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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think this really isn't normal?

143 replies

Rosie129 · 12/08/2024 00:41

My friend admitted today that her DD (5) hasn't done anything all summer holidays. Just stayed inside on her tablet. Apparently her DD hasn't wanted to go anywhere. They said if they do 'can they bring the tablet?' She said she's been staying up till 1-2am every night just on the tablet and not sleeping. She lets her watch the tablet whilst having her dinner. My friend said she won't eat anything if she's not watching something during it. I have witnessed it and she doesn't respond to anyone whilst on the tablet, she's just completely fixated on the screen and ignores everyone

OP posts:
Allfur · 13/08/2024 20:52

As soon as their hands can hold one, according to some

Sapphire387 · 13/08/2024 20:56

What is the point of this post?

You don't sound like much of a friend.

And oh, the middle-classness of mumsnet to think social services have the time for and will be interested in a child going on a tablet too much.

Ineedaholidayyyy · 13/08/2024 21:04

Is your friend mentally well, could she be struggling with depression? Staying in all day , everyday is not healthy! If she is fine , then I'm sorry but it's lazy and terrible parenting

I find it realy sad this little girl doesnt want to go out, go to the park, meet up with friends, ride a bike, play games etc.

She's also going to massively struggle with school when she returns.

Just out of interest, what is it you were trying to achieve from this thread? You know its not normal, are you hoping for advice?

AnneLovesGilbert · 13/08/2024 21:08

Some of the long winded justifications for the appalling parenting you’ve described beggar belief. As do the instances the child is ND based on absolutely nothing.

She’s being neglected, her basic needs aren’t being met and she’s being failed. Of course she can’t cope at school, she doesn’t know how to eat unless she’s gawping at a screen and her sleep patterns are horrendous. She’s seriously addicted. Poor little thing.

What are you going to do OP?

Rosie129 · 13/08/2024 22:28

I posted for opinions really, as her mum thinks this is ok I think and I feel like it isn't. I am going to offer to take her DD out for the day to the park or somewhere but I did ask in the past and my friend said she wouldn't want to go out. I think my friend is well, she seems it anyway but of course you never know. I just worry about the DD wellbeing. I'm not sure she will cope when she goes back to school either, especially as I know Y1 is very different to reception.

OP posts:
Willyoujustbequiet · 13/08/2024 22:40

BlueBlahBlah · 12/08/2024 04:28

“Sounds like neurodivergence to me. Has the child been assessed?”
“Is DD neurodivergent?”

@GoodLordyTheExcusesWeMakeForThem @TimeForTeaAndG

Don’t start. If all the details in the OP are true, the DD being ND is irrelevant.

It is absolutely relevant.

Rosie129 · 13/08/2024 22:40

I didn't mean for it to come off in a bad way, I am supportive of her and her DD, I just worry about her, I have known my friend years and seen her DD grow up. She has said that DD hasn't seen any other children or gone anywhere at all during the holidays. I once did a course on child development so it just got me thinking and a bit worried about how this will impact her so was looking for opinions and advice. I am going to offer to take her out or both of them. But I am not sure she will want to.

OP posts:
Rosie129 · 13/08/2024 22:44

I even offered talking her to a farm or to soft play or something at one point but my friend just said she doesn't like animals or she just keeps saying she doesn't want to do things so she just stays in with her

OP posts:
mollyfolk · 13/08/2024 23:03

It’s awful. Even from the development of her muscles and general movement skills point of view. Obviously her social skills will suffer. Staying in her house for the entire summer is really bad for her. But I’m not sure there is anything you can do other than offer to take her out.

Pantaloons99 · 13/08/2024 23:49

I find this post really odd. Of course we are all going to think this isn't great.

It sounds like there's something going on here. Your mate sounds like she might be depressed or struggling massively in some way. The staying up until 1am for example. Most of us just want those kids asleep!

Did you enquire as to whether she's ok? Even those of us with poor role models know there's something amiss in all this and so do you without having to post it on here.

There are multiple red flags for the kid being ND in this situation. Is it possible your friend is? Something is not adding up here. If she's married, isn't the husband saying something?

AnneLovesGilbert · 13/08/2024 23:51

You don’t need a course in child development to know it’s terrible parenting.

