Expressing yourself is a thing, lacking any respect or discipline is another. Who says that a kid can express himself being a pain for other persons? I disagree that kids should be free to act as they wish in any circumstances. Kids that have been raised in full respect of others can freely express themselves without being a bother. I know of kids who are very respectful and wouldn't do anything annoying. They're also very creative, smart and lively. These two aspects can coexist. I also know of kids who are nothing but barbarians unable to speak without shouting or unable to move a finger without creating a mess. Some of these brats even find a subtle pleasure from the fact of annoying others. Even worse, some of them intentionally act like that because they find enjoyable the fact of seeing others depend on their actions (especially having these actions negative impact). The problem is parents aren't objective. Of course there are cases of terribly strict parents, but most of them are too indulgent and prefer to laugh and repeat the old "after all it's only children" motto when their brats do something wrong. Parents can say whatever they want, but when a kid is rude or ill-mannered it's 90% their fault. It's easier to be "friend" of your kid letting him be free to do whatever he wants than being a "parent" who tries to teach what is good or convenient in certain situations. At home it's their problem, but since a kid, yes, can't tell the difference between acting in a certain way at home or in public, parents who doesn't care or do nothing about it are the first ones to lack any respect towards others. Thus they should be the first ones to be invited to stay away from public places, along with their brats.
