You are a shitty parent! My family was enjoying a lovely breakfast at the Chilliwack IHOP when I saw you. We have a rule... No cellphones at the dinner table. That rule is transferable to restaurants, pubs, picnic tables, and pretty much anywhere else a person can eat. Mealtimes are a time for food and chatter, not electronics! It's a rule that works! We enjoy each others company and banter back and forth about whatever our little hearts desire. I've even enforced this rule when we're out with friends. We form a stack of cellphones in the centre of the table, and the first person to reach for theirs gets to pay the entire bill. No kidding! I'm sick of being alone when I'm with other people!
Anyway, back to the matter at hand. This Mom gets an F- for effort. Her child, who was about 6 years old, sat there quietly flipping creamers while Mom hung out with her cellphone. The little boy would occasionally look up at her but she wouldn't notice. After about 5 minutes of creamer-flipping-fun, she finally paid attention to him. "I told you not to play with those!" she grumbled while stealing away the only joy this little guy had found while being obviously ignored by this grade F Mom. She went right back to facebooking, or pinteresting, or whatever it was that was more important than spending some quality time with the life she chose to bring into this world! The kid went back to staring. He was staring at my family. It broke my heart. I could only imagine what he was thinking "Why doesn't my Mum talk to me when we're at the table?" "Why does this family look so happy?" "Why can't I go and sit with them instead of with this useless bag of crap for a Mother that I got given?"
What irks me even more is that they didn't even sit opposite each other at the table. They sat side-by-side, which is even more anti-social as you have to actually move your body to have a conversation with that person. Their food finally came and they ate in silence. Complete, boring silence.
It is natural to judge people, and I judged this Crap-Bag Mother for her actions, not her looks, or her age, but because she has a beautiful child that she chose to ignore because of own entertainment needs. Kids grow up so flipping fast and before she knows it, he'll have graduated and moved out. They probably won't have a strong bond because she put her own needs before his when he was younger. He probably won't visit her much as an adult, then she'll complain that he doesn't pay any attention to her. He learned that from her!
Well said, Robin. Well said! Put your freaking cellphones away people!
