Aibu to think that parents who stare at their phone and completely blank their children are a bit shit really.

[gingganggooleywotsit]

Ok I am being judgey and I know I’m only seeing a snapshot of someone’s life but it’s really upsetting me. I’ve been sitting in a coffee shop for a couple of hours doing a bit of work and there is a couple there with a 5 year old boy and they are literally glued to their phones. He’s having to hit them round the head practically to get them to look at him. He has nothing to play with keeps nearly running in the traffic and they will not look up from their phones. Little boy looks really upset. Yeah they might be working too I’ve been there wiith my kids but give the boy something to do or at least make eye contact occasionally! It’s like he’s invisible. 😞

' I think it's really sad that people are not watching their child lay at the park and interacting with them. Yes you may be tired but you are showing your child you are not interested.'

Maybe it would do no harm for kids to realise that not every single thing they do is a source of endless fascination to everyone around them.

Mumsnet is hilarious. I never said anything about not talking to your kid constantly when they are in the park. I never said that phone watching is a working class thing (wtf!) 😂 and that it would be fine if the parents were reading a book. Not sure why the thread has digressed so much. I merely said it was a bit shit, and I stand by that. If you had seen it for yourself you would have known what I meant. Maybe they weren’t his parents who knows? I suppose I don’t know anything about them, it was just disturbing. The completely blank faces. Another thing I was not shaking my head and tutting as a previous poster said. Everyone needs to stop getting their knickers in a twist!

'Maybe they weren't his parents, who knows?' 🤣🤣🤣

If it wasn't bad enough being judged for bad parenting for ignoring your kids sometimes, now you can get judged for ignoring other people's kids, too!

Lol at the OP accusing others of getting their knickers in at waist when she's been huffing and puffing because people don't agree with her.

And and OP, not sure why you're "not sure why this thread has digressed". That's what happens, thats the waist of the Internet.

So after many posters have explained how all may not be as it seems you still stand by parents being on a phone as 'shitty'?

[quote FrangipaniDeLaSqueegeeMop]@00100001 🤣🤣🤣

If I did try and doing Perfect Mummy Interaction withmy 9yo in the park, she would likely do the whole "mum, could you PLEASE stop embarrassing me" chat which seems to becoming more and more common these days

When do these Perfect Parents stop the 100% focussed interacting? When their kids are 13? 18? 30? [/quote]
Umm ...never?

You should be there hovering and gasping in wonder at everything. Definitely should be present at things like interviews, first day at a new job, first dates, mortgage advisor appointments, gym induction.... otherwise, they might think you're not interested if you're not there looking interested and commenting

Wow I have really touched a nerve!

@gingganggooleywotsit no dear, don't flatter yourself, you just babbled a load of judgmental nonsense and people have called you out on it.

I'm utterly confident in my parenting and my children's happiness, there are no nerves to touch

I would spend my time doing something more useful than sitting in a coffee shop for 2 hours gawping at other people's kids, ...... anyway judge not lest ye be judged said the lord.... apparently

@gingganggooleywotsit this is MN! Of course the chat will take twists and turns and end up something completely different from what the OP initially said, and there will be a number of bun fights in between.

@gingganggooleywotsit have you never had a conversation before What were you expecting? Your post to be a monologue and people just upvote you. I think you might be in the wrong place for that.

@gingganggooleywotsit

Mumsnet is hilarious. I never said anything about not talking to your kid constantly when they are in the park. I never said that phone watching is a working class thing (wtf!) 😂 and that it would be fine if the parents were reading a book. Not sure why the thread has digressed so much. I merely said it was a bit shit, and I stand by that. If you had seen it for yourself you would have known what I meant. Maybe they weren’t his parents who knows? I suppose I don’t know anything about them, it was just disturbing. The completely blank faces. Another thing I was not shaking my head and tutting as a previous poster said. Everyone needs to stop getting their knickers in a twist!

I've been dying to ask, OP. How on earth did you managed to "do some work for a couple hours" whilst simultaneously observing a family for that whole length of time sufficiently enough to be aware of every interaction they gave their child (or not, as the case may be), to be able to reach the conclusion that this child was completely ignored and "invisible" for that length of time?

That's some impressive multitasking.

Unless of course you mean, you caught a brief snapshot of some interactions (or lack thereof), and you essentially have no idea what was being said and done the rest of the time?

I vote for the second one.

I would spend my time doing something more useful than sitting in a coffee shop for 2 hours gawping at other people's kids

Quite.

[quote FrangipaniDeLaSqueegeeMop]@gingganggooleywotsit no dear, don't flatter yourself, you just babbled a load of judgmental nonsense and people have called you out on it.

I'm utterly confident in my parenting and my children's happiness, there are no nerves to touch[/quote]

Yep. This.

@EmmaOvary

'Maybe they weren't his parents, who knows?' 🤣🤣🤣

If it wasn't bad enough being judged for bad parenting for ignoring your kids sometimes, now you can get judged for ignoring other people's kids, too!

😂😂😂😂