to think parents coudl play with their OWN kids?

[MrsPotiphar]

i generally playw ith mine say at a pool.

then some lazy fekcers think by bringing their own kids to the pool/park/wherever that is IT
and that I would want to play with their kids
no i dont LIKE your kids, at all

Last time we took dd's 3&4 to soft play we attracted the naughtiest kid in the place. He hugged my mum and then proceeded to casually bite my arse as he walked past me! He was really spiteful to all the other kids and I told him to play nicely whilst his mother sat supping drinks chatting to her mates for the whole two hours we were there.

(but their children are a pain?)

to MrsP re the French

Poor kids
as the title says its the parents not the kids

Is that it, wb? I've got lots of Mediterranean blood too - and the rest is Irish. Maybe that explains it!

Why poor kids? At least somebody is playing with them (ie muggins here)!

So next time little Rose-Marie comes home and wails that no one would let her join in their game, will you have some empathy for the group that were happy doing their own thing and didn't want any invaders?
It's called gatecrashing, it happens to me all the time.

Actually, particularly on the beach I think adult involvement should be limited toproviding sunscreen, drinks and food and breaking up MAJOR fights. Children should play in semi-feral groups without adult interference - that's what beaches are for.

How come kids never come near me?

They all love DH though, that seems to be more common, dads collecting clingons.

hmm, can I just offer an alternative?

as someone who has an only child I constantly try to field her away, BUT she is, of course, drawn like a magnet to groups of children (whether with an adult or not) as otherwise she either has no-one to play with, or just me. She spends a lot of time playing just with me, I cannot force her to play just with me, and ignore the fascinating group having lots of fun right next to us.

and when it comes to swimming pools etc, i am always ready to get in there & willing to play, but she is 6, and may not want me - she wants to play with your kids.

I think it is poor kids as the reason they latch on to playing families is that their existences are so bereft of attention and interaction - isn't this obvious from the way the patents are capable of totally ignoring their own children?

Don't get me wrong, I'm doing precisely that at this very moment as are we all, but on a family day out you make a bit of an effort. I don't want to be completely absent from my children's memories when they grow up.

I remember seeing an 18 mo girl nearly drown in a swimming pool once while her DM was stretched out on a lounger.

Thank goodness we moved back to Italy, gosh you are unfriendly

ABSOLUTELY! And of course she should be allowed to play with other groups of children. As I said, that's what beaches - and holidays - are for!!!

@ LeninGrad

Fair point, kickass.

I don't mind when another child comes to play with my DS, but it's usually me they want.

As DS is only 18mth so the children are always older and they end up competing with my son for my attention which I find really irritating.

Now if one any of these occassions the parent was to acknowledge and keep an eye their child and look for my signals that I've had enough then I wouldn't mind - but this never happens. They are always oblivious/ignoring what's going on as they sit there reading a magazine or chatting with their friends.

So whilst I am grateful for my son experiencing interaction with other children, there is a limit and I don't want to be forced to babysit a random, strange child.

'I don't want to be forced to babysit a random, strange child.'

I think there are some fabulous suggestions as to how to discourage them from lingering on this thread.

Sorry but I think some of you have come across as quite horrible. I understand the not wanting to play with a random child yourselves - perfectly fair enough. However quite often these children are just looking for other children to play with. Ds is an only child and it breaks my heart when I take him somewhere and he ends up wandering about by himself. I try to bring one of his friends as often as possible but sometimes he is the child sidling up to other kids, just wanting some company. He doesn't want other adults (nor me for that matter!), just company his own age. Sometimes he hooks up with other only children, sometimes kind hearted kids let him play with them and their siblings and sometimes people are downright mean to him So please don't judge the mum reading a book on the bench. In all probability the child doesn't want her to play with her but is looking for other kids to play with instead.

Oh dear, mine are the sort that wander and not only invade another family's fun/game/whatever but also their picnic

DP hates it and begs me to retrieve them

LeninGrad you sound like someone I could holiday with.

So get off your arse, put the book in your bag and go and talk to the other adult whilst your children play.

I know Goblinchild and I have been very tempted, especially when one little limpit boy tried to grab me away from DS when I was feeding him lunch because he wanted me to take him to the toilet so he could have a poo!

But I can't help but feel sorry for them as they are clearly desperate for some attention and the parents can't be arsed and I think that at least if they are getting some from me they are not getting it from someone who could take advantage of them.