Maria1979 · 14/08/2024 07:03

Mayo clinic's recommandations:
"For children ages 2 to 5, limit screen time to one hour a day of high-quality programming.
The problems with screens
Too much screen time and regular exposure to poor-quality programming has been linked to:

Obesity
Inadequate sleep schedules and insufficient sleep
Behavior problems
Delays in language and social skills development
Violence
Attention problems
Less time learning
Keep in mind that unstructured playtime is more valuable for a young child's developing brain than is electronic media. "

Can you please send this link to your friend and say that you are worried about her DC and that you would like to help her out if it's difficult: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/childrens-health/in-depth/screen-time/art-20047952

Tips for setting screen time limits as a parent

Managing your child's screen time takes effort. Find out how to ensure quality screen time and set limits.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/childrens-health/in-depth/screen-time/art-20047952

RunningThroughMyHead · 14/08/2024 07:06

Very sad indeed and is definitely neglect. Young children need interaction, nature, exercise, experiences. They're developing and need exposure to positive experiences.

Poor girl, what a lazy mum. No job and sat indoors for 3-4 weeks. Whether the 5 year old WANTS to go out or not, she bloody well should be. Some parents are utterly clueless.

MooonDreamerz · 14/08/2024 08:03

@Edenmum2 Not sure. I have a toddler and he is allowed to watch tv on the iPad occasionally (maybe once a week) but he doesn't have a tablet or constant access to one, we don't use one at mealtimes or in the car and we limit the time he is allowed to watch tv.

I know a few parents who use them in the car or at mealtimes but I wonder if it's more common than people admit to.

Grandmasswagbag · 14/08/2024 08:09

It wouldn't be normal for good parents but it's certainly normal for many children. There are alot of very lazy parents. I'm certainly not parent of the year but I'm shocked at how much screen time dcs friends spend. I invited some kids for a play date and they bought their fucking tablets with them! Why would they need that on a play date? It's no wonder to me that kids mental health and social abilities are in decline.

Leah5678 · 14/08/2024 09:57

Edenmum2 · 13/08/2024 20:47

Just wondering reading this - what age is it normal for a child to even have a tablet? No judgement just generally wondering as the parent of a toddler

I dont even know why people bother giving them to toddlers or young children in general, the kid will only become obsessed with it and it will be another thing to regulate. Who can actually be bothered? I'm not trying to make myself sound superior to people that give their kids iPads but my kids going on 7 and has never had one. The great grandparents bought her one for Christmas and I told them that can stay at their house so she only uses it when she visits them. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I see babies with tablets like damn they would of been happy to just stare at paint drying now you've got to deal with the tantrums when the tablet is taken away.

BlueBlahBlah · 14/08/2024 21:53

Willyoujustbequiet · 13/08/2024 22:40

It is absolutely relevant.

No. It’s not.

GoodLordyTheExcusesWeMakeForThem · 14/08/2024 23:07

Rosie129 · 13/08/2024 12:03

This is it, when she said about the tablet I thought she meant playing educational games/videos but it’s not, she watches Roblox etc

To anyone that has said I’ve only posted to get people to say she’s a bad mum, that’s not the case. It’s just she talks about this so openly and nonchalantly. I don’t think she actually realises that it’s not good for DD

Who are you to say it’s bad for her? Maybe she talks about it so openly and nonchalantly because she know this is the right path for her dd because she is meeting her needs, because she knows her damn child and you instead of listening and being a good friend, passed judgement anf then brougbt it to a public forum to allow this woman to have her parenting called lazy and abusive. Having people recommending you call social services etc. wtf why didn’t you just ask her why she does this? I stand by my earlier comment. This woman doesn't need parenting classes or social services rtc, she just needs better friends.

GoodLordyTheExcusesWeMakeForThem · 14/08/2024 23:12

Rosie129 · 13/08/2024 22:44

I even offered talking her to a farm or to soft play or something at one point but my friend just said she doesn't like animals or she just keeps saying she doesn't want to do things so she just stays in with her

You have literally just described the difference between neurotypical and neurodivergent people in every post you've so far but this one in particular. I would personally recommend that if you are interested in being a good friend to this woman, you suggest, gently, that both she and her child are assessed for AuADHD. Then close this damn thread before she ever sees it

Eyf · 14/08/2024 23:16

You sound like such a good friend!

Willyoujustbequiet · 14/08/2024 23:24

BlueBlahBlah · 14/08/2024 21:53

No. It’s not.

Spoken by someone who clearly hasn't got a clue as to the impact of neurodivergence.

