To think this is outrageously irresponsible parenting

[CaffeinatedMum]

On holiday in France at a Eurocamp park. Yesterday I was in the outdoor pool and noticed a little boy maybe around 18 months, certainly no older than a young 2, bobbing around by himself in a float vest. For context my six year old was out of his depth in all of this pool apart from the steps to get in, so it wasn’t a toddler type splash pool.

I watched him for a minute as he didn’t seem to have anyone with him and then both me and another lady went up to him to ask him where his mummy or daddy was, obviously he didn’t reply as was very young. Led him to the steps and his older sister came rushing up to him, I can’t imagine she was more than five (considerably smaller than my six year old).

Long story short, the parents were watching the kids from the bar nearby with their friends. This isn’t a pool bar and they weren’t in swimwear. it’s the other side of a gate and foot bath. So yes you can see the kids but you’re a fair distance away, not just on a lounger next to it,

They absolutely fell about with laughter when their son was helped out of the pool.

I genuinely can’t believe how irresponsible this parenting was… I am assuming I will get a unanimous YANBU but obviously there are parents out there who think this is not only ok but funny.

Now kicking myself for not saying anything to them about it but didn’t want to cause a scene, they were quite a big intimidating group standing their laughing their heads off.

There really aren't loads of kids being abducted in recent years the only one I know of in recently is the McCann, case and that was clearly a case of neglect but as the parents were professionals they were seen wholly as victims. Its tragic yes of course, but you should never leave very young kids alone,

Makes you wonder what they do to her behind closed doors. Sound like psychopaths.

When my son was younger and having swimming lessons a woman used to come to the pool every week with a very young toddler, she looked like she was maybe his grandmother not mum. She’d leave him in the toddler pool and go and do lengths by herself in the adult pool. She’d leave wouldn’t once even look at him. I would spend every Saturday watching this child whilst my husband watched our son as I was terrified he’d drown. Some people are so clueless on the dangers of water.

When we were in France at a campsite with a pool two years ago, we watched a toddler be saved after sinking to the bottom of the pool. Nobody had been watching him and strangers had to dive down and pull him up on the side and try to resuscitate him. It shook us all up. But yes, there are parents out there who don’t seem to think supervising their kids is necessary! Funnily enough, the parents in question weren’t laughing whilst their child was being revived by lifeguards.

YANBU. It’s not just the lack of physical attention, but they’re clearly happier being in a bar so assume alcohol than spending time with their very young children.

just to add I’m friends with a fair few childless couples, not by their choice and they’d make amazing parents, and when I read these stories it just makes me feel sad.

I learned how quickly a float vest can turn a child upside down in a fraction of a second and I was right next to him - scary!

They "fell about laughing"?

I always wondered who on earth could find Mrs Brown's Boys funny - these are those people, who will laugh at anything.

Weirdos

It is. When I was little I was often laughed at for being upset or angry. People think small kids don't register this kind of thing, but I can still remember the feelings of hurt and utter powerlessness it caused me. Some people really shouldn't be parents.

Really shit parenting. I would have done the same as you OP. I would have not been able to leave him there alone.

I see this attitude so much in soft play and at play cafes. I hate to see parents just sat on their arse drinking coffee and chatting and just ignoring their kids.

It is no surprise that these are the kids who are usually the ones causing trouble, screaming, shouting and generally behaving like wild things. Parent will occasionally shout at the child to stop shouting (ironically), but they will never move or engage with their child. I had this the other day when a child just kept pestering us when we were having lunch at a play cafe and he was screaming and doing all the things on the list of don'ts - Mum didn't bat an eyelid.

I also heard him playing in the play shop and he was saying 'I'm going to steal some things and the police won't be able to catch me'. Mum couldn't be arsed. He was no more than 5. Imagine him at 15 - poor little bugger.

I work i retail (think golden arches)

The building is a two story building-walk in and the stairs are to the right

I cannot count how many times parents walk in,dart upstairs to order their food and then stare,slack jawed into their phones while the kids run riot (which is bad enough)

It's no fun walking around with hot food and drinks and a child runs out in front of you

Outside the main door (past the world's smallest carpark) is a very busy main road-cars zoom down it

Many is the time I've had to grab a toddler just before they get flattened and when you go with them to find their parent,they've not even noticed the child has gone (nor do they seem to care)

One family do it so often (no matter how many times we've 'had a word') I'm amazed she's still got all 5 kids still alive

Her youngest was 13 months when I dragged her away from going under a car-mum was upstairs,gawping at her phone and ignoring her dd's (God knows where the other two where)

Didn't bat an eyelid when I told her what had happened but she'd be the first to howl that it's everyone else's fault if the kid got run over

Poor kids. 🥺

And with the staring at phones thing (and a lot of other neglect scenarios, tbh) - you can just bet the so-called parents are counting on it that a woman will start to engage with the kid so they don't have to. I've seen/experienced it so many times.

This is terrible.
X

I have a sort-of-relative (the sort you only see once in a blue moon, thankfully) who is a bit like this. Her son is older now, but she relied on everyone else to keep an eye on him at events and I personally had to extract him from various dangerous situations, including traffic, strangers, a river, and more - as I'm sure did many others. I'll never forget looking out of my hotel room window at a wedding and seeing him, aged three, running around the car park all alone! Of course I was down there like a shot.

It's inexplicable to me because I always kept such a close eye on my children when they were little (and still worry endlessly about them now they're older!).

YANBU.

Ex lifeguard here. Very very risky behaviour. Drowning is silent. I once had to rescue a small child wearing a float vest thing. His parents were getting out of the pool and he was following them (so they both momentarily had their backs to him) and in that moment he decided to take his jacket off and swim. Obviously, the child should have got out after the first parent and before the second - a moment of thoughtlessness that could have ended in tragedy. He could stand up on the water too. All my rescues were weak or non-swimmers in shallow water. Being able to stand up in water doesn’t necessarily help if you can’t swim.

Unbelievably irresponsible. I would call this negligence to be honest . Who the hell would have a child that age in the pool and not be right next to them ? It’s crazy

The main reason I'm put off All inclusive hotel holidays (I used to love them) is because I can't cope with all the shit parenting. Drunk parents giving zero fucks about their children.

I was in Mexico in 2023 and a 4 year old girl drowned in the pool. Huge group of about 15 adults all at the bar getting drunk. Whilst the kid drowns. Fucking twats.

Taking my granddaughter to soft play was an eye opener for me. Mum's sat round a table gossiping/scrolling with backs turned, I witnessed several toddlers no more than about 18 months old wandering into the older children's area, one of them was knocked over accidentally by another child, toddler screaming, mother finally looked round then started kicking off about the older child "not taking care" while legitimately playing in the area.
Ranting at the child's mother calling her child feral.
I nearly intervened and told the mother to parent her child properly. I changed my mind when I saw the length of her nails 🤣

A child died during a school swimming lesson. The school subsequently introduced a very good swimming programme. They hired the top swimming coach in the city and every year the year two children had an intensive two week swimming course with her in September. Any child who couldn't swim at least 10metres redid the intensive two week course the following May. On the rare occasions a child still couldn't swim they redid the two week course with the new year twos in September. Every child in that school could swim at least 10 metres by the September if year three.

A terrible tragedy which led to a swimming programme that I think should go nationwide.

Fuckers!

Completely irresponsible people. I recall a 2 year old once at a beach (we were on a school trip). He’d walked round the headland and came to join us playing - his parents were on the other side of the cliffs chatting a drinking and hadn’t noticed he’d walked all the way round past the headland. Thank god the tide was going out! They were completely unperturbed when we made it clear he’d been in danger.

Disgusting abusive parenting. That poor girl

It makes my blood boil to hear that parents like this exist. They are not fit to look after a pet, let alone a child! Disgusting.

Some people are just thick and selfish. I’m shocked though, poor little things.

As I've said,I work in a maccies drive thru and you'd be amazed at how many parents who allow their kids to dangle their heads out of the windows/climb about the car unstrapped/stand up with their heads out of the sunroof (we see them coming in on the cttv)

Every bloody shift-nothing surprises me anymore

It makes me die inside-one sharp brake or a car passing an inch too close and those kids are dead

Some people shouldn't bloody breed