To be a bit irritated that his parents were nowhere in sight...

[alicet]

I took my son (17 months) swimming this am and then we had lunch in the cafe at the gym. There is a fenced and gated family area with toys and 4 tables for families to sit at and then a much larger area for everyone else (including kids and families).

Ds and I were sitting in the family area and there were 3 other little boys and their mum. Or so I presumed - the mum and 2 boys then went outside and the other little boy (aged about 2 and a half I would guess) stayed. He was actually a lovely chatty little boy and came to sit with us and clearly wanted some of ds's food. He also went and shouted 'mummy' at the gate a couple of times. I was beginning to wonder where his parents were as there was noone in sight in the other area who could have been his parents (it was very quiet). After about 15 mins of this his parents presumably came and got him (I was attending to ds at the time so didn't see them).

Don't get me wrong, a part of me was happy to have his company as he was a lovely little boy but I was a bit shocked that his parents had clearly left him there and I would have thought that at 2 and a half he is a bit little for this without coming and regularly checking on him. The family area is not meant to be an area where you dump your kids and go somewhere else but a place you can sit with your children.

Am I being unreasonable to expect that he should have been supervised or have I a lot to learn when ds gets a bit older?

[KTNoo]

I think that situation is so rare in the UK and that's probably why you felt so uncomfortable. In other countries in Europe(I live abroad)this would be much more culturally acceptable. We have a communal garden/playground at the back of our house and if I went there with my 3 year old I would be the only parent there.

[alicet]

Yes I felt sorry for him too. He did seem pretty happy though apart from the couple of times he went to shout for his mum. I think the main thing was I just felt a bit uncomfortable as I had no idea who his parents were or where they were and didn't really want to leave him on his own when we went!

[Cammelia]

Feel sorry for the child, no YANBU