‘Is the MRT a children’s playground now?’ — SG passenger complains after ‘a dad and his two kids create a lot of nuisance in the train’

SINGAPORE: A Singaporean MRT passenger took to Reddit r/SMRTRabak community to vent after witnessing a father and his two daughters turning a moving train into their own private acrobatic arena, much to the dismay of other passengers. The post, asking “Is the MRT a children’s playground now?” sparked a wave of agreement, disagreement, frustration, and colourful commentary.

“The dad (in white) didn’t stop his two daughters from climbing around and even encouraged this behaviour,” the commuter wrote. “The 3 of them were trying to balance on one leg and clinging onto each other… They were creating a lot of nuisance, and the girls accidentally kicked some people… parents nowadays 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️,” the complaint read.

And it wasn’t just one person who noticed the reported “nuisance.” Another passenger witnessed it as well: “I WAS ON THE MRT! The NE line (North East Line) towards HarbourFront…”

And if balancing on one leg wasn’t chaotic enough, there was collateral damage, too. The second passenger said, “The girl in black accidentally kicked my kneecap😭, and she didn’t even apologise, sia. The dad is aware, but he didn’t do anything either.”

Singaporean Redditors were quick to point fingers — not at the kids, but at the adult in charge.

“Many times, kids behave badly because their parents or caregivers actually enable them,” wrote one.

“Some parents think their kids are cute and funny when they’re misbehaving. They don’t think that it is annoying for everyone else. We’ll have to remind them that it’s not funny or endearing 🙄,” added another.

“I have also seen kids playing monkey bars and pole dancing in the MRT,” yet another complained.

Another commenter added a visual critique: “You can tell from his attire that he doesn’t care. He doesn’t care about bringing his children to a playground either.”

The complaints then quickly expanded beyond just mischief to broader parenting and public etiquette, with some throwing shade at “self-entitled parents,” while others observed that children often mimic the behaviour — or lack of boundaries — modelled by their parents or guardians.

However, not everyone was on board the grumble train. One commenter offered a splash of sunshine in the sea of annoyance: “Lighten up, folks, try to enjoy life more and not worry about other people.”

Still, others argued the chaos could’ve been prevented with something as simple as… offering a seat.

“All I see is a sea of idiots who didn’t offer their seats to the children. That would’ve minimised the kids’ behaviour. Are they all too tired from sitting down the whole day in the office?” one commenter made a sarcastic remark.

Another added her disgust about what the man was wearing: “I hate people wearing sleeveless. No one wants to see your armpit hair. Can people also be more aware of their BO (body odour)? And that’s not just under your armpits.”

Read related: ‘Please wear deodorant and take showers!’ — MRT passenger complains that ‘every single day, someone stinks up the entire train carriage’