... Not to have spoken to this mum?

[Cooroo]

Driving home after horrible stressful day, I saw a woman with a 4 yo or thereabouts. They were skipping down the pavement together. Mum was waving arms about with every sign of having great fun.

I wanted to stop and say 'you are a fantastic mother and your daughter is going to have fun growing up with you'. And probably hug her. Mainly because i was feeling emotional.

Maybe best not to do this? But thank you anyway, unknown mother, for cheering me up a bit.

grunt I've had similar. I was on a bus once and a child of about 4/5 kept turning in his seat to look at me, his mother was tapping away on her phone and he looked bored so I stuck my tongue out at him which made him giggle. we must have spent a good five minutes pulling faces at each other. Mum then turns around and see's me pulling faces at her son (who was still giggling) if looks could kill I would dead ten times over.

Miggsie my dd would love it if someone did balloon modelling for her!

Grunt I smile at very pg women and tiny babies all the time now! I really did find it odd at the time, but like I said where I live you'd usually get a "what the fuck are you looking at" if you smiled at someone! Also, when dd was first born I had severe anxiety for weeks and being out in public made me anxious. I'd hate to think I'd made someone feel dreadful or like a weirdo.

I think that would have been lovely. The other day I took DS (nearly 3) for a walk as he was being a little horror. We stopped near the village shop and spent a good quarter of an hour jumping in puddles (had to go home and change afterwards, we were so muddy). Several people stopped to say how much fun we were having, and how nice it was to see us enjoying the rain, and it really cheered me up. DS loved it and had a nice chat to several people and their dogs too. Since my son was born I've seen how lovely and friendly people can be.

Home again. I should point out that wasn't a script, I probably wouldn't have use those words! They were what came out at Oh God o'clock this morning when I posted. And obviously I didn't jump out of my car and accost the poor woman. But if I'd been walking past I would have said 'that looks fun'. That sort of thing.

Lovely to read people's stories. Just wanted to have a cheerful AIBU o redress the grousing and carping. Which I do plenty of myself!

You don't know what goes on behind closed doors. That mother could have had a terrible day with her D.D the day before. Her kid could be kicking off now. It's very easy for people to paint a perfect picture. Hey we all do it. We're human. Sorry to be cynical. Just that no mother or child is perfect. We all have our good and bad days and her good day was today. Your good day might be tomorrow.
She must have looked a ejit TBH. skipping along the street. Runs away from the flamers........

Not flaming you llive
That's a really sad outlook on life you've got there. If it's just a habit, snap out of it!
If you've a deeper sadness I hope you can mend.

The op wasnt suggesting the mum and dd were perfect but was happy to see them skipping along

There is nothing wrong in playing with your children who cares if she looked a bit silly

cooroo

it was lovely that watching their happiness made you happy

sometimes what we want to give is what we want to get?
so mebbe you could think about that

Haight Ashbury San Francisco, dh and I stop with toddler dd to watch Reggae street band, dd boogies with delight, we boogie with her. Two people standing next to us say "Juicy kid, Juicy parents." We were thrilled. My state cop, shaved head, stern looking dh has been called many things in his life, Juicy not being one of them.

Oops, YANBU. Kindness from strangers is something I always treasure.

When DD1 was only a few days old I took her out to a cafe and was in the mother and baby toilets changing her, a lady with what I presumed to be her adult daughters came up and looked at her, we started talking and she said how wonderful I was to be taking her out when I'd only just given birth, how beautiful she was, and what a fabulous job I was doing, how well I looked etc.

I realise she was doing that on purpose to make me feel good, she went out of her way to be nice. My own mum died when I was 13 and I was so overwhelmed by her kind intent I was fighting back the tears. I'm crying now typing this and I'm not entirely sure why. I don't think I will ever forget what she said and the thought behind it as long as I live.

I often admire babies or small kids, to their parents, just in passing. It always brings a smile to their faces.

I am n/c with my own mum but a year ago a lady told me what a fab mum I am and how she'd been talking about me on the phone to her own daughter and saying what a great mother I am. It was all I could do to not start blubbing in pathetic gratitude.

If you don't have a kind family, you don't get many people telling you that you are doing a good job.It means so much to just hear those words. Let's hope that when we are all older, we remember to pass this on to the mums that we see out and about.