Since when are we not allowed to talk to the children?

victory

I was in a shopping centre and sat on my own on a wooden bench ( can sit 4/5 people) there were 4 benches, two very close to the entrance of shops....

A little girl comes and sits on my bench, probably 8/9 years old and smiles, happy, chatty, cute little thing.

I ask her where her mummy is and she tells me in the shop choosing a dress, she had been to the dentist and her mum wanted to see if the dress she saw the other day was still there.

The little girl asked me if I was a mum, where were my kids, do I like the dentist, just the usual chirpy chit chat:D


It didn't last very long, a few minutes? And out from the shop comes her mum.....

She says ' what are you doing?' I didn't answer because I assumed she was talking to her daughter...'I asked you, what are you doing?' I realised she was talking to me....

I replied ' nothing, I was just talking to your little one, she was telling me...' I never got a chance to answer, the mum ranted and raved about having to protect children from 'people like me':eek: she went on to say that no mother gets any peace, grabbed the little girls hand turned round to me and said ' you should think about what you are doing'

I never did anything:eek:

Either she is not a nice lady, she felt guilty in allowing her daughter to leave the shop or she was having a bad day, it left me shocked, embarrassed and questioning myself.....

Since when are we not allowed to just chat to the children?

Joons

What a numpty she sounds, pay no attention to her, nasty woman.

peachyprice

victory wrote: »

Since when are we not allowed to just chat to the children?

Since the media whipped the world up into a frenzy and got everyone believing at all strangers a pedos.

Treevo

Oh dear. It all happens to you, doesn't it?

Just ignore it. I have to say that I would never strike up conversation with an unaccompanied child.

amyloofoo

How rude!

On the one hand, I think a lot of parents have ridiculously over the top fears regarding stranger danger... particularly given recent events in the news - so being wary of someone they don't know talking to a child is understandable. However, if she was that concerned, clearly she should be keeping a closer eye on where her child is?

Stressed or not, there's no excuse for being so rude and unpleasant - she's not showing her child a good example :eek:

lilymay1

Honestly? I can understand her reaction. Perhaps her daughter wandered off, mum was frantically searching for her and then found her sat on a bench outside talking to a stranger.

I do think it's a shame that this is how society is nowdays. Last time I took my son to the park a little girl started talking to me whilst my son was playing. I made sure to only answer her questions and not ask anything about her incase it looked suspicious.

NAR

Treevo wrote: »

Just ignore it. I have to say that I would never strike up conversation with an unaccompanied child.

And isn't it so sad that this has to be the case nowadays.

victory

Treevo wrote: »

Oh dear. It all happens to you, doesn't it?

Just ignore it. I have to say that I would never strike up conversation with an unaccompanied child.

Why though? Am I suppose to show rudeness walk off ignore her? I was sitting there resting my weary feet and the little girl came over and started talking to me....

mummybearx

Treevo wrote: »

Oh dear. It all happens to you, doesn't it?

Just ignore it. I have to say that I would never strike up conversation with an unaccompanied child.

Not even to ask the child where there parents are? Are they lost?

It's a ridiculous situation when you can't talk to a child without someone thinking you are a child abductor! Bloody woman has a cheek saying anything to you, that child was out of her site for a good few minutes, where was her concern during that time??

victory

peachyprice wrote: »

Since the media whipped the world up into a frenzy and got everyone believing at all strangers a pedos.

I can't actually be a pedo though can I?

victory

lilymay1 wrote: »

Honestly? I can understand her reaction. Perhaps her daughter wandered off, mum was frantically searching for her and then found her sat on a bench outside talking to a stranger.

I do think it's a shame that this is how society is nowdays. Last time I took my son to the park a little girl started talking to me whilst my son was playing. I made sure to only answer her questions and not ask anything about her incase it looked suspicious.

That is so wrong though, that you felt like that, how are our children to learn social skills, the art of conversation even if we close them down?

As for wandering off the little girl did says her mum knew? Could have been not quite true but say even worse if I had got up and taken the little girl back into the shop to 'look for her mum' I would have been arrested:eek: