I've just seen the most depressing thing

[Havesomecommonsense]

In a coffee shop, in comes a Dad and his daughter (roughly 3 years old)
He made a comment to the daughter about this being a weekly visit before he dropped her back to the mum
He then sat her on his lap, gave her a phone and she watched instagram videos and he watched his own phone holding it over her head..
He gave her some food, which she kept choking on intermittently. He barely said 2 words to her
Yes I'm judging, but fgs do better

I really disagree and I don’t know why you’re targeting the op like this.

I have young children and I’d never sit in a cafe and ignore a 3 year old for 30 minutes while they scrolled on Instagram. I would categorically judge someone who did and I have judged the parents I’ve seen at soft play (at least 3 dads) who sit and scroll on their phone for over an hour while their child desperately seeks the attention of anyone and everyone.

It’s kind of absurd that people are even defending this. It quite clearly wasn’t one of those situations where he was dealing with a crisis/paying a bill or any other legitimate reason. I’m starting to realise why the UK is in such a crisis with children’s mental health / speech / attention span / behaviour. Maybe we should be more honest with ourselves about the impact our screen addiction is having on our children.

My Buggaboo let me change the direction of the handles, just a click to go from forward to backward facing - unless it was the car seat. Loads of prams have that setting.

Highly recommend so your baby never has the sun in their eyes

I am not targetting anyone, but come on, the OP started the thread, inviting people's opinion, so here we are. The one starting a judgemental thread on a complete stranger, it's not me.

And I best you'll be the kind of grandparent that never sees your grandkids then.

Seriously wind you neck in.

Oh fgs.
How about you “do better” and stop judging a dad who at least has taken his daughter out somewhere instead of doing absolutely nothing, and bore off.

Focus on your own parenting, of which I can assure you isn’t perfect, nobody’s is.

I seriously do not know why people trot out this nonsense. At least 90% of people that we see not interacting with their kids or being nasty to shop workers etc are just being arseholes not because they've just had the worst day of their life.
He clearly was a part time dad and should have been giving his daughter all his attention, if he wasn't up to it he should have left her with her mum.

Because I don't capitulate to bullies

I'm allowed to make a post about things I want to.discuss. what I saw was depressing and I think a problem for the future
Screen addiction etc etc

Why would you judge, though? What’s the point?

My kids don’t get given screens in public and never have done, but I couldn’t possibly give any less of a fuck about what anyone else does with their kids, to be honest 🤷🏻‍♀️ it doesn’t impact or affect me in any way.

I have just asked you a question, HOW is that making me a bully?

Do you feel your position is weakened in any way?
Have you have any children and how old are they? THAT is bullying?

Your continued badgering of me as though I am lying or disingenuous because I won't answer a question you have decided is important.

The OP would make a good politician.

Edited to remove it wanted to post twice.

Reading the book the anxious generation should be given out as mandatory reading when parents register their kids birth !!

phone addicted parents raising phone addicted children is so TOXIC - and the defenders on this thread show the huge blindspot to this …

i despair !!

The dad dumping instagram reels into his young child’s brain is an arsehole for doing it, but the scariest thing is he and so many others can’t see this as the problem that it is !!

You absolute are bullying the OP. And it's absolute bollocks that you can't have an opinion unless you've had kids. Yes there are many scenarios in which you get a much greater insight and understanding, eg why a kid doesn't just do as they're told first time but you really DONT need to be a parent to have an opinion about zero interaction and using a screen to occupy a v young child for an entire cafe visit.

OP, I really don't think this thread can continue in a positive way. There are plenty of us who do have children of varying ages who absolutely agree with you (far more, I suspect than you might think) but the current mantra of "don't judge" seems to be more important than a societal shift that is damaging to all of us. However, you are being targeted, troll hunted and bullied. It's perfectly acceptable to both report and leave the thread.

The irony being all the posters saying I shouldn't judge or make assumptions have made the assumption that I don't have kids , so they have both judged me as a child free haridan and assumed I don't have kids
Also I'm old , another assumption made
😂

But it does affect you when more and kids and young people have mental illness fuelled by screen addixtion

maybe kids in your family ? Or kids needing precious resources taking time and attention away from your kids in the classroom

or all the nhs appointment time lost to increasingly mental health problems

A+E’s / ambulances / social services all affected by increasing rates of mental illness, school refusal, self harm, body dysphoria,
poor social behaviour or difficulty to function in the real world, increasing need for benefits
etc

this is affecting all of us

I have read this book and I totally agree, important reading!

no, if you don't have children yourself, you cannot come and tell us "you are doing it wrong, it's outrageous, I would never do this and that". A good parent would ONLY do this.

There are plenty of us who do have children of varying ages who absolutely agree with you
that it's likely a parent would genuinely ignore a 3 year old choking on their food? really?

The OP is not being targeted, troll hunted and bullied., the OP started a thread and invited people to express their opinion.

asking you a question is not making an assumption, asking you a question is trying to avoid making assumptions...

HTH

You have assumed I don't have children and I am really not sure why
I don't owe you an answer , and my refusal to give it does not make me 'guilty' of not having children

Lol at HTH

It's like passive aggressive bingo on here tonight

OP you are SO right !!
so if someone does not have children they can’t be an effective midwife, educator, health professional, sociologist, etc etc etc

you have hit a societal raw nerve !!

It's easier to be a perfect parent when you don't have kids yourself to be fair.

Yeah it's kids, or no kids and become an evil witch deep in a forest cottage
Also if you refuse to say if you have kids, you must not have them, so therefore, witch.