To think people who talk about their children all the time at work are boring and insensitive

[atthewelles]

A girl at work had a baby last year and talks about absolutely nothing else. Lots of people in here have young children but no one else goes on and on and on and on.........

She shares a room with a friend of mine who has been married for many years but unable to have children and it is driving her mad.

AIBU to think that referring casually to your children in the course of conversation is fine as is talking about some major thing in relation to them but just wittering on about them all the time is really annoying?

Work talk today:

"ooh don't your nails look lovely with those glittery bits on the end and they match your top"

"Oh, Simon Cowell isns't that bad"

"I bet we've all eaten horse without knowing it".

"Is that cow in the x department kicking off again"

"It's cold in here, why can't facilities sort out the heating"

"Don't suppose there's any real chance of a snow day this week".

Sorry, did someone say someone else's baby was boring?

I think I would find that kind of chit chat a lot less boring than:

"Kyle likes apples if you take the skin off"

"Kyle was awake at 3 o'clock this morning. I'm exhausted"

"Ooh look, DP has just mailed me a picture of Kyle in his new dungarees"

"I hope mum doesn't give Kyle pureed chicken again today. She knows he doesn't like it".

"Oh well, off home now to my other job. Must go and collect Kyle".

I don't think it's insensitive to talk about children it's a fact of life.
In my experience people who drone on about their children don't have their own passions outside their children. I sometimes ask people what they are doing at the weekend and rather than saying nothing they tell me what their children are doing.
Generally a lot of boring nonsense is discussed in offices...but children talk tends to be specific to their children. Yes someone can go on about the weather, a tv programme but at least that can be s conversation...

Most offices are boring. There is the one who talks about nothing but

• babies
• up coming wedding/engagements
• holiday freaks
• food
• the alternative food freak
• money
• Bella/Best/Hello/S'leb page flickers
• soap opera watchers
• the endless sodding social life and love life trauma drama queen

and of course, ultimately there is the moany cow

What do you talk about @atthewelles that inspires your collegues?

Oh Gods, I had a work colleague who I dreaded her kids birthdays coming round. It was all she could talk about for at least two months before, and one month after.

She banged on and on. She went on about how she was sooooo busy, and so overloaded, and quite frankly, if she'd just shut up and done what she was paid to be there to do, she could easily have done it all in normal working fricking hours.

Then there was their dietary prejudices, and what she was doing them for tea, etc, etc. . .

To be honest YABU. Having a baby is a big deal, and a young child pretty much consumes your life and mind. I know at the moment I am just about coming back to some other things (I read books again, hurrah!), but for the last two years I have basically been at work or I've been with my baby or I've been asleep. Couple of weekends away here and there.

It's what I know about, what I do, what I'm interested in. I am well aware it doesn't interest everyone; which basically means I don't interest most people at the moment. Which is fine; by and large I listen, I like hearing what people have to say. But I imagine my new colleagues, who didn't know me before my baby, think I'm a bit dull, as I don't have much to offer the conversation at the moment other than "really? That's interesting, tell me more" and "[baby stuff]". Otherwise I'm silent, which is pretty boring! So I can't win. Maybe she can't either.

People who monopolise conversations and take no interest in others are inherently boring; what they talk about is irrelevant really.

In my experience people who drone on about their children don't have their own passions outside their children. I sometimes ask people what they are doing at the weekend and rather than saying nothing they tell me what their children are doing.

Well as a rule you can't just ditch your under-fives and go and do archery or whatever. What they're doing does sort of dictate what you're doing to an extent.