to expect people to talk to me and not break off in mid conversation to notice/talk to their children ?

[MargaretMountford]

...obviously if the child is about to do something dangerous then of course they must - but in the course of normal conversation it is very irritating to suddenly have someone completely turn their attention to their child for no important reason ...it is rude imo... there's a mum I know who will immediately switch off the moment she spies her child and our conversation ends abruptly. I will ask my ds to wait a second while I finish what I'm saying. It's just good manners really and children maybe should be learning that they aren't necessarily the most important person all the time.

Oh, and pendulum has a good point, at school they have to learn to take turns, and not interrupt, so why not teach them at home too?

I think it really depends in the age of the child. i have a friend with a dc the same age as mine (nearly 2) and she often talks constantly to the other adults in the room and totally ignores him even when he's doing something dangerous, then he gets shouted at when he falls off whatever he was climbing or breaks something . I always stop to give dd attention when she needs it but by 4 i think they should be able to wait for a few minutes while you finish your sentence.

No, just that she's attempting to make the point to her DS that he shouldn't interrupt, but then sabotaging the point by responding to him anyway. And this is not a 2 year old about to run in the traffic. This is a nearly-8 year old attention-seeking.

MargaretM - if someone is talking to you and they suddenly stop talking and turn their attention elsewhere then just walk away. I do it all the time.

For what it's worth, I find 99% of the time most people arn't saying much of interest anyway so I consider it a bonus if they shut up and I don't have to stand there nodding and smiling and trying to look interested.

Or is whats really bugging you the fact that YOU were talking and you'd like everyone to hang on to your every world with rapture.

I know lots of people who talk so much the only way to shut them up is to interrupt them.

Of course children shouldn't interrupt and if your lucky, by the time they get to 10, this message has sunk in.

If someone is talking to me then i always tell the children not to interupt, if I am talking then I usually answer that I will be there in the minute, dont know why I treat it differently just seems ruder if the other person is talking, btw YABU.

Actually I find that people tend to drift off when I'm talking to them anyway.... at least children are a reasonable excuse

Oh don't be so percious love. I always touch the adults arm and say scuseme, a little person needs me, i'll be with you in a jiffy
The adult should understand
Better than a clout round the ear, which is what we got for interrupting

If it's one of my "being a perfect parent" days, I gently pay a hand on DC's arm, to show that I know they're there and will be with them in a minute, as soon as a suitable pause comes up in the other adult's conversation.

I'm always doing this. My DS is 2.6. He doesnt demand my attention, but he is a runner off, so I'm always breaking off conversations to check where he is!!

am not being precious, nor do I think that my conversation so rivetting that it mustn't be interrupted - it's just a question of children ( at an age when they can understand) learning that they will get a chance to speak too but not over an adult's conversation (except in an emergency) - I was more thinking of the adults being rude to their friends by constantly breaking off to address their children. If the child has SN or is liable to rush off under cars etc then I understand that completely..

OTH I have a friend who never pauses for breath and sometimes I get extremely irritated by her ability to shut her ears to her children (for minutes at a time) who are often just asking for something perfectly legitimate (like wanting to go for a pee or something).

But I know what you mean and on the whole I think YANBU. Mine are 7 and 4 now and I expect them to allow me to talk to a friend without constant interruptions, and I tell them so.

I have another friend (yay! I've got two) who rings me and quite often puts her son on the phone to chat to me. Well, I'm quite fond of him, but I would never purposefully set out to have a telephone conversation with a 7 year old, unless it was my own, at any time of day!