To get a teeny bit irritated by people who "parent loudly"

[Rollergirl1]

I was at the swimming baths yesterday and there was a mother with her toddler DD getting her dressed into her swimming costume. They were sat the bench just across from me and mother kept up a running commentary in a booming jovial voice the entire time...

" Come now Evie, shall we take your trousers off now? What colour are your trousers? Are they pink? Can you say pink? Oh good girl! Can you stand up for Mummy? No Evie, stay here like a good girl. Gosh you are a little monkey aren't you. What sound does a monkey make? That's right. Okay, shall we bring Ducky with us? What colour is Ducky? Is he yellow? Oh you clever thing. Can you say ducky? What sound do ducks make? Quack quack yellow ducky." And it went on. And on.

It really isn't a crime atall but I got the distinct impression that it was all for everyone else's benefit and she was expecting everyone in there to comment on her exceptional parenting and how well she interacts with her child, and isn't Evie just the cutest little thing and how old is she.........when instead I was just thinking SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!!!

I know it probably makes me sound like a right cow but I just find the whole "look at what a great parent I am" thing kinda irksome.

"WE DON'T LIKE YOUR KIDS"

Heh, I feel a Bill Hicks sketch coming on. "You're kids aren't special".

MrsShu...you are absolutely cracking me up right now...

I meant 'Your'. Duh.

listen angry thread guys
we DONT mean your sn kid natch
we mean smug irriataing mums whoa re trying to SHOW OFF
as we have all explained pai=tiently several times!

Thecatatemygymsuit i actually laughed out loud at your post!
I get irritated by people who just witter on and on at their dcs - poor little things are probably thinking "just 5 minutes peace, please!"
I chat to ds all the time, when we are out walking I ask him colours of cars, what can he see in the sky, etc. Now he points out lots of things on his own. But I do this as quietly as possible, and certainly don't look for approval!

no well you just crry on thinking that
knowing me so well

I don't think there is a verb 'To Parent....'

But on the other hand, I agree 100% with the sentiment that the overly loud preening and showing off is just, to quote Jennie Bond, "utter bollocks"

As you all were...

Well if you saw me when im out with my children I suppose you would all think I parent loudly, I always have done and I am not ashamed of it

Im not showing off, I couldnt care less if you are listening or not, I just like talking to my children and I am loud.

are you saying things like
" yes that is an adverb, well done"

then do you look to check everyone is listening?

?verb (used with object)
9.to be or act as parent of: to parent children with both love and discipline

I hate it too though, LMHF.

Oh, I am a bit like this, but like tortoise said earlier it is usually on autopilot. My DD is a talker (loquacious, I prefer that!) and she gets it from me, but I find her inane drivel suicide inducing sometimes. She needs a full response to everything, saying 'hmm' or 'yes' just won't do. I'm not deliberately loud, but I suppose I'm not a quiet talker.

Our conversations are invariably about Diego or Dora episodes though, or DD's obsession with the fact that she was sick in Grandma's car about 2 months ago so these are conversations I would prefer not to have loudly, or in public at all.

Smallwhitecat - I think that's what's upset me - that people might think I'm showing off when quite the opposite - I'm just trying to keep a lid on things. Roller - thanks for your post. I do judge people too, of course I do - but not an aspect of their behaviour which is positive and open to many interpretations and I didn't expect to ever be judged on that either.

See its the opposite with me and dd who's 4. She came with me to the supermarket and all I wanted to do is get round in one piece but noooo I had..
dd - MUMMY DOES MILK COME FROM COWS?
me mumbling - yes
dd - MUMMY ARE THE BANANAS FAIR TRADE?
me - yes lets go home now shall we
and then SHE decided to teach 2yr old dd2 her colours
LOOK DD2 BANANAS ARE YELLOW! CAN YOU SAY YELLOW?
I was .

BoF.. darn, twas worth a try.... the damned expression only got in the bloody dictionary through widespread use in the first place....

Am feeling horribly self conscious now, I do this all the time with my daughter, but she is profoundly deaf with significant speech delay. I'm not sure if you could tell the difference, colours, numbers and nouns are all emphasised in my speech to make sure that she understands, from physical appearances we're just a mother and daughter sitting on a park bench loudly discussing bananas, do i need to wear a badge ?

Well, I hate it too and I used to be an ABA therapist with kids with ASD. It's very different.

Heard a father in Waitrose (I know, had just popped in for some 'bits') break away from giving a running commentary to one oblivious child in the trolley to say to older child (about 6): "Your name is not superman, it's Isaac" before seamlessly resuming the fruit-based diatribe.

Isaac looked a bit crestfallen- I didn't blame him, I prefer the name Superman too.

I do this with my DD but not to look like 'parenting loudly'. I work on the basis that when I'm at home I'm often on MN or feeding baby DS or generally doing other things so our timeout of the house is time to keep up a long and often one-sided conversation with DD about anything we happen to see while out.

Given it is pretty much the only positive parental action I can easily manage at the moment I think I'll keep doing it, if thats okay with you.

I overheard a woman in the Supermarket recently doing this kind of thing with her around 3yr old.
The child asked for tomatoes and picked some up, the Mum said 'oh no we don't have those unless they are in season', really loudly. The daughter replied, 'but Mum we have them every week'.
I actually sniggered at her, and wandered off with my out of season fruit and veg.

She was a loud parenting for the sake of other people type.

Oh and I do parent loudly, but usually in the 'Niiiiiaaaamh, gerr ere now' type of manner

I have to say that my most favourite example of witnessing loud parenting recently has to be the (grand?)mother of two boys, aged about 8 & 10 walking down the street and her firstly telling them to stop being a pain in the arse, and then yelling at the younger one for jumping, and not walking nicely.

"Kyle - I TOLD YOU TO BEHAVE, DON'T JUMP"

Arf arf.

I'm so glad other people hate loud parenting.

It's different, of course, when someone merely has a foghorn voice, but it's the smug looking around to see who's admiring you that is so dreadful.

And half term really brings them out. I do NOT want to be told that "A potato is actually a tuber , Androcles". And I'm quite sure that the lesson was directed at me as well as the woman's two year old.