Child activity clubs to find this unusual?

[Jabbabong]

Perhaps unusual is not the right word here because most of the parents are doing this. Our children do a few clubs outside of school. Swimming lessons, football, dance and such like.

I cannot comprehend why the majority of parents, rather than watching their child put their heart and soul into doing the activity, instead prefer to click away staring into their mobile phone for the 30 or 45 minutes that the activity lasts.

Does anybody understand this? Watching my little ones do activities whilst I have the freedom to purely relax, watch and observe how they progress are some of the highlights of my week. Why do so many parents prefer to look at their phone screens? I cannot believe for one moment that they are all attending to matters of high importance.

I think it's really sweet that you find watching them so fascinating. I am happy to go and watch DD 4 in end of term performances and would cheer her on if she was competing but would find watching endless rehearsals or practises deathly boring and would rather be reading something interesting on my phone.

Luckily, all her current clubs (gymnastics, musical theatre, and starting yoga next term) are drop offs and parents are not allowed to watch anyway.

Blimey you lot get defensive but there really is no need. I have no judgement of people getting their phones out at the soonest opportunity, if that's what makes then happy great as it takes all sorts. I just don't really understand why it is more enjoyable than watching the little ones have fun in those younger innocent years. Having read the responses on here I still don't get it.

I realise that watching the older ones swim up and down for lengths on end is tedious; it was not that scenario I was considering. Also yes catching up on important work related correspondence makes sense to me. I was more wondering about those flicking through shite on Instagram and such like.

Again no judging more lack of understanding the mindset.

Peace.

You absolutely were judging. No point in trying to walk it back now.

I think it's because we're all addicted to screens.

There's no signal in the gym where my son has his swimming lessons, which helps me put my phone down.

So it's tedious to watch an older child swim lengths but not tedious to watch a small child swim widths and then practise kicking for a bit?

You are judging! At least own it. You think what you're doing is better.

Referring to the children as "innocent" is trying to make the busy mums feel guilty.

I do tend to agree with PPs that it isn't healthy to helicopter your kids every move.

Watch them for a bit, use your phone for a bit, whatever. It's not that deep.

I have no judgement of people getting their phones out at the soonest opportunity, if that's what makes then happy great as it takes all sorts

Again no judging more lack of understanding the mindset.

Hilarious back tracking. You started a thread just oozing judgement.

Because the point of activities for younger kids is to encourage a bit of independence, and then once they’re older and actually half decent at whatever it is you tend to drop off?

Possibly because i was a shit mum. Sometimes I left the building and went to the shop. Shock.

Although more likely because we weren't supposed to. Then suddenly this new breed of extra special much better parents came along who insisted on watching through the window. Which my very shy DC hated. The teacher eventually got fed up with asking them not to and blocked the bottom half of the windows with cardboard. They spent the entire time trying to peer over the top. Twats.

For me it’s often the one small bit of time I have for myself in the week. Have a baby and a 4 year old, school and nursery drops and work 4 days a week plus the extra that comes with a professional job. I get to see my DCs enjoying themselves during the many activities and days out we take them to at the weekends and the holidays during the year. I play with them at home and arrange play dates and outings with friends. I’m usually either working or prioritising them. The couple of hours I get each week at my older DCs extracurricular activities are the one time I get to myself, to have a drink, maybe catch up with some mum friends there without our kids, and yes, to scroll on my phone and message people.

When my DD was a toddler everything she did was new and exciting to me. At 8, watching them swim a length in a half cba front crawl just isn't that much fun once you've seen it a zillion times. Now I do the weekly online shop, catch up on messages, sometimes write work emails etc. By the time the day is done, DD is in bed and I've finished any work or house jobs it's often 10pm so time sitting watching an extra curricular activity taking wonder in everything my DC does just isn't always the thing at the forefront of my mind if I have a chance to catch up on stuff

How old are your lo's? Waiting for your kids to do activities looses its shine fairly quickly! Unfortunately they hadn't invented smartphones when mine were tiny so it was more crosswords and sudoku or failing that snake on my phone

ODFOD

I'm probably working because I finished early to get them to the club in the first place and I need to work to pay for it! Keep your sniffy thoughts to yourself and count your blessing you can afford to concentrate on your little darlings ballet!

You say no judgement, yet continue to judge 🤦 'flicking through shite on Instagram' is very judgemental. Is it shite, or is that mum's only way to connect with her friends and interests, in that short window of time. The only bit of disconnect or downtime in a day, I fully understand why parents need it.

Personally I can't understand the mindset of making your child and their hobbies the centre of your universe. It's not healthy either. It's all about balance.

Imagine sitting about doing fuck all for 45 mins and slagging other people for getting on with stuff. Some people have jobs and businesses, are doing degrees or courses, have have multiple kids and some of those kids may be doing multiple activities. One particularly delightful period when I was working full time hours and doing my MSc I was at the pool 11 sessions a week over 7 days with 4dc - add on their other sports, music, drama etc plus after school stuff, socialising, birthday parties etc. How exactly do you expect me to work and study and do my life admin or phone my mother if I sit about doing nothing for 45 mins? I get that some people aren’t very busy but it doesn’t take much imagination for someone who has 45 minutes to just sit to understand that most people with jobs and young children just don’t.

So basically your response is "Everyone is different and can do what makes them happy" but also "I can't understand how anyone can be happy if they aren't exactly the same as me.". OK.

Because I find it boring and would rather get the shopping done or deal with other life stuff.

Totally agree

And then we blame kids for their inattentiveness!

What pisses me off the most is when there's another sibling sat next to the parent, glumly staring into space while the parent taps away

Ffs