to expect mum at playground to entertain her own child?

[Liketochat1]

In the playground this morning I spent a hot half hour pushing someone else's child round the roundabout and entertaining him with a game of 'train driver'. Now, my dd was there too playing on the roundabout with him and joining in the game, but AIBU to expect the mum/nanny to stop sunbathing/texting and help or acknowledge me (or more importantly the child)?
Am I just grumpy because I'm hot and tired or do I have a point?

YABU

I go to the park/play area/field/soft play hell to get away from the little buggers and the constant chorus of 'mummy, mummy, mummy, mum, mum, muuuummmy' why would I want to entertain them or other random small people?! You didn't have to do it, though it was nice that you did

As an aside we went out to dinner with the dc the other night and the place was full of children, everytime someone else's child said mum or mummy ds5 said mummy that boys talking to you why are you ignoring him? All atempts to tell him I was not everyones mummy were ignored until he finally told me that 'I don't know what's got into you tonight mummy, you are being very rude, you aren't using your listening ears are you?' complete with tutting and eye rolling

I was thinking the same as Mrs DeVere: I take my kids to the park so I dont have to play with them.
If someone chooses to entertain them I am not going to stop them.

But I really am slack

[childish]

You sound great OP. Which park was it?

:o

maythe

Children are hilarious.

Why do we bring them to the park and ignore them?

i'm thirding mrsdevere! sorry OP

I take my kids to the park so that THEY can play.
i mean, obv if they're shouting for me I'll go and push them on the swings or go and look at what they're doing/want to show me.

but as a general rule i want to sit down and have a rest while they wear themselves out.
if someone else starts entertaining them then that's up to them isn't it.

after all, we can't BOTH push them on the roundabout can we?

ooh I can't WAIT till I don't have to entertain DS at the park! 3ish, you say? Only one more year to go!

I push swings, at carry all the random shite fascinating 'found objects' he hands me until I can sling them into the trees but I think being the leader of Team Fun when you could be sitting on a bench allowing lots of healthy unsupervised imaginative play does seem a bit weird.

Maybe you enjoy that stuff more than me, OP?

blackcurrants - you can stop at 2 [true slacker]

I used to occasionally look up to see they had no broken limbs or weren't bleeding.

"if they're shouting for me I'll go and push them on the swings or go and look at what they're doing/want to show me."

Swot!

I may have omitted the part where I shout out "why don't you try by yourself" several times first. or "oh yes, i can see from here"

lol at the loads of unsaid things in the phrase 'jolly mum type'

I would have been the sour-faced mother on the bench with a book.

For the the threads on MN moaning about the lazy mothers, there are threads from the lazy mothers complaining about the over-zealous loud parenting 'let's play' types.

I think it is lazy parenting to leave your kids in the care of someone else.

It is normal for DC to want to join in if they see fun taking place. I would have sent the random child back to mummy/daddy/carer after 5 mins. It can be is very annoying.

I'm fourthing MrsDevere.

But if another adult was taking the time to entertain DS I would be shamed into compelled to go and halfheartedly join in. I wouldn't leave them to it.

Ooooo you lazy slattens

I would pretend not to notice

I go to the park sometimes I play sometimes I don't. I don' t want to play with other kids and don' t want you to play with mine

The random child was playing on the roundabout, err, I would be a bit pissed off if you sent my child back so you could play chochos on it.

another one joining mrsdevere usualsuspect and thisisyesterday style of parenting, i may play if they ask repeatedly request but i am a big fan of letting them get on with it and keeping an eye on them, whilst occasionally standing just outside of the park (where i can still see them) so i can have a fag in peace!

roundabouts are made for more than ONE person/child so you cant send a kid away just cos they happen to be sitting on it whilst you are also pushing your own child around!

see this is what is good about having older children as well, my ds2 or ds3 wil happily push themselves and younger kids around, i observe and occasionally shout at them not to go too fast for the little ones

Lol at 'sending him back'! Why? Is it op's own roundabout?

And, yes, I like the as well

Actually I wouldn't send them back or stop them playing on equipment but I would ask them to see what their own grown ups were doing when we moved on.

If they brought back those great big witch hat roundabout behemoths then I will start playing on roundabouts.

Until then I am reading my book.

What am I on about? It is years since I went to a park.

But the mum didn't leave the dc in the care of someone else she didn't ask the op to look after her child. as long as you can see the dc you don't need to hover over them every minute, that's not lazy parenting lazy parenting is me paying my older dc to entertain my little dc at the park