Ooh, Shiny!

People who don't leave their kids at home when coming to functions that are obviously for the grown-ups. Little clue: if the event says "Ball" in the title, it means an evening event where people dress up and dance with each other (and have paid good money to do so). It is not the place for four-year-olds who get cranky and start screaming in the middle of a dance (and when I say "middle of a dance," I mean the mother was carrying the kid while trying to do a longways set dance). It is not "cute" to have a five-year-old dancing in a set dance if the presence of the five-year-old means that the entire line gets screwed because she doesn't understand how the steps work, and we have to end the dance early because of mass chaos. There are lots of living history events where it's perfectly appropriate to bring your child: encampments, demos, picnics, etc. A ball is not one of them.

Seriously, I'm really starting to wonder when exactly "babysitter" became a bad word...