To think a lot of parents of very young children become quite selfish

[allthewaythere]

I am expecting to be flamed but here goes.

Yesterday I was walking on a really narrow street and a couple were walking with a very young baby who’s only just started to take a few hesitant steps, maybe 11 months, so he had dad on one side and mum on the other.

Because the street was so narrow it meant everyone behind them either had to walk at toddler pace or step into the road to get by.

I’ve seen this in a lot of my friends with really young children. Is this a thing and does it pass?

Why are people who think that parents who inflict their parenting on everyone called miserable? Not everyone finds small children endlessly fascinating. That doesn't make them miserable. Some people may find small children endlessly fascinating and are in a hurry to get back to their own fascinating creatures. That's also nit miserable. Other people may be in a hurry to get to a meeting, or to an appointment or to meet with their friend/partner whatever. They are not miserable.

The people saying that children have the right to be on the pavement and other people who might need to also be on thar pavement are selfish and miserable for needing or wanting to move quicker see, well, proving the point that they are, indeed, the ones being selfish and should, maybe, find some self awareness. The world does not revolve around children.

@Leighhalfpennysthigh Getting irrationally annoyed at being delayed even slightly is human, unless it's a small child and then we're supposed to be overcome with joy and forget all our worries and cares. I don't know.

@ScreamedAtTheMichelangelo yes, exactly!!

I think the logical and non selfish thing to do is to lift up the child and give them a little swing while letting the people behind overtake.

@ScreamedAtTheMichelangelo humans can also use their voices and say “move”. We’ve been able to for 1000s of years. It’s only recently we’ve kept our annoyance for mumsnet 🤣

@Strongmummy Also true (though not in OP's case). That said, not sure I'd want to attempt it now having read some of the posters here.

On a basic level it's about ensuring survival of your offspring, so, understandable. If you'd said a polite 'excuse me' and they'd been rude, that WBU.

YANBU ‘people’ are idiots

Bit a sweeping statement there but yanbu about the situation in this case.

I have a new walker who loves to be allowed to toddle along but she is so so slow especially when holding hands, alone she can pick up a bit more speed, I only allow it in places where she isn't going to be in peoples way and safe to do so.

The sad part is these babies who are allowed to do this disrupting people and who have parents who refuse to remove them temporarily so as not to upset them turn into pre schoolers who demand their own way all the time, school children who expect everyone to jump out the way when the scooter down the paths then into teensuring who expect the earldom to revolve around them.and cause trouble. It starts early teaching the very youngest to show consideration for other people.don't raise your toddlers to be entitled, it's not attractive or magical to others.

I am a mother of 3 boys. You may have heard me from a distance, directing them to pay attention to people passing etc. I feel like it’s an extra part time occupation of mine 😆 but I do it because that’s basic social etiquette. Be polite, use your manners and be considerate of others. Why is our society changing so much to the point that every other person seems to be full of their own self importance? I see it all the time. I’m quite a confident driver, but I’m totally out off of driving these days as the roads seem full of them. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Has anyone noticed how sometimes when their kids are playing games on whatever console, there’s always one kid that insists everyone is ‘hacking’ and they’re going to report them, just for winning a game?! I seriously couldn’t even be bothered with that if I was kid again. 😂 Self entitled people, creating self entitled kids 🙄

yabvu to say parents with young children do this and are selfish as not everyone with young children does this. I certainly don't I pull them to the inside to let people past. yanbu to say they were being selfish as they could have pulled into the side. just don't tar all parents with the same brush.

Maybe we could all benefit from chilling out a bit in general! things that are frustrating become aggravating if not ...we all have little niggles & things which annoy but the healthiest thing mentally is to pay these thoughts little mind & get on with life

That lovely magical time can be spent in a location that isn't a crowded street. As lovely as it them creating magical memories is not tne priority of everyone else on tne street going about their daily lives. I love kids, I lived those magical moments but I had the intelligence to understand that people going about their daily lives don't share on this magic. Just wait intI'll their magical moment is ruined by a size 11 boot because the 6ft guy wearing them couldn't see a baby among the crowd. It wouldn't be the poor guys fault who would never forgive himself it would be the parents for putting their baby in a unsafe environment.

Totally agree, motherofdinosaurs.

LIVE AND LET LIVE.

@wildchild554 OP didn't say all parents do this.

Sorry don’t think YABU, I have a child but didn’t have her walking on public pathways or around shops till she was about three or four as I thought it was unfair on everyone she would hold up and the risk of her getting hurt walking under someone’s feet by accident was too high. Tbh when I see these people in shopping centres etc on busy days I wonder if they allow it because they like the idea of everyone looking at their baby and thinking how cute they are..... really impractical as a parent as it takes bloody ages to do the slightest little thing and with a child toddling/falling/trying to run off

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Maybe you should have shoved them into the road, you child free people are much more important after all.

We nipped to asda the other day with our 2 and 3 year olds, parked in the parent and child space. 2 cars then arrive at the same time a large 4x4 with visible children in car seats and a woman in a tiny fiat 500. Fiat 500 beats them to the last space. Woman gets out of her tiny car alone I was vv close to saying something but I didn't want her to damage our car or something. People without children seem to hate that people with children sometimes need the wider space to get a baby out or say don't want to walk in the road with a pram/baby. It's almost like they are jealous somehow of all the perks we get lol. Oh and I'm never the one to walk in the road when I have a baby in a pram, you walk in the road or wait (I walk very fast it's usually me saying excuse me to get past slow pavement hoggers).

Parents who do this are the same parents who allow their babies into the over 5 section in soft play and expect the rampaging 7 year olds to stop play to make allowances (it's unfair). Entitled parents breed entitled babies/toddlers and children.

I understand that you may find it inconvenient but you could ask nicely and smile and say "I'm so sorry, I just need to get past" but you can say it in a nice way and even say "hello" to sweet toddler. After all it is not toddlers fault he is learning to walk. Maybe a little patience is needed and I don't have children...

These days it appears it’s everyone for themselves and nobody gives a toss or cares about anyone else. We seem to have become quite an uncaring society - that is until something bad or dreadful happens and then we see how kind people are. Some parents have huge stresses on them and get a bit self absorbed but surely we can forgive them? JUST BE KIND....

God MNis weird sometimes. It's ostensibly a parenting site, then you get threads like this where poster after poster queues up to say how parents of toddlers are in the wrong simply for taking up space and allowing their tiny learner-humans to also take up space. And that other road users are under no obligation whatsoever to alert these audacious families to their presence in order to be let through.

Thetre are more appropriate spaces to learn to walk than a busy street. Why on earth is that so hard for some people to understand. They will be the first to complain if their baby gets hurt