Or is this an odd thing to do in Mcdonalds ?

[OhDearNigel]

My Dd is not yet 4 so i don't know whether the following is odd or normal

Took DD today and she ran to sit with a girl who was on her own. So i sat with her, assuming that the woman standing behind the girl was her mum. It then became clear she wasn't. The girl was chatting away and as time went by i thought "she doesn't seem to be with anyone". So nudged the conversation in the direction of her school, how old she was etc. she was 7, thinking that i may end up having to do something. We had been there about 35 minutes with no sign of an adult when a suitable opportunity to ask "are you waiting to be picked up" arose.

To which she pointed at a man with a baby and said "my dad's over there". he was right over the other side of the restaurant with his back towards us, separated by a partition. He had not realised she was talking to me until she went over and he came to apologise for her bothering me. She wasn't with any friends when we went in where, just sitting sadly on her own in the middle of the restaurant.

Is it just me or is this a very odd thing to do with a 7 year old child ?

[ShakeRattleNRoll]

Maybe she was on the Mcnaughty chair

[IsThatTrue]

Maybe she wanted to sit on her own. Kids can be weird sometimes.

[SaucyJack]

Do you honestly think he made her go and sit on her own?!

[OhDearNigel]

I sat with her because dd had already sat down with her and there were no other seats - it was one of those high, communal bench things they have

[ShakeRattleNRoll]

Yeah and whats more chat to the kid for a full 35 minutes without ascertaining where the parents are .Thats bizarre

[Oldraver]

35 minutes in McDonalds ?

[LeoTheLateBloomer]

I'm with D0G - your behaviour was more strange.

[redskyatnight]

Maybe he assumed that his DD knew yours and was perfectly happy there? I'd be ok with my DD doing this as long as the other family had no issues (and I assumed they'd ask the child to go away if they did).

[lagertops]

Yeah, I think you sitting down with a random child is quite strange. I also think that waiting 35 minutes until asking where her parents are is also a bit odd.

[edam]

Very strange indeed. He didn't look for her for 35 minutes?!

[picnicbasketcase]

It's odd for him to not realise where his kid is for that long. It's odd for you to chat to a complete stranger for that long too.

[ShakeRattleNRoll]

For me to ask where her parents were would happen within the first seconds of meeting her.I don't understand why you waited so long to find out what was going on with her .35 minutes is a long time

[lagertops]

I see what you mean about those communal tables. But still, 35 mins?

[redskyatnight]

I'd be surprised if he didn't know where she was - he probably just thought she was fine there.

[OhDearNigel]

I was chatting to her because that's how long it took DD to eat her meal and the girl was sitting there all the time. I chatted to her because i do not believe that adults should never interact with strange children. Also as i was sitting opposite her and she started talking to me it would have been odd if i had ignored her surely ?

[AlpacaPicnic]

I used to like sitting on my own in wimpy showing my age it made me feel grownup! I realise now how odd I was as a child...

[OhDearNigel]

Shake you would really sit next to a child and immediately ask why they weren't accompanied ?
As i explained in my OP, i thought the woman standing behind her was her mum

[WeileWeileWaile]

My DC love those high benches in McD's and I hate them, so I allow them to sit on their own there if they want - I do keep an eye on them though...

[ShakeRattleNRoll]

Yeah but Nigel thats not the problem chatting to the girl but not to find out where her parents were for your own peace of mind and theres ,it just goes to show how oblivious you are to this situation,Why would you want to to engage with a child of 7 years old unacompanied for 35 minutes without knowing what was happening with that child?

[SecretWitch]

I think her father's behaviour was off. To not even glance around for a full thirty minutes and realise your child is sitting with a strange lady (albeit one with a child) seems bizarre. I might have asked in the very beginning where her parents were, as I find it odd for a seven year old to be sitting unaccompanied in a restaurant.

[OhDearNigel]

Look, i did not post on here to argue whether or not i should have interrogated her after 2 seconds or half an hour. My mistake

[Floggingmolly]

Of course you didn't have to ask where her parents were, op, when she was just sharing a communal table. Your behaviour wasn't odd at all . My 6 year old always wants to sit at those high stool things you get in some cafe windows. I let him, but always sit at a table very close by; I certainly wouldn't go to the other side of the restaurant and it with my back to him. The Dad was a bit lax, you were fine.

[hashtagwhatever]

he had obviously looked over at some point in the 35 mins.

I wouldn't worry if within my eyesight my dc spoke to a adult with their own child with them. I don't see the problem.

an my own dd ssh's me in the street sometimes because she wants to act big and people to think ahe is alone (she is not).

[MissStrawberry]

OP, I can see this thread becoming all about how strange you are to interact with a child you don't know, rather than people actually answering the question.

I have no idea if it is odd to sit a distance away from your children in McDonalds as we have only been about twice and the kids sat with me.

I think it is lovely you gave this child some attention and she obviously enjoyed that otherwise she would have gone back to her father.