to want one, just one, coffee shop, cafe, eating place to be child free?

[NearlyMrsCustardsHardHat]

AIBU? Really?

All I ask for is that between the hours of 11 and 2 during the week my precious half hour lunch break is not interrupted by my ankles being rammed by a pushchair, or a grubby little urchin throwing food or wailing or just being within a 5 meter radius of me. It's not much. Actually, rewind, can I just ban the ineffectual mums that come with said urchins?

I love kids. I just don't love them between the hours of 8am and 6pm Monday to Friday.

AIBU to just want a small bit of child free/floppy parenting sanctuary?

The children don't annoy me. The parents do. When they speak loudly.

'Do you want to play with the lady's phone? You clever boy! Such a clever boy!'

'Yes, you like this salad. You had it in Tascany. What a clever girl!'

'Oh dear, this lady didn't smile at you. I know it is upseting darling but some people are just so miserable'.

Again, Dogsbeast, you describe children as urchins. Do you know what urchin means? It's an Echinoidea. If you speak of children as being less than human then you in turn are not fit to parent them.

"DP and I went to a spa." Your DP goes to spas?
God help you.

He also has a manbag.

Gloribe your sea urchin reference is one of the most bizarre things I've ever read on MN. Anyway, urchin means hedgehog.

Thzumba :)

I spend a good portion of my time on MN feeling horribly misunderstood.

"You're so angry."
"I'm joking... oh never mind."

I think that's why I stick around - it's like being a teenager again.

You're all bastards, and this is a load of pretentious bullshit

:o

'Your DP goes to spas?
God help you'

What a very comment. I would love it if my DP would come on a spa weekend with me! He does have a manbag though.... What do you think that could mean Jenai??? Is there something about our DPs that we've been missing all this time???

I wish there was a Like button for the sea urchin comment.

YANBU

There is a gorgeous coffee shop in Battersea that I spend many of my days doing PhD research. Without fail the lady with the small child will sit near me when the rest of the shop is empty and make a great deal of noise. I do not understand why they insist on doing this.

Gloribe. Couldn't care less whether you think I'm not fit to be a parent but I'll tell you this... my children were as youngsters a heck of a lot better behaved in public than the majority I see so I can't be doing it all wrong. Mind you, if you're clever enough to know you can do better with a stranger's children do give me your contact details and you can give it a go.

The term "urchin" was meant as in scruffy young child, btw. Dictionary, anyone?

Oh... PS - I'll describe children as little brats when they act like it too!

ruby - a good day would be spa followed by darts in the pub :)

Do they have manbags on the continent?

[hgrin]

loving the urchin discussion and feel moved to link to the Wiki entry for it - urchin refers to anything that looks remotely like a hedgehog - presumably street children fall into the category because their hair would stand up in spikes?

They eat sea urchins on the continent.

SCOTT - they certainly have manbags in Turkey, and probably in France - my Dad had visitors from Turkey once and the chap brought him a manbag as a gift - Dad was visibly shaken but managed to thank him, especially as he had one almost identical himself. Dad doesn't "do" things like manbags!

"DO eat your sea urchin up Tarquin, there's a good boy. Yes you like it! Yo DO! You like it very much darling. Remember when you had it in Tuscany?"

:o :o :o

They do too Jenai - I have had fresh sea urchin innards of the blade of a clasp knife in Italy, courtesy of the elderly Italian gentleman who was fishing them out of the water. Not too bad, bit salty, sort of like caviar.

" off the blade" - gah!

Yes, manbags are seen in France quite often. (Probably ruddy Tuscany... !!). :o

Thuzmba, gawd, that description of sea urchins makes me glad I'm vegan!

I quite like seeing other people struggling with their children when dd is at nursery. I skip a little bit and think .