..to think that DH shouldn't have taken a book when in sole charge of DS and DD at a theme park today??

[Merrylegs]

So DH has taken DS (11) and DD (8) to a theme park. He was the best person for the job as I get sick sitting on a swing and so it should be much more fun with daddy, right?

(I am ferrying older DS around today for various sporting activities, so am not even having a child free day. Plus a dog to walk. I digress)

In his bag DH has raincoats (good), packed lunch (good) and Robert Peston's 'Who Rules Britain?'

I gave him a kind of look and said 'when are you planning to read that then? A couple of chapters on top of 'Wipeout' perchance?

Or are you going to find a grassy knoll inbetwixt the burger vans and tell DS and DD to 'go and have fun and make sure you're back in an hour'.

To which his reply was 'don't micro-manage me'.

SO AIBU to think that he shouldn't need to take a book with him when he is sole charge of two small and skinny children (ie who could easily slip through seatbelts or out of bumper cars for eg) in a crowded theme park?

I can't figure out what is irking me most - the fact he thinks he will get a chance to read it; the fact that, in typical bloke fashion, he was thinking about his needs too and not just the kids; or actually the fact that blardy Robert Peston is so ubiquitous anyway, why would anyone want to spend more time in his company?

Now, THIS is a good AIBU thread, everyone getting in there and having a dig, OP taking it all in good part but sticking to her guns: i love it.

I'm a control freak and a micro-manager and always check the bag, and would also hope that dh planned to have fun with the kids and not just sneak off reading, but I totally take everyone's point about infantilising one's spouse and how you can't expect your other half to do things the same way you would.

I also know that it's just wishful thinking that he's taken the book and not really realistic. DH always hopes he's going to get to watch the films on a long-haul plane journey instead of dealing with dd constantly, bless him.

Finally, the slipping through seatbelts thing is quite barking, and it's great to get a contribution from Xenia, always bracingly over-opinionated.

YANBU

There are places where it would be appropriate to take a moment to read a book but a theme park is just not one of them. IMO.

mrsbabookaloo - I like the slipping through seatbelts thing as well. I was imagining the dh putting down his book, whipping off his glasses and rushing underneath to catch the dcs as they fell from the rollercoaster, superman stylee.

I remember a day at theme park with my sisters aged 15, 11(me!), 9 and 8, alone on the ski lift ride, over a deep lake, capering about with only a flimsy bar saving us from a 40 odd foot drop to the lake below, with dad on the ground waffling on his mobile with his shades on and looking like a secret agent.

i think YA a bit U, but i know mum would have gone bonkers if she had known about dads casual neglect of his daughters at pleasure torture wood hills.

Snorbs gets my vote 2

Another vote for Snorbs here, he isn't an extra DC. You weren't going so you have to relinquish control. They won't be allowed on rides if they could fall out. The whole point of having 2 is that they have someone to go on these horrible rides with and so you can wait and read a book while they are on it!

Ha - now I am BARKING with laughter at the image of my DCs slipping through the seatbelts! (But OMG what if they actually have! They are not back yet after all...)

Bamboobutton - you feel my pain - that monorail at Pwood hills (which is indeed where they are) is blardy lethal!

Well, since this is my AIBU I am going to BU and say my NBFs are all those who are in agreement with me (thank you Slowreading and Chipping In, for eg, for realising the difference between reading a book at a -yawn- soft play or park - and at a theme park.)

And a big boo to all you naysayers.

Next time I see a parent engrossed in 'My Sister's Keeper' at Alton Towers, while their short, flat, skinny kids are dodging the bored ride operator on Rita Queen of Speed, or some parent is disengaging themselves, sitting on a bench leafing through 'The Da Vinci Code' at Legoland while their dcs overdose on space ice cream, I will know it is one of you lot.

And the star chart idea? Sounds kind of fun. Naughty boy and strict parent - DH might even be into that.

If he can put his book down.

I don't think you are BU. Can't he go on the rides too or even.. God forbid, talk to them or something?

I always take a book when I go out with DS. Don't always get the chance to read it, but if he finds another kid to play with then I don't need to stand there staring vacantly at him for half an hour, do I?

Well surely on this day of all days it is reasonable to take a book along for the queuing? Why assume that he is skipping the rides. Even if he goes on every single ride then there is likely to be some level of queuing.

