Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to leave ten year old twins in a cafe while I swim?

929 replies

justkeepswimminginalake · 03/09/2026 20:45

I’m a single parent to ten year old twins and I was hoping to start open water swimming again. There’s a swimming lake near me which has an onsite cafe and I was thinking about leaving the boys in the cafe by themselves while I swim. We’ve been to the cafe a few times and it’s fairly chilled, mostly swimmers (and their friends/families), young families and old people. It’s also next door to the reception area for the swimming lakes so if they feel uncomfortable there’s somewhere else they can go.

Would I be unreasonable to order them breakfast and a drink and leave them there for half an hour while I swim. They’re generally pretty sensible and I’d pack Yotos with headphones, and some games and books for them to entertain themselves. There’s no one else who can take them.

OP posts:
MorganKitten · 12/09/2026 22:03

Cherrytree86 · 12/09/2026 21:59

@MorganKitten

She doesn’t need to! Read her posts..she’s left her kids in the cafe while she had a swim and they were just fine. 😀 no childcare needed and OP gets some time to herself and some exercise. Great stuff

And when the kids start getting bored and wander off who is responsible? The cafe staff will get blamed..

Cherrytree86 · 12/09/2026 22:05

MorganKitten · 12/09/2026 22:03

And when the kids start getting bored and wander off who is responsible? The cafe staff will get blamed..

@MorganKitten

OP’s kids are ten years old I’m sure she knows them well enough to trust their capacities to not wonder off if bored.

Sounds likely they had a nice time with each other in the cafe while OP got a bit of exercise in.

AlexandraCarrington · 12/09/2026 22:35

And when the kids start getting bored and wander off who is responsible? The cafe staff will get blamed..

Why would they? They have no authority over the boys. If they want to leave, the cafe staff have no power to prevent them.

CatVester · 12/09/2026 23:11

Why would they wander off? When mine was ten I'd have told her to stay in the café until I got back and there would not have been an issue. Ten year olds are perfectly capable of understanding and following instructions. There is no need for the café staff to be involved beyond doing their jobs and giving the kids whatever they have ordered. I can't help thinking that lots of the people who seem to think ten year olds behave like three year olds just don't have kids who are old enough to follow instructions and behave like normal human beings!

New posts on this thread. Refresh page