What is the most childish behaviour you have witnessed in an adult ?

[WildRosie]

Mine isn't dramatic but it was pathetic and cringeworthy nevertheless. Our hero was a work colleague of mine in his mid to late twenties, a little sensitive and utterly mollycoddled by his parents. One evening at work, he prepares to put his microwave meal in the microwave oven but, having read the heating instructions, he learns that said meal is "Not suitable for microwave cooking". Fair enough, that's a bummer, especially when you're peckish on a late shift. His reaction was to phone his Mum straight away and whine to her, rather than taking it on the chin and nipping out to the shops or for fish and chips. In other words, taking appropriate responsibility for his meals like a grown man should do didn't occur to him. His priority was to go crying to Mummy. Drip. Painful and ridiculous.

Dhs ex who says his dd (9) shouldn't pour her own glass of water, shouldn't bath /wash herself as she's still a child

Makes me cringe! Our 3 year old can pour herself a cold drink and wash herself in the bath (supervised)

There are many more but I fear for how mollycoddled Dsd is, she has no concept of what other kids her age do or what's normal.

@AlexCabot

Gullible2020 My mum was a teacher and got cornered in a similar way by a parent because Mum had fashioned a Christmas jumper out of some tinsel and the contents of the lost property cupboard for a child in her class when "everyone else had to sort out their own child's jumper".

Why did the child in question not have her own Christmas jumper for the class party? Because three days earlier her mother attempted to murder their neighbour and the poor child had been packed off to a foster home in the middle of the night with only the clothes on her back.
Twat mother knew all of this, it was quite the subject of local gossip at the time.

Some people never grow out of wanting all the attention on them and end up channelling it through their children.

I'm so sorry you had to deal with that. Poor Sinead.

Gah...many years of teaching since, this sounds SO familiar. I can just imagine your Mum's scenario now. People can be just terrible. Always on the look out for "special treatment" and false injustice. I even had colleagues accuse me of it when I let a girl off with her homework the night of a funeral. Her mother had died unexpectedly of a chest infection at 35. No Dad. Oldest of 5 kids and they couldn't find a foster placement for all of the children together. I was told, by the head of pastoral, "yes, well it's been two weeks. She needs to put it behind her now and keep her grades up. No more excuses and attention seeking. You're pandering to her."

I’ve dealt with a few pathetic parents at school. They’ve always recently broken up and aren’t speaking and try to get the school involved in the drama.
One dad wanted us to put seat numbers on for the Christmas show so he could buy a ticket and be guaranteed not to be sitting near to ex (instead of just, sitting away from her). Then the mum came in asking if he had bought a ticket and which night (I knew because he was being ridiculous but I pretended not to know).
Or one where the mum wanted the school report a day earlier than dad.
Or ones where they want the whole of parents evening arranged personally for their benefit so they don’t even have to see their ex.
Often these little rants to school reception are done in front of the children. It’s pathetic behaviour.

[quote Peppapigforlife]@Kanaloa that's not childish I have that phobia too. I will actually throw up right there and then, if I see another person's vomit that isn't my own child's.[/quote]
Then probably best not to get a job in a nursery ...

Ha the teachers ones!
In my many years of infant teacher the most common childish behaviour was from reception mums at the classroom four in the lead up to nativity time..., the behaviour of some when their daughter wasn’t this years Mary was cringy. ( Note, Mary has never been the star part, nothing to say or do really except sit quietly and hold the doll.)

When I was doing a FE course at college I came out of the toilets just as a teacher was showing a new class of young adults where the toilets were. Her TA then started giggling, didn't know where to put herself, saying "OMG I'd be soooo embarrassed if that happened to me". I looked at her like she was bonkers, as did the students. You'd think she'd never been to the toilet.

@Mugsen

When I was doing a FE course at college I came out of the toilets just as a teacher was showing a new class of young adults where the toilets were. Her TA then started giggling, didn't know where to put herself, saying "OMG I'd be soooo embarrassed if that happened to me". I looked at her like she was bonkers, as did the students. You'd think she'd never been to the toilet.

If what happened to her?

She came out of the toilet and some people saw her.

@Mugsen

She came out of the toilet and some people saw her.

Oh! What a fecking imbecile 😂. Bet she had no trouble gaining the respect of the students 🙄

I thought so 😆.

An ex-colleague once regaled us proudly with the fact that she had refused to get out of bed on Christmas Day. Her parents and siblings didn't want to have dinner without her, but she just refused to get up.

Her dad eventually coaxed her by offering that she could wear his dressing gown, and didn't need to get dressed. She was in at least her mid thirties, at the time, relatively senior in the company, and very proud of that story..

@Gullible2021- fucking hell, some people just have no idea, do they?

A bully and a prick.

I had a colleague who was a very picky eater (no allergies etc, just a list of foods she didn't like or combinations of foods she wouldn't eat). Not a big deal in itself but every time we had a team meal out she made a huge fuss about how 'disgusting' all the food on the menu was. She always asked a dish to be adjusted to suit her but rather than just politely asking for what she wanted told them how awful she thought everything on the menu was. She would then make fake gagging/vomiting noises when other people's meals were served. If we had a sandwich lunch in the office, rather than just asking the person arranging catering to get in something she liked (or bringing her own) she would spend the whole meeting picking the bits she didn't like out of the food and making comments/heaving noises.