I took Robert Peston to the beach this morning. Very disappointing as of course it is 6 months out of date and 6 months is a long time in this economy.

YABU.

Has he taken it to read? Are you sure?

Perhaps he fears the children will misbehave and he has taken it to throw at them. Or he worries he will have to shore up a wobbly table. Or that your shorter child will need a booster cushion on one of the rides.

You should find all this out before accusing him of reading Robert Preston.

is pleasure wood hills still open then?! i haven't been since they got rid of that pirate ship that went upside down (i nearly slipped out of that one!) and the star ride enterprise or whatever the hell it was called, so about 12 years ago.

am amazed the deathtrap place is still running, from this new info i have revised my opinion to YANBU!

I hate it when I forget to take something to read with me, including on outings with DS who's 5. Does thinking about my needs as well as his make me a bad mother? Of course not.

God I wouldn't go anywhere with my kids without something to read [although similarly would rather be taken up the bum by Robert Mugabe than frequent theme park.]

I generally take the paper when I'm out with ds. He is nealry 3, so obviously I can't ignore him (though I do try) but if he is playing happily in a quiet play area, I'll read a few articles.
Parenting is boring enough. I'd go insane without reading material.

If Robert Mugabe was going to take you up the bum, you'd need something really engrossing to read, wouldn't you?

What a bizarre idea that you have to constanly watch an 8 year old and an 11 year old in theme parks. I used to take my niece and nehew every year until they were late teens and at this age, I'd sometimes sit outside the queue for a ride and wait for them. Since some of the queues were half an hour long I often got to read quite a bit. We went on loads of rides together and had fun but there were some rides that I just was not going to go on which were fine for their age that they wanted to ride on.

Also we generally went in term time (they are Italian and had different holidays before anyone says anything) and there were often school trip parties there. The children on these never seemed to have any adults with them in the queues. These were children from about 10 years old upwards.

I asked my sister (who is a teacher) about this and she told me teachers regularly used to let the kids go off and do their own thing and then meet back a couple of hours later, perhaps not at 8 years old but certainly at 11.

I agree with mrsbabookaloo, 'tis indeed a great thread. It is also surprisingly funny, love the use of micro manage, infantilising, and the discussion of the actual book and I look forward to seeing the AIBU thread tomorrow along the lines of.

AIBU to be sad that I saw a a Father at a theme park with his kids, but instead of talking to them he was reading a book.

Hope your DH and DC had a good time merrylegs

YABVU and totally micromanaging him to death.

Can I just say thank you for using "Shouldn't have" instead of "Shouldn't of" which is getting on my tits a LOT lately

I would take a book with me.

i took ds and his friend (both 5), my bonkers 2.5 year old and baby to the park on monday and I really really wished I'd taken a book. Baby slept, dd pottered beautifully and boys played for hours. I was utterly bored! Remembered why I usually go to parks/soft play etc with friends!

YANBU for berating him for taking Robert Pestilence with him. He could use his time much more profitably than reading that.

YABVU for thinking that taking a book is out of order. He's hardly going to be babysitting your DC all day, at their ages, and they'd hardly expect him to, would they? If he took his ipod or whatever and tuned out to that, would that be ok?

Well - they're back! All in one piece (so I gave DH a big gold sticker to put on his star chart. He was well pleased.)

So - did he read the book? (Obviously that was the first question I asked as they walked in the door).

Well yes! The b8gg8r. I'm sure he did it just to spite me. He managed 'a couple of pages' while the DCs were on Enigma (that is a roller coaster. With very inadequate seatbelts.)

Yes bamboo, Pleasurewood Hills is very much in operation and the pirate ship is back - and still very slip-outable of.

Also the ski lift thing, still goes over the water at alarmingly high altitude, ride operator still doesn't fasten link chain across seat, small child still proceeds to slip precariously from sloping seat, just about managing to hang on for grim life before ride judders to stop.

However, on balance it did sound as if he went on most of the rides with the kids, and even endured enjoyed the sealion show (bamboo, don't want to upset you but in case you were wondering, the sealions are Marcus and Claude now. Bimbo has gone to the great fishbowl in the sky)

So I am satisfied that he did indeed put in the requisite quality time with our DCs, who are really quite charming and delightful conversationalists, and deserve more on a day out with their dad than a plate of chips and a 'see you later, I've got some Peston to catch up on'.

nice thread