Crazy colleague's child taking over the office an inch at a time

[Welshtinsel]

Since my work colleague returned from maternity leave she has tried to turn the office in to some kind of shrine to her child.

If she is not talking about her DD then she is showing someone a picture of her DD. Every conversation devolves into one involving her spawn. Rather than working she'll sit around discussing how 'cute' her DD is. Just last week she used up all of the color ink in the print printing a picture of her DD. Any current event always strikes a cord with whatever crap her DD did last night.

AIBU to say that no one gives a shit about her kid and she should just shut up and do her job?

yabnu for refering to her child as spawn.

Noooo! you need to fight fire with fire!

Introduce your own gifted and talented DC's/nieces/nephews into conversation at any and all opportunity.

If you can get someone to play also, set points for delivery of outrageous claims with straight faces (i.e. "3 yr old Montgomery is getting bored with his Suzuki maths lessons as he is too advanced for them" "darling Flora corrected my spelling of digeridoo last night, and do you know what, she was right!")

Please don't be too obviously unkind though, I'm sure we all were a bit like this at some stage. She'll grow out of it when DD becomes a teenager and HATES her (like mine when I confiscated her mobile phone at the weekend - you'd have thought I cut off a limb)

The novelty will soon wear off I am sure.

YABU!

Aww. She's proud of her child. She should be doing her job and not using up company resources, but have a heart, OP!

She probably misses her terribly

don't be an old cow

Give her time. She's getting used to being back at work and probably feels hugely guilty. (no need for her to, but I know many people do)

Just get on with your work, bring her back to topic but don't be too hard on her. She'll get back to normal presently.

YANBU. Obviously, people are going to talk a bit about their children at work. That's normally. But going on and on and on and on about them is not only boring it is also very insensitive as you don't know what issues other colleagues might be having either ttc or coming to terms with the fact that they won't be having children for one reason or another.

She actually came back maternity leave six months ago, so any slack she might have had has long gone.

That's normal, not 'normally'.

I meant came back FROM maternity....Stupid fingers.

Oh. I assumed that she must have just come back!

Gosh.

6 months is quite a long while to still be in full boast mode

You are both being unreasonable. Ok so it's been 6 months, but she probably feels incredibly guilty and by going on about dc all the time and the things they've accomplished will help her feel less like she's abandoned them to childcare. But, no one wants to hear it all day everyday. I suggest you just stop her when she tried to talk to you about dc with 'I'm sorry but I really need to do this piece of work' and others who find it boring do the same. It's gentle but she should get the message.

YABU and a curmudgeon!

oh gosh, I had no idea it was bothering you. I'll try and reign myself in, really.

Don't be a misery.

Could be worse.

She could be going on a Peter Andre all day.

Can you just ignore or change the subject when she starts going on about her kid? She might get the hint. Or maybe not, but then part of working in an office is putting up with annoying people!

Does she not have enough work to do?

Going on a Peter Andre all day.

Think I'd rather have the boasting than a sex show.

Anyone who bangs on about the same topic over and over, whether its their kids, or their new house, or their bad back, or how busy and overworked they are is booooooooring!

stop being such a miserable old bag.

Yawn!! People like this need to realise how boring they are!

I don't think you're being miserable Welsh. It is boring if someone keeps going on and on about their child. A little bit of conversation is fine. Showing the odd photograph to your closer friends in the office is fine. But someone constantly bringing every conversation back to their child is going to get on people's nerves. It can also, as I said upthread, be quite insensitive if a colleague is unable to have children.

have you got kids, welshtinsel?

What has that got to do with it Rain?

YANBU at all OP. Yes fine,she misses her DD but no-one wants to hear about it all the livelong day. And you're right - she's at work so should probably be doing a bit of work now and again rather than boring the living daylights out of all of her colleagues.

I have a colleague who does this. She talks about her son in every single conversation. Today we were talking for about 10 minutes and she mentioned him 5 times (yes I counted). Do I look like I give a shiny little fig about what he wants for Xmas? Well I got the whole story, in absolute mind-numbing detail. And by the way, he's 12, not a baby It drives me potty. People, even parents, should have a little bit of self-awareness and realise that the earth does not actually revolve around them and their children.

'What has that got to do with it Rain?'

I would also like to know what the OP's parental status has to do with the price of eggs

Just curious.

I'm not saying that parents don't mind child-talk because they are parents. That would be incredibly stupid. As someone else said upthread, someone being repetitive is irritating whatever the subject.

There's just something odd for me about the use of 'spawn' and 'no one gives a shit about her kid and she should just shut up and do her job.' I've only heard things like that from misogynist childless male colleagues, tbh.