Child on scooter

[Solmum1964]

I was walking up to the shop just after school had finished. A family were coming towards me - two junior school age children on scooters and mum across the full width of the path.
I stopped to allow them to get past but one child was looking down, not at where they were going so I said "you need to look where you're going" so they didn't run into me or anything/anyone else.
Mum shouted "how rude" but I don't think I was.
Did I do anything wrong. If anything, I feel the mum was wrong in not warning her own children to be careful.

Should the converse also be true?

I don't think so either!

Piffle.

This thread is batshit. But it explains a lot

Not rude at all. The mother should be ensuring they are considerate.

Yes, you should have absolutely allowed the precious darlings to scoot wherever they want! The utter rudeness of the OP to point out that it's a good idea to look where you're going!

Not rude at all! Taking up the width of a pavement is way ruder.

Quite the eye opener.

You weren't rude at all. Mum should've be keeping an eye on rhe kids and not letting them hog the entire pavement.

Exactly. Not everyone is capable of moving fast enough to get out of their way. An elderly or disabled person could fall over just trying to avoid them.

It's amazing, you have all these people saying it takes a village to raise a child, well that is until you say something they don't like.

It really depends on your tone which we can't know from a written post.

Well it depends on your tone. But I'd just ignore it really. Also it might have just been a in the moment thing and to be honest, most of the time, it is the person not on the scooter who ends up moving anyway as it's easier. I have a feeling what you said probably sounded rude and that's why the mother got defensive.

I'm sorry you didn't get an immediate apology from the mum. That would have been a more normal reaction from her if her children nearly ran into you.

it is the person not on the scooter who ends up moving anyway as it's easier.

Where do you suggest the person moves to, when there's a building on one side of the pavement and a line of parked cars on the other?

This thread is the difference between the UK and that mythological “child-friendly” European continent where kids are welcomed everywhere by all.

If your kid did this in France or Italy, your kid would get told off, the kid would likely correct their behaviour because a stranger had involved themself, and you’d benefit from ‘the village’.

Here, ‘the village’ means that you must never say anything to a child that isn’t couched in syrupy language and if that doesn’t work you must leap into traffic to avoid any parenting being required.

If you want the “welcomed by all” you need to accept the “can be told off by all”, or else what you’re after isn’t tolerance but indulgence.

Sorry; this upsets me up so much as my nan was hit by a scootering child in a supermarket, fell and (as many do after a fall) her quality of life went drastically downhill afterwards and she lost her confidence. Whilst everyone fusses over tone, people can be hurt or have their lives ruined by scooting.

I cycle a lot in an urban environment and regularly tell kids to watch where they're going when they step off the pavement without looking, or meander down the middle of the road oblivious to vehicles coming up behind them.
I don't think it's rude at all to warn someone that they are a danger to themselves and other people in a shared space.

She probably does but children are children, they get distracted and they forget.

Oops careful sweetheart would have been lovely if the child's actual mum had been paying enough attention to actually say it.

You need a stinger OP

Its fine to say "oops, look out" or "do be careful", i think its the nature of how you said it that comes across as snippy.

The tone gives the impression you think children should by default stop to let an adult pass etc, "just because", as if in reality children riding scooters are a nuisance. Its a bit of an old fashioned, intolerant view.

The tone gives the impression you think children should by default stop to let an adult pass etc

Again, what is the adult supposed to do if the children are taking up the whole width of the pavement and there is nowhere else for her to go? Levitate?

Er it appears not one of the group wanted to let OP pass and take up all the pavement.

Also people walking take priority over scooters.

Yep! I hate it when groups fill the whole path even though they can see someone coming the other way.

Thank you for all the supportive comments.
I don't believe my tone was 'snippy' as some people have assumed it was. I love to see children cycling and scooting and was happy to wait whilst they passed but was shocked that the child was still heading directly for me and mum said nothing.
I work with children the same age and they're definitely old enough to understand that a footpath is a shared space.