other people's either, but I would always give them a friendly word. I can understand if people do want completely child free yards but if you are not on one then a word or two to the children around is surely not too difficult and hopefully leads to a more harmonious yard all round.
Some of my liverys here are not interested in my kids at all, and that's absolutely fine but the kids are well behaved around them all because everyone is at least friendly enough to say hello to them!

 

[Hullabaloo]

At the end of the day its horses for courses so to speak! I am all for adult only yards - I'm on one and I love it! I appreciate children can be very well behaved on yards, but I'm a grumpy old woman and want to spend my leisure time in adult company.
My YO has a number of reasons for not having children on the yard, one of which is the fact that she believes they would have far more fun on a yard where there are other kids to play with.
I suspect part of this child's problem may be boredom if she is the only child on the yard. She would probably be much happier somewhere she could interact with other kids and their ponies.
Maybe you could offer that as a positive suggestion rather than complaining about the noise?