Fivebyfive2 · 14/08/2024 23:28

@GoodLordyTheExcusesWeMakeForThem Sorry I really don't understand why you are so hell bent on diagnosing this child (with AudHD which is a very particular diagnosis as it's both conditions) on nothing more than she is basically obsessed with a tablet...

I understand you are relating it to your situation, but it isn't the same. From your posts it sounds like your children have been assessed and diagnosed. You have a set up which works, based off courses and professional advice. That's (genuinely) amazing and they're lucky to have such an understanding, devoted parent who fights their corner and wants the best for them.

However you're now suggesting this girls parents don't need support or guidance, just people who will blindly agree that a 5 year old child having largely unsupervised and unlimited access to a tablet, at the expense of sleep, exercise, interaction and other interests, is absolutely fine. I'm sorry but it just doesn't make sense to me!

GoodLordyTheExcusesWeMakeForThem · 14/08/2024 23:43

Rosie129 · 13/08/2024 22:28

I posted for opinions really, as her mum thinks this is ok I think and I feel like it isn't. I am going to offer to take her DD out for the day to the park or somewhere but I did ask in the past and my friend said she wouldn't want to go out. I think my friend is well, she seems it anyway but of course you never know. I just worry about the DD wellbeing. I'm not sure she will cope when she goes back to school either, especially as I know Y1 is very different to reception.

My DD is 18 now and in her third year at college. She has JUST made her first EVER friend. She is happy but not sociable. She doesn't like people. She doesn't like going out, it stresses her out to the point of emotional breakdowns even now, because the idea of someone touching her and her having yo swerve their hand etc makes her feel physically sick. She also has eds ( up to 50% of people with AuADHD also have some form of connective tissue disorder or hypermobility syndrome disorder) which means she gets extremely fatigued and cant walk for more than 10-15 mins without severe exhaustion. Cant stand for more than 2-3 minutes before needing to sit, otherwise she will pass out. This is because she also has the standard comirbidity of PoTs and other autonomic nervous system dysfunctions. You have no idea whats going on in this childs medical situation or in her mums. All of my medical conditions are genetic, i ingerited them from my mother (well the blood clotting condition came from my father) and i passed every single one on to my daughter. My son only inherited two, he was lucky. He is also ND but has a very different type and so is affected in different ways to my daughter. I was completrly blind to my daughters ND because i was blind to my own. It was her girst teacher in year 1 who brought it to my attention but i dismissed it as her just being the youngest in the class and having only just turned 2 weeks before beginning school and we left ut at that. She was always ‘difficult’ fright from being born. I had just always learned to cope with it. Then when she was 10 and struggling awfully with a child at her school who had no personal space understanding and would paw at her and touch her constantly, i had a word with school. They tried to change it but couldnt. So i took her out and homeschooled her. She went back to school in year 7, began self harming awfully. There isnt a space on her arms, wrist to shoulder that isnt cut and scarred, some so deep they needed double stitches. This was when i began to desperately fight for support for her. I had recognised when i took her out of school that she was ND, part of that was that she had eaten jacket potato with beans every single day since beginning school 6 years before. No one told me. I also wasn't told that she used to be tied to the chair at lunchtime in reception because she wouldn't sit still. Nor was i told that because she wouldnt eat her lunch in year 1&2 they stopped everyone going out to play until she finished. Trying to negotiate with a ND child. Then when that didnt work they punnished her by making her eat on her own in another room while everyone else was allowed out to play. This also didn't work because they were trying to get her to eat foods that she wasn't comfortable with (as happens with the majority of ND children) so she spent the first 3 years of her school life having no lunchtime and having to watch everyone else play outside together. Do you know how much i wish she had a tablet or phone ffs. Instead she reaf the entire library and was a rainbow reader by the time she started year 3. My point gere is that the tablet/tv/phone whatever may be the least harmful thing that happens to this child, if they are ND. You cant look at any child through NT eyes. Talk to your friend. I gought for diagnosis for my children from age 5 with my son and 10 with my daughter but it was still another 8 years until i finally recognised i was also AuADHD and it was through my own diagnosis that my mum sought and got her own diagnosis at age 65. You dont know what, if anything, is going on. You can gently suggest, but please also recognise you have no business deciding whats wrong or right, healthy or not, good for her or bad for her etc. you should not be making those judgements, ever.

