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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that Waitrose cafe is not the place

174 replies

pussycatwillum · 14/08/2013 12:45

to start singing Old MacDonald to your baby?
DH and I went for our free coffee in Waitrose this morning and first of all we were near a woman who was loudly talking to her child about CAKE. 'Mummy likes CAKE. Daddy likes CAKE' etc. So we moved to let her get on with it without an audience.
Then a woman with a small baby in a first size carseat started singing Old MacDonald. I didn't see the baby, only the seat, but surely singing in a cafe is inappropriate.
Or am I just showing what a Grumpy Old Woman I am?
I've still got it in my head as an earworm and it was over an hour ago!

OP posts:
YouTheCat · 14/08/2013 23:14

I'm not uptight.

I used to sing to my kids when they were babies/toddlers but in the house where the only person it would bother was the ex mil.

Misspixietrix · 14/08/2013 23:23

ChunkyPickle Grumpy... be thankful it was just Old Macdonald - DS has a lovely song about the contents of his nappy that he'll start belting out at inappropriate times.

^This! Ds decided to belt the Poo Song (Dr Ranj) out going round the local Waitrose with Grandma! Grin

I'm also extremely jealous of the Cafe. You others have Coffee Machines too? I'm complaining against the lack of either! Wink

Misspixietrix · 14/08/2013 23:26

Emilythornesbff not so suprising to me unfortunately. Only yesterday had someone tell me to "shut my kid up". He wasn't even crying, just chattering to himself a bit loudly. In the Ritz, completely understand, I was in Wilkos Hmm ~

Emilythornesbff · 14/08/2013 23:39

Sad pixie
T's a shame isn't it.

littlemog · 15/08/2013 00:09

Bloody hell pixie that is appalling. There really are some uptight twats out there in the big wide world aren't there? I hope that you took zero notice of this sad creature.

Thumbwitch · 15/08/2013 00:18

Emmabemma - that honestly made me snigger out loud. Grin

Reminds me of when we took DS1 to the zoo - DS1 couldn't say giraffe at the time, he used to call them jafraffs - and DH said to him "Look at the jafraffs!" The looks he got from the people immediately adjacent to us! He didn't care though. Their problem. :)

Misspixie - that's really rude of that person and I hope you told him so.

justanuthermanicmumsday · 15/08/2013 00:18

this thread for real??. I thought Asian elders talked nonsense but this takes the biscuit or was it cake or old macdonald? lighten up girl it's a cafe not a Michelin star restaurant expect some noise and casual conversation.

FixItUpChappie · 15/08/2013 00:28

If this is the biggest problem you have to complain about then your getting off light. Who on earth cares?

YABU and a fuddy-duddy at that.

Katydid02 · 15/08/2013 07:26

littlemog I agree. Furthermore, only somebody who is pretty unpleasant as well; plenty of people are insecure and not that happy in their own skin without resorting to personal insults.

themaltesefalcon · 15/08/2013 07:29

MiaowtheCat Grin.

Katydid02 · 15/08/2013 07:31

PeriodMath, why do you think Mum's who sing are 'wanky Mums' - they just have a different style of parenting from you.

Personally I would not sing to my DCs in public, for one thing they are too old and would sit their rolling their eyes at me and for the other thing, I am about as musical as a house brick. I did sing to them often when they were little, just not when out. I'd read to them from a book instead.

Smartiepants79 · 15/08/2013 07:33

Grumpy.
Singing is good for babies and stops the whinging/crying.
Which one would you rather listen to?

musicposy · 15/08/2013 07:34

YABVU. I was in Tesco the other day and a mum was sreaming at her toddler to "shut the fuck up or I'll slap yer fucking arse again!!!"

Old Macdonald would have been quite soothing.

Nanny0gg · 15/08/2013 08:33

I love the perjorative terms on this thread just because some of us don't like Sing-a-long Performance Parenting (another perjorative term!).

Yet 'ordinary' Performance Parenting is one of MNetters' biggest gripes!

You have to laugh...

Smartiepants79 I find talking to them often works quite well too.

hazeyjane · 15/08/2013 09:11

The 'performance parenting' threads hack me off too, because the examples given always seem so far fetched as to not seem true, or just sound like someone talking a bit loudly to their children, and it just comes across as mocking people for being different to them.

I just don't get what is so wanky or perfomancey about singing a song to your child in a cafe, or talking to your child about cake. It doesn't matter if it was to stop the baby from crying, or whether it was just because the mum fancied singing a song to the baby, really, is it that big a deal.

No pejorative terms for anyone from me!

TotallyBursar · 15/08/2013 09:18

YABabitU, it's a cafe Waitrose or not. People do much more irritating things when mixing their dc and public food!

I tend to shamelessly join in if I'm in the mood- I do a fabulous sheep. I was having a lovely time with a toddler once, doing all the animal noises until Old MacDonald got a T-Rex (tried to stay scientifically accurate but it's all a bit of a mystery), Hippo (well, ungainly but fine) and a ladybird...err snuffle, soft hum of silken wingbeats on a tiny scaaaale e-i-e-i-oooooooo. Fuck.

ubik · 15/08/2013 09:20

Parents don't talk to their children enough.

Emilythornesbff · 15/08/2013 09:22

Spot on hazeyjane

LadyBryan · 15/08/2013 09:31

It is the assumption that its performace parenting that really irks. I don't give a flying fig whether other people are listening to me or not.

There is one person I parent for and that's my daughter.

We sometimes sing together now and she's 6.

I cannot imagine what sad, bitter little lives people live to be bothered by stuff like this Confused

LadyBryan · 15/08/2013 09:32

hazeyjane - completely correct.

Surely in this situation performance parenting would be for the parent to whip out a bag of props and start conducting with a cake fork

LynetteScavo · 15/08/2013 09:34

Oh, I don't know if you are BU or not, OP.

But then I'm grumpy.

Singing The Wheels on the Bus with several DC in a family restaurant is fine.

Where as Old McDonald is such an annoying song.

But it's not as bad as people whistling at tune. Now, that would be inappropriate in a cafe.

Emilythornesbff · 15/08/2013 09:34

Oh musicposy now that would be unpleasant to hear Sad

Emilythornesbff · 15/08/2013 09:36

Grin lynette I have to confess I find whistling irritating. I feel a bit Blush admitting it. Just can't help it.

LynetteScavo · 15/08/2013 09:40

Shock I have just realised my mother performance parents/grandparents.

She must be the worst offender ever. Seriously.

I think maybe I should start a support group for all children of such parents. Or maybe it's only grumpy people who don't appreciate having parents like this.

But can I say, it's not just in public, though. She would break into song the minute she walks into my house. Then wonder why I've rolled my eyes and retreated to the kitchen.

Original poster
pussycatwillum · 15/08/2013 10:05

For those jealous that we have a Waitrose Cafe, can I just say it has a cafe AND an airconditioned conservatory (one upmanship here).
We quietly left the singing Mummy in the conservatory and joined all the other (mature) fuddy duddies in the other part of the cafe.
FixitUp no this isn't the only thing I have to worry about in life, but it has given me some light relief. I started the thread a bit tongue-in-cheek actually.

OP posts:
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