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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

I don't like how people tend to speak to their children

366 replies

BeWaryFinch · 11/10/2025 19:08

Fairly sure if another adult spoke to you the way that you speak to your children you would not like it. 'put your shoes on now' 'go to bed now' 'get in the car now' many other examples, or changing your tone of voice to be different than if you were speaking to another adult. Why do parents do this.

OP posts:
DameEdnaAverage2 · 11/10/2025 21:05

Aye, well, we all start out rubbing our bumps, dreaming of being Mary Poppins but, the sad reality for most of us is, we turn into Miss Hannigan from Annie - bathtub full of gin bottles, crying and singing about how much we hate the little shits. C'est la vie.

BeWaryFinch · 11/10/2025 21:04

Mushrump · 11/10/2025 21:02

OP, respectfully, parenting is a very different thing to occasionally persuading someone else’s child to do something. I’d save my blushes and stop pontificating on a topic about which it is self-evident you know nothing.

I am with them most days each week for most of the day and am essentially their other parent, and I have made the parents life a lot easier. The parent works from home

OP posts:
RangiroaDive · 11/10/2025 21:03

Yabu

initially it's a jolly "let's go shoes on"

X minutes / X times later it's "shoes on now"

Doorbellsandknockers · 11/10/2025 21:03

TTCbabynumber22025 · 11/10/2025 21:00

So you bribed him with chocolate coins? If you bribed an adult, you would be breaking the law.

How many kids do you have?

🤣 🤣🤣

Poetnojo · 11/10/2025 21:03

Tell me you're not a parent without telling me you're not a parent.
You're totally wrong in everything you've said.
Hth

Holluschickie · 11/10/2025 21:03

BeWaryFinch · 11/10/2025 20:59

You can put their shoes in a bag to take with them if they decide they want to wear them at school. The local authority would probably try to throw you in jail if your child didn't go to school so I would just try to be really positive about school with things to look forward to and persuasive, and even bribery. To be honest I don't have my own child but I spend a lot of time with a friend and their child who is really difficult and I managed to get them out of the house to places

Everything after " I don't have my own child" is irrelevant.
With your methods, we would all be dead of old age before our kids went to school.

Mushrump · 11/10/2025 21:02

BeWaryFinch · 11/10/2025 20:59

You can put their shoes in a bag to take with them if they decide they want to wear them at school. The local authority would probably try to throw you in jail if your child didn't go to school so I would just try to be really positive about school with things to look forward to and persuasive, and even bribery. To be honest I don't have my own child but I spend a lot of time with a friend and their child who is really difficult and I managed to get them out of the house to places

OP, respectfully, parenting is a very different thing to occasionally persuading someone else’s child to do something. I’d save my blushes and stop pontificating on a topic about which it is self-evident you know nothing.

TeenLifeMum · 11/10/2025 21:02

😂😂😂 you bribed a dc to get into the car? Yes, that’s up every parent’s sleeve but doesn’t work every time 😂😂😂 it’s very easy to be a perfect parent when you don’t have dc.

Doorbellsandknockers · 11/10/2025 21:01

Herm... and finally looking at the route cause behind my child's defiance! My child is very articulate and honest. So I asked him, why don't you want to clean you teeth? And he said it is boring and he'd rather listen to a podcast. So logically I need to eradicate everything more interesting than teeth cleaning or offer him chocolate coins.

I think I'll have to stick with clean them or they'll fall out. Funnily enough I've never had to say this to an adult.

TTCbabynumber22025 · 11/10/2025 21:00

So you bribed him with chocolate coins? If you bribed an adult, you would be breaking the law.

How many kids do you have?

BeWaryFinch · 11/10/2025 20:59

Chick981 · 11/10/2025 20:53

ok so you’ve asked nicely to put their shoes on and they don’t want to it so you just let them do it? So they go to school with no shoes on? Or don’t want go to school at all? Which are you advocating for her OP?

Or do you think daily chocolate buttons to leave the house is an acceptable alternative?

Do you offer many adults chocolate buttons at work to get you to do what they need to do, since you’re all for treating kids the same as adults??

You can put their shoes in a bag to take with them if they decide they want to wear them at school. The local authority would probably try to throw you in jail if your child didn't go to school so I would just try to be really positive about school with things to look forward to and persuasive, and even bribery. To be honest I don't have my own child but I spend a lot of time with a friend and their child who is really difficult and I managed to get them out of the house to places

OP posts:
Onelifeonly · 11/10/2025 20:58

Because if children knew and understood what they needed to do and why, they wouldn't need parents.

ToraMama · 11/10/2025 20:58

BeWaryFinch · 11/10/2025 20:47

I believe children should be spoken to as you would speak any other adult person. Yes you would not tell an adult to put their shoes on. If you ask nicely and they don't do it then they don't want to do it. If you are having screen battles dont give your child a personal ipad or console in the first place? Maybe look at the root reasons that a child doesnt want to do something or would prefer to do something else. You would not stand there and demand an adult eats their dinner if they dont like it? Should be free to choose what they want to eat. I think parents are the ones making things more difficult than they have to be. I have been reading about mental health and you need to listen to your own cues and energy levels, letting children listen to themselves and what they want to do is how they learn to do that. Maybe they need some time out. I persuaded a friends 6 year old to get in the car by offering him chocolate coins, and she could not understand how I had done it because she usually battled with him. Intimidating your children and scaring them into compliance which is what you are doing by shouting at them is wrong apart from in a life threatening or dangerous situation like being in the road, there are few reasons you would need to demand your child do anything and I think this will be one of the things that are looked at in the future about what was wrong with parenting in this generation.