The same woman also befriended a rather shy new colleague and suggested they should get ready for the Xmas party together at her place. Shy colleague came to the party wearing a borrowed outfit that she clearly felt uncomfortable in and loads of very dramatic make-up/fake tan. Nasty colleague spent most of the night making fun of shy colleague's look and gloating that she had made her think she looked good.

@Knittingnanny

Ha the teachers ones! In my many years of infant teacher the most common childish behaviour was from reception mums at the classroom four in the lead up to nativity time..., the behaviour of some when their daughter wasn’t this years Mary was cringy. ( Note, Mary has never been the star part, nothing to say or do really except sit quietly and hold the doll.)

DD2 was most put out when she was cast as Mary. She wanted to be a wise man as they had better hats and hobby horses fashioned to look like camels!

Of course I stormed to the school and ranted at the teacher.....oh no I didn't, I'm a reasonably mature adult.

@warmandtoasty2day

my ex sil had a huge meltdown at my dd's christening do, she ran out into the garden in floods as my dd was centre of attention. mil followed her as did her dh and sister. dm looked at me and said "perhaps we should all go outside." Sil was howling that her dc [13 /15] were being ignored in favour of the baby wtf? I told dh that i was leaving with dd and dm, he could join us if he wished to do so but he faffed about so we left him to the drama.

Don't think much of your husband! Did he apologise for picking his ridiculous sister and mum and staying with them?!?

At the age of 30 my sister decided she wanted to take our parents and I to a famous landmark near where she lived. She was then outraged that we wanted to spend time looking around (about 30 mins, it wasn't a big place). She stormed off and sat playing through all the ring tones on her mobile. If we had just rushed through she'd have stormed off that we weren't appreciating her favourite place (she's also done that, too).

She's done a lot worse but that would be outing. I often wonder what she's like at work and reckon colleagues could relate similar stories to the ones on this thread.

My ex refused to go to a party because, and I quote, “they’ll be grown ups there”

He was 32. And deadly serious.

Went out to eat in a group. One woman was a friend of a friend in the group and her partner came along. He was a total arsehole. He agreed to go to a restaurant then once we sat down to order, started taking umbrage. Kept walking out, wanting to go to Mcdonald's etc. His partner just kept quiet, wouldn't order but was hungry so ate from a few people's plates.

@wingsofsteel yours reminds me of an ex colleague. We all worked in one town and hardly any of us lived there (she did) and she thought that every meal we went to should be in that town.
Colleague was leaving and wanted to eat at a place elsewhere (10 miles away).
At meal she orders something she is intolerant to so kept running off to the toilet and making a big fuss. Did this every time we went somewhere she didn’t want to go.

There is a long list of ones my mum did but this one stands out.

Coming up to Xmas relatives had visited with or sent presents. Most of the family put them under the tree but my mum opens hers as they arrive and then puts them under the tree opened.

Xmas day arrives and my mum sulked because she didn't have anything to open.

I didn't know what to get my mum for Christmas - I was 17. Her friend suggested a particular bracelet in a shop window was nice and that she'd like it. I bought it. Mum threw it at me angrily claiming that I must not think much of her if I thought she'd like something as shitty and tacky as that. She was even angrier when she heard it was her friend who'd recommended it as she thought that friend was tacky and cheap and I should have known better.

Also my mother: came up with her sister (my lovely auntie) to spend the weekend with me when I had been meant to be getting married - I had called off the wedding 6 months before as ex fiancee was a colossal dick. Mother threw a strop at some point as she wasn't getting her way or enough attention or something. I had to go upstairs and explain to my mother's sulky back that it was the date I had been meant to be getting married and could she please get a fucking grip. Tbf she did come downstairs and pretend everything was fine. But fucking hell

SIL when her partner invited his 'friend' and husband around for a dinner party. He had actually once slept with this woman, unbeknownst to SIL. She was South American, gorgeous, glam and made the usually sexy looking SIL look like an underweight, goofy teen.

SIL was actually green with envy at this woman. She couldn't speak to her, she was hiding outside. I've never seen someone so demonstrably jealous. Incredible to see.

So many.

In a workplace where everyone was recognised and rewarded for good work on a regular basis:
Multiple fully grown adults who if anyone outside of their immediate team or any manager ever got congratulated on a job well done, they would comment loudly and publically 'Well actually I think we've ALL done a good job this week' and grumble about not being thanked. Even if they had been thanked personally the week before. Even if it was on a specific task or project they had nothing to do with.

A woman who cried every time she made a mistake. And i mean every time. And she'd also then either go home or be completely useless for the next half an hour. This is in a low stakes low pressure job. She also tried to argue that her manager letting her know she'd made a mistake was damaging her mental health and that she would figure out if she'd made one herself so nobody should feed anything back to her ever. And if she found out anyone other than her manager was the one who spotted the mistake she would accuse them of bullying her.

Lastcall he was made exdh after that. i contacted legal three days later. it was the final straw after a long series of things.