Would you have moved seats?

[LittleCarrot12]

Went to McDonald’s today as it was youngest child’s treat day. We arrived just after lunch rush and most empty seats were dirty . One section a worker was cleaning and he offered me a table for 4 just cleaned. There were only 2 of us but not busy at this point and I couldn’t see any clean 2.

Around 5 minutes later a lady with 3 young kids came in and Sat at the 8 table. She got tablets out for kids and put youngest in a high chair. We were ordering our food on my phone so didn't pay much attention. Food arrived and shortly after so did her food. She then took the tray and sat it on the empty 2 table next to me. I was confused as they had plenty of space where they were. She then pulled the high chair over and sat baby facing me at the end of my table. the two older children sat at the two table. I looked around and the worker had cleaned all the tables by this time and there were at least 4 tables for 4 and the table she had just left as well.

She seemed to be avoiding eye contact but clearly she wanted my table as she’d sat baby next to me and a drink beside my tray.
I didn’t move and she finally turned the high chair around and hovered over the other the table. My son was was eating and colouring so we had took up space over the whole table .

It was so awkward and although she didn't ask me to move she clearly wanted my seat . Why mine when she had one already and there were others I don’t know. Would you have moved mid meal to a smaller table even if there were other options for her? I can’t help but feel I missed something.

Yes YABU
No YABNU

Actually, I would have ignored her too. You took your child out for a treat and didn’t engage in any conversation with the other woman which might potentially have triggered a reaction from her thus spoiling the whole event for your child.
No, I think you did the right thing…….got on with your meal, minding your own business and looking after your own child. Had the other woman been totally batshit bonkers it could all have turned really sour had you said anything to her. Who would have thought a Happy Meal could be so triggering?!
Hope your child enjoyed their treat OP 😊

Why would OP say anything.

OP does not own the table and there’s no law to say you’re not allowed to sit next to someone you don’t know.

If you go to a public place, then there is a chance a stranger might sit next to you.

OP played it right.
This woman obviously wanted OP to move or say something, as she did neither then the woman herself moved.

So by not engaging with the woman, OP got the outcome she wanted.

I wouldn’t have been in McDonalds in the first place.

What a pointless comment.

What? Who said anything about the laws of sitting next to strangers. It was a virtually empty restaurant. The usual etiquette is to fill up the empty tables first. What this woman did was weird and aggressive. Only on mumsnet do people think it normal to let people walk all over them to avoid conversation.

Such odd behaviour. I would probably lie and say I was expecting someone to join me.

I don’t care

“She got tablets out for kids…” How depressing. This is one of the reasons why young people have increasingly poor mental health. Missing the everyday communication with parents because they’ve been parked on a device. Your child colouring gives rise to conversations between you, bonding, giggles, space. She wanted your table for some reason and tried to intimidate you into moving.

OP did not want her to sit next to her.

She could have done your strategy and had a conversation with her but that may not have ended in the result she wanted.

What OP did do (which was ignore her) did end up with the result she wanted.

Why are posters saying she should have spoke to her because OP got the result she wanted with the actions she did, which in this case was not engaging with her.

You need to read the situation and sometimes ignoring someone is the best solution.

You don’t always need to explain yourself or reason with people.
I think some people (typically women) do this too much.

You obviously do because you took the time to comment lol.

I can't imagine someone with 3 young kids would be paying that much attention? I only have 2 and I've accidentally spread out before without realising.

She sat at a table for 8 but put one of her children with you and another two kids sat at a table for two? Sounds like she wanted all the seats! Strange behaviour.

It's not my style (I'd have just asked her what she was trying to achieve) but I think the classic British way is to showily talk to "the baby".

Goo-goo-ga-ga voice: "Oooh, hello random baby, I like your hat, what on earth are you doing here? You aren't old enough to walk but have you mysteriously wandered over to the wrong table in your high chair? Are you trying to steal our chips? What a strange little baby!"

The woman wanted a stranger to entertain her child?

Some people are just so weird.

I’d have told her I wasn’t up for adoption and she needed to look after her own child.

Detsnged behaviour. It’s a fast turnover place. You take the seats available or wait.

Same here. If I wasn't boycotting them before, I definitely would be after them giving free meals to the Israeli forces in Gaza.

I think you did the right thing, OP. No point inviting a confrontation, and it resolved itself.

I get what you're saying but im not convinced that OP was happy with the outcome, or why is she still thinking about it and posted here? A quick conversation might have resolved that.

Some people are just weird. I had similar at an alpacka farm cafe at the weekend. I was sat at a small table in the garden by myself and a couple with a baby wanted my table. There were plenty of others free in the garden and inside but they wanted mine. I understand why, it was the only one fully in shade and it was very sunny.

So they plonked themselves down on two of the seats and then started getting huffy about there being no space on the table for them to unload their baby stuff. It was a small bistro table so no surprise there. The bloke even got a bit narky and barked at me to move my stuff when he came out with a tray and had nowhere to put it down. But I'm stubborn and even though I felt intimidated I wouldn't move. So they buggered off to a partial shaded table in the end.

Some cheeky fuckers expect that

Good for you. I wouldn't have stood for that either.
I'm sometimes alone when I'm out, other times Im waiting for someone else to join me, and have occasionally been manoeuvred from a table that I'm quietly sitting at. Very entitled rude behaviour which I'm forced to call out which then becomes an unwelcome confrontation.

Not in the slightest. He had his back to them and was as bemused as me when this little baby rocked up.

They all sat at the table
for 8 and all moved when food came.

I think a previous posters comment about the table height was the most likely reason she moved from the 8 but doesn’t reason why she didn’t move to an empty 4. The 8 table is lower.

We need a diagram OP...