I love children, I think they’re cute and I like the way that they say what they think when they think… well I normally do. Today however, I was almost put off the idea of having children of my own.

Okay, I’m just going to set the scene for you: I’ve just finished a four-hour shift, standing monitoring the fitting rooms, making sure that no one is stealing any clothing and during that four hours I’m not aloud to sit down. (I have a bad back so by the end of this shift I’m in agony.) Anyway, I walked to the bus stop, its cold, I didn’t have my gloves and my fingers were turning white. I arrived at the bus stop at twenty past five and it was already packed so I stood waiting.

Now my bus is supposed to arrive every ten minutes so I knew that I wouldn’t have to wait too long. Wrong! I was waiting for an hour! There had been an accident on one of the roads. Bummer!

I pulled out my book and read, trying to block out the noises of the world around me until the bus finally arrived. Luckily, I was able to find a seat on the bus and none of the people standing were elderly or pregnant or in more need of a seat.

Sitting behind me on the back row: four children and their mother. The youngest, a three year old girl (I’m guessing), started singing the instant she was in her seat. “The bell on the bus goes ding, ding, ding. The bell on the bus goes ding, ding, ding. The bell on the bus goes ding, ding, ding” the same words repeatedly, at increasing volume. The second girl, slightly older than the first though not by much (I’m guessing again), was pressing the bell constantly. Any one who wanted to get off the bus had to call out to the driver because he decided to ignore the bell after a while (I don’t blame him really). Both of the boys are hitting each other and every now and again trying to get one of their sisters to behave. (That’s laughable in itself!) So, as well as the singing, you could hear loud stouts of “stop singing!”

There was one moment where I tried to hide my laughter, “You wont do very well on X factor. You’ll have four buzzes before you even open your mouth!”

The mother ignored them completely saying to others on the bus that at least they would sleep well tonight.

The journey last thirty minutes. The singing lasted thirty minutes. My amusement died after the first three.

Now I don’t know what it’s like to raise children; I’m twenty six and I haven’t gotten around to having babies yet, but I do have a young niece and nephew, and I think that if I was in the woman’s position I would have handled the whole thing a little differently. For a start, I wouldn’t ignore the children, but instead try to convince them to play a game. See how many cars go passed of the same colour, or getting all of them singing nursery rhymes together starting with normal singing and moving into whispers (making sure the songs change so that it does not become too annoying for the others on the bus), or bribery… the one who can be the most quiet can have a sweet of some description. (Okay not the best method but hey!) Basically giving them some attention, and thus not being as embarrassed as other people on the bus start glaring at me for my poorly behaved children.

Still, I got home in one piece and was able to sit down to a nice cup of tea (well I am British after all!)