GoodLordyTheExcusesWeMakeForThem · 15/08/2024 02:14

Fivebyfive2 · 14/08/2024 23:28

@GoodLordyTheExcusesWeMakeForThem Sorry I really don't understand why you are so hell bent on diagnosing this child (with AudHD which is a very particular diagnosis as it's both conditions) on nothing more than she is basically obsessed with a tablet...

I understand you are relating it to your situation, but it isn't the same. From your posts it sounds like your children have been assessed and diagnosed. You have a set up which works, based off courses and professional advice. That's (genuinely) amazing and they're lucky to have such an understanding, devoted parent who fights their corner and wants the best for them.

However you're now suggesting this girls parents don't need support or guidance, just people who will blindly agree that a 5 year old child having largely unsupervised and unlimited access to a tablet, at the expense of sleep, exercise, interaction and other interests, is absolutely fine. I'm sorry but it just doesn't make sense to me!

Thats not what im suggesting at all. What im trying to get across in my posts is that what they need is friends. Access to people/friends who have experience with ND and NT children, and everything inbetween. Im not hell bent on diagnosing the child, it actually sounds like they both might be ND however what im saying is that one of my ND children refused to go anywhere, talk to anyone, eat normal foods, even breast feed or sleep properly. She is my second born and i persevered in the same methods i used with my son. Not recognising or understanding that they would be different. There is 11 months between them. My son breastfed perfectly every 4-5 hours for 30-45 minutes, was quiet and content, by 7 weeks he was sleeping 8 hours a night, he moved into his own room at 3 months with just 10 minutes of controlled crying on the first night and 3 on the second night. Sleeping for 12-13 hours at night with another 1 1/2 nap during the day. He walked at 10 months. He was incredibly hyperactive and it was very obvious with him. He was diagnosed early but not especially early owing to the fact that he had no learning difficulties or global developmental delay, like my godson had. My daughter fed for 5 minutes every hour 24 hours a day. She would not wean. Would not tolerate food textures. Would not sleep. Controlled crying took 30-45 mins a night for 2 weeks and making a mistake in her routine put us right back at square 1. We had a mantra, 10 days to make a routine 1 day to break it. My children and my godson all have AuADHD but different types. As do i and my mother. Yes we have ALL been diagnosed. My godson was 18 months old, my son was 5 my daughter was 17 (but i was fighting for her since she was 10) i was 43 and my mum was 65. We are ALL hypermobile. We ALL have genetic connective tissue disorders and dysautonomia. What im saying is that this lady has zero experience with anything parenting or medical. Yet she has made a judgement, she has come to a conclusion that what this girl is being allowed to do, is not good for her. She cant make that statement. She has no clue if it is or not. I do think its prudent that both the mother and child get assessed asap before the childs masking capabilities become so ingrained she cant even tell who she us anymore and her entire educational life is thrown down the toilet. Spending her whole life knowing shes different but not knowing why so just copying everyone around her and hoping she doesnt get found out. Because that was my experience. My mothers too. Smh. Just because more people are educated in what autism and adhd and all the other spectrum disorders are now, therefore more people are getting diagnosed, doesn't make the diagnosis any less valid. It just means that everyone is a little on the spectrum (hence why its now graded rather than just a simple ‘its autism, its adhd’ diagnosis) and until that is recognised we will continue to try and fit everyone into the same mould and cause increasing levels if mental health issues and self harm and suicide. Carry on telling this mother she is lazy, abusive & a bad mum. See where that gets this family vecause the one thing i can guarantee it wont get is support. Ive gought for 8 years to get support for my high functioning, ridiculously intelligent daughter, who is incapable of functioning without the tv on and her phone in her hand. Yet she started her own very successful business at 13, didn't have any education from year 9 to year 11 due to covid and long covid causing her to sleep 18-20 hours a day for 15 months and yet passed maths engligh and sciences with 4’s. Which she took in our dining room because she still couldn't face people. She doesnt like to go out, or talk to people, be touched or talked to. My son, totally different. My other 8 godchildren totally different. Until she was older and i recognised the signs i used to try and force her to fit in to make everyone else happy. I say everyone else, because i used to do the same to me too. i would fo things i didn't like, things that made me uncomfortable, so that i fitted in with everyone, so i didn't stand out as different. so i wouldn't be a burden or make other people uncomfortable. I'm ashamed to say i even said this to her once (i told her we all have to do things we dont want to sometimes because other people do want to and we cant always say no, sometimes we have to make other people happy too) i walked away thinking now ig thats not setting my daughter up