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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Mother encouraging her child to scream in restaurant

353 replies

user1485342611 · 19/08/2018 14:20

I was in a restaurant and a mother with a baby aged about 10-12 months and in a high chair were at a table near us. The baby was playing happily with a plastic toy when the mother suddenly dropped her spoon on the floor. He thought it was funny and gave a happy squeal. So the mum kept pretending to drop the spoon to make him laugh. The problem was that each time the laugh got more and more high pitched and in the end he was literally screaming with excitement every time she went to 'drop' the spoon.

This went on for ages and people were turning around and giving her annoyed looks and two women at the table beside them moved away.

AIBU to think she was being really inconsiderate and that this went beyond just a bit of happy playing and strayed into noisy and disruptive behaviour (from the mum, obviously, not the baby).

OP posts:
MintTulips · 19/08/2018 14:25

Yeah she sounds like a dickhead. An innocent, oblivious, in love with her baby dickhead, but a dickhead nonetheless.

Snickerdoodles · 19/08/2018 14:31

YANBU.

I agree with what MintTulips said. I think that whilethe mum had good intentions in keeping her baby happy and occupied, she was going about it the wrong way.

Did you say anything to the mum, OP?

Original poster
user1485342611 · 19/08/2018 14:32

No, I looked around a couple of times but didn't approach her. But my head was splitting by the time I was leaving the restaurant.

OP posts:
Maelstrop · 19/08/2018 14:32

I’d have asked her to stop, nicely, but still to stop. That’s extremely inconsiderate of her.

TheDairyQueen · 19/08/2018 14:35

YANBU. Had this in Tesco the other week, could hear the baby's squeals across the store. High-pitched sonic squeals that shattered eardrums and probably caused the fruit and veg to rot.

Got to the checkout and you guessed it, mum winding baby up into that state at the next checkout. Lots of Hmm looks to which she was entirely oblivious.

ShumpaLumpa · 19/08/2018 14:47

it's only innocent if performance parenting is innocent.

Aprilshowersinaugust · 19/08/2018 14:49

You need to practice your resting bitch face op.
I perfected mine years ago.

Add to it :
'there is just no need for that'
Works a treat.

LovingLola · 19/08/2018 14:49

Why didn't you ask the staff in the restaurant to speak to her?

OftenHangry · 19/08/2018 14:52

Why didn't you ask the staff in the restaurant to speak to her?

Yeah. So the poor buggers end up in newspapers for "being anti childern and so should be boycotted by all families nad their relatives and simply by everyone cause we were all babies once"

glintandglide · 19/08/2018 14:55

This would barely register with me, not sure what the AIBU question is?

LovingLola · 19/08/2018 14:55

Well I think it's better to be proactive and deal with these situations as they occur rather than festering with annoyance and then post online about it.

Original poster
user1485342611 · 19/08/2018 14:56

I thought my post was pretty clear glint, as obviously do all the people who answered it.

OP posts:
mimibunz · 19/08/2018 14:56

No one would dare say anything I’m sure. She would probably have run straight to the DM!

kaytee87 · 19/08/2018 14:56

So a baby was laughing in a restaurant?

Original poster
user1485342611 · 19/08/2018 14:58

No kaytee,. Read my post. Where did I use the word 'laughing'?

OP posts:
RoseWhiteTips · 19/08/2018 14:58

The AIBU is obvious. 🙄

missyB1 · 19/08/2018 14:59

It was performance parenting, it's rife these days I'm afraid. We are all supposed to worship everyone's little angel, and pat the parents on the back for being so fucking marvelous.

NotAgainYoda · 19/08/2018 15:00

YANBU. It's very lovely to interact with your child, but it's also very self-centred to make so much noise, on purpose, in a restaurant. It's very possible to do the former without doing the latter. Most people manage it

Aaaahfuck · 19/08/2018 15:01

Some parents seem oblivious to the noise and chaos their kid cause. I've always thought they must just get used to it.

It's not unreasonable to be annoyed by this. Sometimes you can't control a kid kicking off so I'm sympathetic to the noise. When they're encouraging it I don't think that's OK.

kaytee87 · 19/08/2018 15:03

He thought it was funny and gave a happy squeal, so basically laughing?

pinkhorse · 19/08/2018 15:04

This drives me mad. How can people be so oblivious to the noise they and their children are making.

Pilgit · 19/08/2018 15:07

Oh god I hate this. And I say this as the mother of a child who can shatter glass with her screams. It may be delight but it bloody hurts! You are so NBU! when she's older we're getting her singing lessons - put the natural ability to fill a room with her voice to a tuneful use!

Punta · 19/08/2018 15:09

I wear hearing aids -this sort of noise is painful. I think I would have to say something,

Original poster
user1485342611 · 19/08/2018 15:10

No Kaytee he was giving high pitched screams over and over. As I think I explained already Hmm.

OP posts:
MissusGeneHunt · 19/08/2018 15:10

Yadnbu.... Once is fine, but keep the repetitiveness for at home. Oblivious, clearly.

BTW, what's performance parenting? Never heard of it, although when someone enlightens me I bet I'll recognise it!!