Edited

But adults have already been rented and should already know this stuff. Children are blank slates that you need to train into doing these things so they don’t become assholes when they’re adults.

Doorbellsandknockers · 11/10/2025 20:58

Wait a minute... you persuaded a friend six year old to get in the car using chocolate.

The parents are going to be a bit frustrated if the kid expects chocolate for minor things.

Shamesame · 11/10/2025 20:57

But children aren’t adults? Their brains are different, they process things differently and need boundaries and guidance to develop.

I wouldn’t ask my daughter to run a change programme in the financial industry and equally I wouldn’t count to 10 to get one of my stakeholders to send me information when I’ve already asked him three times.

Oreosareawful · 11/10/2025 20:57

Wow, tell me you know nothing about parenting without me you know nothing about parenting

ToraMama · 11/10/2025 20:56

If you are stood outside my house tonight you would have heard, “go and put your fucking pyjamas on!” Because you haven’t heard the 13 times I’ve asked very nicely and been ignored.

usedtobeaylis · 11/10/2025 20:56

I persuaded a friends 6 year old to get in the car by offering him chocolate coins, and she could not understand how I had done it because she usually battled with him.

That got a hearty laugh tbf 😂

Holluschickie · 11/10/2025 20:55

ACR7 · 11/10/2025 20:52

😂😂😂
I’ll admit you had me until the chocolate coins bit. You overplayed your hand.

Indeed. What trolly bollocks!

DingDongJingle · 11/10/2025 20:53

BeWaryFinch · 11/10/2025 20:52

If he didn't want to go then he would have said. The issue was that he was taking a long time to get in the car, but offering him something he wanted made getting into the car a goal to strive towards to get his reward.

So next time, he’ll deliberately take a long time to get into the car so that he’s offered chocolate coins. Brilliant.

Doorbellsandknockers · 11/10/2025 20:53

BeWaryFinch · 11/10/2025 19:08

Fairly sure if another adult spoke to you the way that you speak to your children you would not like it. 'put your shoes on now' 'go to bed now' 'get in the car now' many other examples, or changing your tone of voice to be different than if you were speaking to another adult. Why do parents do this.

Yes we all try not to. And I think some people are too close to loosing it.

But equally I don't have to ask my husband 20 times to put his shoes on and he didn't just scream at me and call me the most boring mummy ever because I won't go trampolining before school.

Chick981 · 11/10/2025 20:53

BeWaryFinch · 11/10/2025 20:47

I believe children should be spoken to as you would speak any other adult person. Yes you would not tell an adult to put their shoes on. If you ask nicely and they don't do it then they don't want to do it. If you are having screen battles dont give your child a personal ipad or console in the first place? Maybe look at the root reasons that a child doesnt want to do something or would prefer to do something else. You would not stand there and demand an adult eats their dinner if they dont like it? Should be free to choose what they want to eat. I think parents are the ones making things more difficult than they have to be. I have been reading about mental health and you need to listen to your own cues and energy levels, letting children listen to themselves and what they want to do is how they learn to do that. Maybe they need some time out. I persuaded a friends 6 year old to get in the car by offering him chocolate coins, and she could not understand how I had done it because she usually battled with him. Intimidating your children and scaring them into compliance which is what you are doing by shouting at them is wrong apart from in a life threatening or dangerous situation like being in the road, there are few reasons you would need to demand your child do anything and I think this will be one of the things that are looked at in the future about what was wrong with parenting in this generation.

Edited

ok so you’ve asked nicely to put their shoes on and they don’t want to it so you just let them do it? So they go to school with no shoes on? Or don’t want go to school at all? Which are you advocating for her OP?

Or do you think daily chocolate buttons to leave the house is an acceptable alternative?

Do you offer many adults chocolate buttons at work to get you to do what they need to do, since you’re all for treating kids the same as adults??

BeWaryFinch · 11/10/2025 20:52

MiddleParking · 11/10/2025 20:49

That makes absolutely no sense. If he didn’t want to get in the car then by your own logic why would you do anything to persuade him?

If he didn't want to go then he would have said. The issue was that he was taking a long time to get in the car, but offering him something he wanted made getting into the car a goal to strive towards to get his reward.

OP posts:
ACR7 · 11/10/2025 20:52

BeWaryFinch · 11/10/2025 20:47

I believe children should be spoken to as you would speak any other adult person. Yes you would not tell an adult to put their shoes on. If you ask nicely and they don't do it then they don't want to do it. If you are having screen battles dont give your child a personal ipad or console in the first place? Maybe look at the root reasons that a child doesnt want to do something or would prefer to do something else. You would not stand there and demand an adult eats their dinner if they dont like it? Should be free to choose what they want to eat. I think parents are the ones making things more difficult than they have to be. I have been reading about mental health and you need to listen to your own cues and energy levels, letting children listen to themselves and what they want to do is how they learn to do that. Maybe they need some time out. I persuaded a friends 6 year old to get in the car by offering him chocolate coins, and she could not understand how I had done it because she usually battled with him. Intimidating your children and scaring them into compliance which is what you are doing by shouting at them is wrong apart from in a life threatening or dangerous situation like being in the road, there are few reasons you would need to demand your child do anything and I think this will be one of the things that are looked at in the future about what was wrong with parenting in this generation.

Edited

😂😂😂
I’ll admit you had me until the chocolate coins bit. You overplayed your hand.

Didimum · 11/10/2025 20:51

Oh, this is funny. 🍿

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