This couple in A&E.

[JustDontWantToSay]

I am sitting in A&E. There is a couple here with a child about a year old. It has been very good but about an hour ago started crying and rubbing her eyes, obviously exhausted.

The father is playing on his phone, the mother is eating a packet of crisps and both are totally ignoring the child, leaving her to sit in a chair, on her own and cry. The child is clearly used to being ignored and every so often the mother glances over and says "Oh the drama" with accompanying eye roll.

AIBU to offer to cuddle the child to sleep myself????? ð???ð???ð???ð??¡

I don't think you can make an informed judgement from this brief snapshot. When my dd gets over tired and teary she crys but won't let anyone touch her. If you try to cuddle her she goes hysterical and really upsets herself. Not nice to see though, it breaks my heart when shes crying but I know to try to comfort her will make it worse.

What I don't understand is why they all had to be there! When I or H or one of the kids hurt themselves we didn't all pile down to A&E to be miserable and bored together or to take up seats and irritate other people. I am sure a grown-up man could cope on his own for a few hours. I remember an incident when DS2 had injured himself at my parents house and I left my older kids with them and took DS to A&E on my own. It was horrible busy and everyone was waiting for hours. There was one entire family - 5 kids and two parents - taking up half the seats, kids either bored and scrapping with each other or running around the waiting area. It just made no sense to me.

We all trooped to A&E one evening - I had a nasty burn on my wrist and wasn't happy driving, so DH had to drive me. We didn't want to leave DD3 at home by herself - she's 12 and I had no idea how long we'd be, as my injury wasn't serious enough to put me at the top of the list. I'm sure lots of the people in the waiting room were wondering why we'd dragged a school aged DC to A&E in the middle of the night.

If the dad wasn't able to drive because of an ankle injury, what was the mum supposed to do with the child?

She could have dropped dad off and gone home again? Depending on where they lived of course. I would do anything to avoid taking my children to A&E when they didn't need to be there.

Yanbu. Poor kid. They could have offered a cuddle or spoken to the child. It seems unlikely that the only possible way of dealing with her was to ignore her.

But gamer - I would hope in that situation you wouldn't leave her crying in a waiting room full of people who are ill and injured?

DH took BiL to A&E last sat evening - it was serious, he was admitted.

I was amazed at the number of families in the waiting room, also amazed at the lack of perceived emergencies.

Saturday evening in A&E is social outing for some, they were on mobiles proudly saying they where in A&E detailing their non emergency injuries. In and out of treatment in minutes announcing to their new friends still waiting "he says it's not broke just badly bruised".

No wonder the waiting times are so long, with the number of time wasters rocking up.

Judging. Yes.

no I'd probably take her outside where she would still cry but hopefully not disturb anyone else.

YANBU. Very sad and too common :(
I hate seeing shit parenting like this. There are no excuses really, comfort your baby.