Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To find it amusing the lengths some parents will go to in order to be apart from their kids?

203 replies

WelcomeToTheAssEatery · 20/03/2020 21:24

Just that really. My employer has given us permission to work from home to reduce the amount of people on site in order to reduce risk of contracting COVID-19.

However there are some parents in my office who are STILL coming to work just so they don't have to deal with their kids. I just find it wild.

Someone actually said today they couldn't care less about contracting the virus, they just don't want to be at home.

It makes me wonder what the point of having kids for some people is if they will go to such lengths to avoid spending time with them.

OP posts:
SudokuQueen · 21/03/2020 08:48

So all of you saying that op doesn't have an opinion because she isn't a parent, do you think it's fine for sahp to be sending their kids to school just because their partner is a key worker? Hmm

Otherwise if you're not a key worker, yes the situation is shit, but would you rather kill people over it? That's your choice. Spend a few months at home with your kids, or kill people. Which are you choosing? Because sending too many to school will just spread the disease faster, so more die.

If you're a decent human, you'll choose keep them at home. The not decent ones don't give a fuck and want to send to school to avoid dealing with them. THOSE people are the ones op is referring to. The ones that stay at work late in normal times to avoid spending time with their family.

It's not going to be easy, no. But complaining about it won't make it go away, and it just makes you look like you lack empathy. Because you're complaining about us trying to stop a disease killing people because it will affect you badly for a few months.

motherheroic · 21/03/2020 09:18

Thread was intended to be goady. Especially with your 'I'm going to go and have a bath without being interrupted by kids' shit.

Sh05 · 21/03/2020 09:27

I think that part was put there BECAUSE someone's accusation of it being goady

Original poster
WelcomeToTheAssEatery · 21/03/2020 09:29

@sh05 got it in one. I said that because people were accusing me of being goady/rude/unapologetic and complaining that I shouldn’t use mumsnet because I’m not a mum

OP posts:
ZoeCM · 21/03/2020 17:29

A friend of mine worked as a nanny in the US in the early 2010s. She said that one couple frequently went to extreme lengths to minimise contact with their daughter (who was a perfectly nice, well-behaved child). If they went out for a meal, they would phone my friend shortly before they got home to make sure the kid was already in bed. If she wasn't yet, they would say they were going to drive around the block a few times so they wouldn't have to see her when they got home. My friend was taken aback by how upfront they were about it.

SidsWife · 21/03/2020 17:34

Some of us are just not cut out for being stay at home parents. I would rather die than be a stay at home mum again. Thankfully I’m a key worker so I don’t have to worry about it!

SudokuQueen · 21/03/2020 17:52

@ZoeCM

See that's proof to something people on here won't accept: that some people are just shit parents. And shouldn't be parents.

TabbyMumz · 21/03/2020 17:53

"Some of us are just not cut out for being stay at home parents. I would rather die than be a stay at home mum again. Thankfully I’m a key worker so I don’t have to worry about it!"
What an awful thing to say. You would rather die than spend time with your kids!

Reginabambina · 21/03/2020 17:57

It was probably an attempt at humour. It’s also pretty much impossible to WFH while home educating. I have no idea how we can manage. I get the feeling I’m not going to get anything done in order to ensure that we still have money coming in. I’m not even sure I’ll be able to manage all of DS’s workload (they’ve sent him home with a billion worksheets) wothhisyoungefbrothet to deal with as well.

Reginabambina · 21/03/2020 18:01

@TabbyMumz people who aren’t SAHPs do spend time with their kids though, just on Avery different level to being with them all day every day which can be pretty soul destroying for people who are used to working.

BlueJava · 21/03/2020 18:04

YABVU. Why is it amusing? How about having a think as to how those children may be affected and have some compassion?

NameCalling · 21/03/2020 18:15

I'm a 'keyworker' but would desperately love to be at home with my child. I feel like I don't see her enough as it is (single parent).

I am not going to judge the parents. It's not going to be easy coping with children 24-7, without being able to sufficiently break the day up. However, lying to get a place at school, isn't the answer.

Ginger1982 · 21/03/2020 18:17

Kids are a choice.

By the same token, trying to work from home with a toddler for the next God knows how long is going to be an absolute nightmare.

achainisonlyasstrong · 21/03/2020 19:56

Sorry but working from home with a toddler is a nightmare. But completely agree lots of men and women prefer to be at office than with children. And that’s because for a lot of jobs though not all jobs being in the office is lot less stressful. To be honest though people will have to be more forgiving of children noise in the background whilst doing work calls etc.

SidsWife · 21/03/2020 19:56

@TabbyMumz I spend plenty of time with my kids thanks.

FudgeBrownie2019 · 21/03/2020 20:00

I love the bones of my DC but am so thankful to have a job which means I get a break from them. Not because I dislike them or don't want to parent them; I just like being something other than "muuuuuuuuuum he's looking at me again" every so often.

WFH with a 14 and 9 year old is easy and I am so grateful this has happened while the DC are those ages. DH has worked from home often since they were tiny and during the toddler years took most of his work calls in our garage or garden because it was the only place he could hear folk. He once sat on a conference call and DS2 handed him a whole, complete, curly shite he'd just done. Don't tell me you'd prefer to be at home with that kind of nonsense.

DingleberryRose · 21/03/2020 20:27

It makes me wonder what the point of having kids for some people is if they will go to such lengths to avoid spending time with them

They have kids because ‘it’s what’s done’ without considering how much it will suck. Too bad for them. Should have had some forward thought. I personally can’t think of ANYTHING worse than having kids right now (or ever), I’d rather have Coronavirus!

LisaSimpsonsbff · 21/03/2020 20:34

You're awfully keen to tell everyone how much richer your life is than a parent's, dingleberry. I find it quite hard to be believe, given that your major hobby seems to be telling people on MN that you're glad you don't have children.

aupresdemonarbre · 21/03/2020 20:36

I’m going to guess your colleagues have childcare sorted at home and reckon that they’re going to get more done in the office. Perfectly normal. Not great from a public health viewpoint, but nothing to do with their relationship with their kids.

TabbyMumz · 21/03/2020 20:40

"@TabbyMumzI spend plenty of time with my kids thanks."
You said you'd rather die than be with them. It was the phrase I found to be awful.

SidsWife · 21/03/2020 20:41

No I didn’t. I said I’d rather die than be a stay at home mum again.

aupresdemonarbre · 21/03/2020 20:41

Also what age are the kids in question? If under 4 (at least) then your coworkers will have to take leave to look after them- you can’t do a job and care for a toddler. You just can’t know if it would be better for those families for the incomes to be lost for several months. They also may be worried about being fired rather than being allowed extended leave. I don’t think the only question in your colleagues’ minds is how much they enjoy being with their kids.

GalleyHead · 21/03/2020 20:42

Ignore @DingleberryRose. He or she spends so much time screaming frantically on all kinds of threads about how utterly terrific it is not having children that one rather suspects s/he sits around in their underwear watching daytime tv and rearranging their kitchen cupboards..

TabbyMumz · 21/03/2020 20:50

"No I didn’t. I said I’d rather die than be a stay at home mum again."
It's the same thing. You'd rather die than be at home with them, and you are pleased they are going off to childcare with other possibly infected kids!

DingleberryRose · 21/03/2020 20:52

one rather suspects s/he sits around in their underwear watching daytime tv and rearranging their kitchen cupboards

I mean, accurate! 😂