Unruly Kids At Lubbock Bowling Alley: Calls For Parental Intervention

After an interesting experience at a Lubbock bowling alley, I was left wondering if there is any universal etiquette for taking your kids out in public?

This question came up after experiencing over an hour of unruly children running around the bowling alley putting themselves and others in danger. Meanwhile, their parents were there, lounging, chatting, and completely ignoring their kids.

What's the problem?

The big problem was that the kids were getting in other people’s lanes, launching bowling balls willy-nilly, pushing each other around, and it became a safety concern. I was worried one of them would run into my lane while I was playing and get hit by my ball, they even caused a variety of tripping hazards by laying down in and rolling their ball into my lane.

Meanwhile, the couple on the other side of them were experiencing similar things and ended up moving lanes to avoid them. The whole time I was wondering why the parents were just letting this happen.

Kids will be kids...

I’m all for kids being kids and having fun, but is there a certain amount of etiquette that should be instilled by their parents?

I absolutely love it when kids get to have fun and make memories with their friends, but I’m not sure that means they should get to do whatever they want. I’m sure it depends on if it is a kid-only environment, but when in a public space that is mostly adults, there are some manners that should be in place.

Things like being mindful of those around you, staying in your space, being respectful of the borrowed equipment of the establishment you’re in, and more. To me, those seem like basic things every parent would teach their child, but maybe I’m wrong.

What do you think?