to get raped, wtaf am i teaching her ffs and i immediately went back yold her i was sorry and that i was wtong and i allowed her to live authentically from that day. She stopped self harming almost the same day because she suddenly felt ‘seen’ and valid as a person. I hope that goes in. It was a lightbulb moment for me and i swore to make sure id never see signs of ND in anyone and ignore them ever again no matter how uncomfortable it might make other people. I chose to live authentically too. Suck it up buttercup. This family needs to see an nhs registered private psychiatry specialist who is able to make a formal diagnosis so that it can be recognised and medications started/support put in place. then the LA and the nhs will expedite the nhs and educational psychiatrist diagnosis. It will cost her about £3000 for the child and £400 for herself and its a total waste because it accepted on its own, it has to be confirmed by the nhs. That takes time though so doing the private route bypasses that initial wait. Oh and just for reference. I am currently writing this on my phone, switching back and forth between 3 different apps, messaging my daughter, who is still up, i have my headphones on playing music as loud as they will go. Im singing whilst also reading every word i write out loud in my head, the tv is on im watching tv with the subtitles on and im not missing any of it. Now try living inside me for a moment, just imagine that hell having yo grow up without ANY of those things that i now use to be able to stop the racing mindfuck that is my brain. I grew up without screens my daughter grew up with them my mum was 47 before the first home pc’s and iphones were released and do you know what? We are the same person (as my son once told us after listening to us talking together for 10 minutes and having to walk away because it span his head) my mum left school at 13 moved in with a 27 year old and had her first child at 16. Yet has an IQ of 158 and the largest EQ and empathy most people could only ever hope for. She always felt different and was never supported. I left school at 17 but i had left home at 16. I joined the navy at 18 got married at 23 had my first child at 25 etc etc etc i always felt different but was only supported by my mum, i have an IQ of 146 high EQ and empathy. My daughter however? Well she is still in college at 18, still lives at home, has no intention of ever getting pregnant, is planning on going to university next year, also has no intention of ever having a boyfriend or husband as she is gay/pan has an IQ of 160 (just tested now that shes 18) high EQ and empathy. My mum has written books, my daughter runs a business and i am an advocate for social justice, benefits advisor and an HLTA. Screens mean dick. My mum and i grew up being FORCED to go out, do things, be sociable etc etc (me much less than her of course as she was a very different parent than her own) however she will stay in a dark room with lights off (big light eapecially) curtains closed and she is not depressed, she is happy. She is comfortable. She is doing what she wants to do but was never allowed to do. I almost never leave the house, I also prefer to be in my actual bed, curtains closed, animals sleeping next to me, i am not depressed. I am happy, i like my life and me very much. I am doing what makes me comfortable. I am able to do this because i am a veteran, I receive a war pension and naval disability pension and no longer need to work. My daughter never used want to leave the house. Or go to places, have friends, etc etc however she was also never made to and now she chooses to. Call it ND or not the truth here is that if you continue to force your children to do things that they aren't comfortable with and dont teach them accountability and decision making skills, what a natural consequence is, then thats the problem with the kids today. Not omg lazy parenting and screen addiction! Its the tv crisis of the 60’s for crying out loud and the playstation crisis of the 2000’s learn to actually parent your kids. Learn to recognise that your children are people in their own right with valid thoughts, feelings and skills and that if they dont meet the standards set by some arbitrary patriarchal capitalist society over 100 plus years ago, they can still be valuable, successful, happy people. If your child is a square peg and your trying to make them fit into a round hole, it isny time to shave the corners off of the child to make them fit. Its time for you as a parent to change the game so that tgere are square holes. I told my nan that when i was 15, about her foster daughter. She never spoke to me again. She died when i was 35. Some people dont like being told they are the problem in their life. Thats the thing with us AuADHD people though, we really couldnt give a fucking because once we cant see you, we dont think about you at all tbf. We go days in a hyperfocus without eating, sleeping or even going to the toilet. You think we’re going to stand up straight, pay attention, stop talking etc wtc because someone tells us to? Spend hours doing homework when 5 mins on the bus in the morning on the way to school/work etc still gets us an A? No. Dont be a lazy parent, pay attention to YOUR child, not crappy friends or people on here who dont know this child from adam and arent invested in any way.

GoodLordyTheExcusesWeMakeForThem · 15/08/2024 02:16

And let that be an end to this horrific thread.

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