to think that you probably shouldn't go to a toddler group if you are going to let your child scream hysterically the entire time?

[ikeaismylocal]

I regularly take my 13 month old ds to a toddler group, there is a child there who is around 18 months, she is a very affectionate child and she always wants to be sat on her mum's knee or carried by her mum. The mum has decided to go cold turkey with her daughter and refuse to pick her up or have her on her knee. Today the child screamed hysterically for 2.5 hours, she was hyperventilating and running after her mum, the mum would just walk away, when her mum walked away the child would throw herself on the floor and bang her head :(

It shocked me a bit to see this style of parenting, the mum made no effort to distract the child she didn't engage at all with her, not even speaking to the child.

Aibu to think that it is best to do such things at home (and put down rugs so the child doesn't hurt her head so much when she bagged it) so the child is in familiar surroundings.

Is this a normal thing to do? My ds is a little younger so we are yet to get to the tantruming stage.

[PenelopePipPop]

That is NOT easy. Trust me. Not day after day, week after week.

Do you know this woman? Does she have a partner doing half the bedtimes and night-wakings, negotiating her DD into clothes, handling the shopping when the child won't ever be put in a shopping trolley, coping with car journeys if the child howls continuously from the backseat? Does she have grandparents or friends on tap to come and give her regular sanity breaks? Is she at work on other days so she isn't constantly touched out as someone said?

Everyone else's child looks easy, because they have characteristics that differ from ours and when we are exhausted from running around/repeating the same song 100 times we think an afternoon of cuddling would be just dandy. But actually being screamed at every time you try to make dinner, or go to the toilet, and not being able to distract because the sole focus of the child's attention is you is also a special kind of challenge.

Please try and stop judging and start empathising. It will make toddler groups much nicer.

[ikeaismylocal]

She does have a dp who has the child half the time.

Would it be ok if you had a child who wanted to climb constantly so the parent had to stand guard to just leave it in a play pen or strapped in the pushchair screaming ( for 2.5 hours) because the parent had had enough of following the child around?

When does the change happen from needing to listen to their cries because they have no other way of communicating to leaving them to cry because you don't want to give what they are asking for?

[PleaseJustLeaveYourBrotherAlon]

she didn't look stressed or upset about the situation.

Acting stressed would have made things worse though for the child. She had to act normal