Get off your phone and supervise your toddler!

[Toddlerteaplease]

Kid of about 15 months just wandering round Caffè Nero. She's very interested in the hot drinks on low tables. She's approaching other people and playing with their phones. Mum is completely oblivious on her phone. FFS supervise your toddler!

I'm guessing she isn't in charge of a toddler so not the gotcha you think

Might not be the mum might be an babysitter / nanny

You did right to highlight it.

People need help when they cant put the phone down and pay attention to their surroundings.
Same as rude zombies who nearly walk into you on the phone, or drive while on the phone.

Put it down.

I don't! I ignore them and if that doesn't work tell them to go back to mummy or daddy. I certainly wouldn't be happy about some kid playing with my phone

Yes it’s been weird here recently.

Logs of very odd responses to threads that usually go the other way - almost as if people just want to have a go at someone!

But she hasn't highlighted it to anyone who can actually take action.

No me neither- if I’m in a cafe alone, I want to be left alone!

@Toddlerteaplease It’s plain to see the toddler ignorers here.

I
saw a old dad glued to his phone utterly oblivious of his child.
Poor kid was trying to interact- showing dad leaves 🍁 &c
Bur was ignored and tot wandered off.

I did keep eye on his kid, which is probably what these phone parents expect others in cafes to do.

This actually made my husband and I laugh out loud “Most bizzare meal I’ve ever had”

Sorry is that you telling me that I'm posting for attention or just having a moan?

Well actually I was posting because I quite often get really fed up of posters giving the OP a hard time for no other reason than being unpleasant. So I was trying to give OP a bit of support.

And no I don't have a solution because, as stated, I wouldn't approach the child's adult carer.

So I'm just a whiny, attention seeking wimp aren't I ?

it dosent hurt anyone to read it though.

Same here. No one should feel obligated to engage with strangers’ toddlers just because THEY want to.

I didn’t claim that it did…

Maybe the people giving the shitty response’s are the people who let their kids wonder around coffee shops….

Make it a problem for the cafe owners..they should return the toddler. If the child is scalded they will be blamed so it's in their interest to prevent it. A customer will respond better towards a staff member than another customer.

@oakleaffy

Yes 'phone parents' is a good name

Like the mums I see on tik tok lives...stay on there all day long, ignoring the kids, hoping for gifts and likes. Sad sad lives

@Lifeisarealchallenge No, I was talking about OP in my post and not you. No idea if you're a 'whiny, attention seeking wimp'. 😅

OP, you’re right to be bothered about it- I sat next to a table with a toddler and their parent on a phone. I saw the toddler pull a plate of cake off the table and whack the plate on their head, all whilst the adult with them was scrolling on their phone and the toddler cried loudly presumably from their head bash which I don’t think the adult realised had happened. I didn’t know whether to say they’d hit their head, I assumed the parent would think it was none of my business. It could easily have been the adult’s large coffee cup, they wouldn’t have noticed until it was too late.

I think we’re supposed to say we don’t judge any parent who’s just trying to have a coffee and a few minutes to themselves, but if you’re away from a young child’s home environment with their toys and other distractions they can play with to keep them occupied, don’t expect other parents to keep an eye on them or shout at them to sit nicely still whilst you have a pointless scroll on your phone.

My mum used to work on a paeds burns unit. She delivers toddlers back to the negligent parent with an explanation why it’s such a stupid idea to let them roam unsupervised in a cafe. She has a very thick skin and really doesn’t care what people think of her, she’s just thinking of the child. It’s hard to relax isn’t it OP when your brain can think ahead and do the risk assessment in ways that others can’t!

And? What has that got to do with anything?

You know perfectly well what the OP meant - we didnt expect her to find out the woman's caring role before posting

I think it’s perfectly reasonable to make a comment about something that is irritating and potentially dangerous. Isn’t that partly what a forum is for?

I agree with you OP and I think people are reluctant to intervene, because the parents who allow their children to wander or mess about, will probably be the ones that shout if someone does make a comment.

I once had my arse handed to me here, when I dared to say that I thought it was a shame that so many people were glued to their phones, instead of interacting with their babies and children. Thinking particularly of those in prams, that are not being spoken to, or have any kind of interaction. I was told that those parents might be dealing with a phone emergency, or paying a bill, or a number of other things. I don’t reckon so. I think it’s just a question of them being more interested in what’s happening on the screen.

We’re going to raise a generation of children who can’t communicate in real life and don’t understand basic social norms.

Just tell her🙄

what about the poor babies in pushchairs on the bus being ignored while the parents on the phone?

What about them?

I can’t decide what’s worse- those babies, or the toddlers in pushchairs holding and watching a phone themselves?