Little G is back from her holidays, tanned, taller and still not walking. You must be mad is not happy about this, as she is about to graduate to the Toddlers' Room at nursery. Only she isn't toddling. Watching Little G hoist herself to a wobbly stand and then pitch forward, I can see it from her point of view. Why spoil a good thing? Crawling gets you from A to Z. Standing just lands you face down on the carpet.
Now she is back, we are resuming our old routines once more, so today it's off to Wagamama for our Wednesday lunch date. We always have the same dish: grilled chicken, noodles, grated carrot, sweetcorn and strange green veg that we regard with some suspicion.
We walk to the restaurant. As it is the summer holidays, there are a lot more parents and children around town. We steer carefully as all the parents seem to be on their phones. Once we are seated, Little G and I start drawing with the crayons. Several children drift over to watch. We discuss Little G's amazing ability to draw wiggly lines in yellow crayon.
While we eat our lunch, Little G points to things that she likes: the ceiling tiles, the light fittings, the jolly stripy flags the council has put up to make the precinct look festive. We compare our lunches to see who has eaten the most. I help her with the fiddly bits.
As always, we get complimented on Little G's behaviour: the way she sits so nicely, the way she eats up all her food. I smile, say thank you. At the end of our lunch, I pack her back into the buggy. She waves at the staff. They coo and wave back. She waves at the children. They laugh and wave back. She waves at the parents. But they are on their phones, so they don't notice.
To be continued .... .......
Babies are so sociable.
ReplyDeleteWe attract kids like magnets coz WE chat!
ReplyDeleteOh those bloody phones! But I read a piece of research which found that they have an impact on cerebral functioning that explains the compulsion - every time someone finds their name on Facebook, or gets an email, or wins at Candy Crush, the little electrical spark that fires the pleasure hormones comes out to play - it't the same spark that gamblers get, that addicts get from a hit of heroin, and is hugely addictive. Which goes some way to explain the behaviour - for spending hours looking at phones is neither intrinsically pleasurable nor productive, but the prospect of that little spark, when it happens, is sufficiently wonderful to override common sense.
ReplyDeleteWhich begins to make sense of why so many people are unable to put them down! (Doesn't make me like them any more!)
The worst I saw was a mum walking and texting, with a little girl struggling to keep up and DESPERATE to show her mum a drawing she'd done. I soo wanted to slap the women! What message are we sending our kids?
DeleteAll those mums with their phones...in a few short years they'll all be moaning that their children 'never talk to them'!
ReplyDeletesee comment to Jo ....
DeleteA clever piece of writing here, Grandma and Little G with a social comment as the twist in the tail. Glad she's had a good holiday and hope you have taken the time to recharge your Granny-batteries!
ReplyDeleteA thoughtful piece...
ReplyDeleteI have 19 children and like nothing better than talking with them. Today i visited my daughter and her five little ones for their weekly " Poetry Tea Time". They have cake or biscuits, tea in cups with saucers and they all choose poems to read or to be read. I was honoured to be joining today ( I can't join them in term time) and I chose The Pied Piper of Hamlyn.
Even the two year old likes to choose her own poem. I had a wonderful time.
See my words at:
gramswisewords.blogspot.com
Oh, don't get me started... I hate those devices - only use them when I need to. But whenever we sit down to have lunch or supper as a family at a restaurant, out it comes - my husband is 'just checking' if they have Wifi connection. Why, oh why?
ReplyDeleteApparently your brain gets some pleasure thingy whenever you connect. It's like mental sugar..
DeleteI've just landed in the UK after spending a week in Italy, a beautiful and picturesque country full of history and stunning scenery. I was astounded at the number of families eating their evening meals while on their phones! No family chit chat, no broken Italian interaction with staff, no watching the sunset, no...NO!!!!
ReplyDeleteI always thought it was different abroad......shocked!
DeleteWhat a delight these days with Little G are, Carol. The love shines through. I'm so glad that at least the staff and kids wave and respond to her when you leave. How anyone can not interact with such a sweetie is beyond me. I love watching little ones being themselves. Shame on the parents. They must miss so much.
ReplyDeleteI'm staggered. You see these little ones struggling with their food, treated as if they weren't there...what message is it sending? I think mobiles should be BANNED in restaurants. Like smoking, they're just as insidious and bad for our children's health
DeleteNot only phones, but also people who talk loudly enough for those not on their table to hear every word of their conversations. These people should also be banned from buses and trains. I realise, of course, that I have gone slightly off topic.
ReplyDeleteIt really gets on my nerves how these days everyone has to be permanently plugged in to and tapping away at their little oblong communication device. What happened to looking out of the window, or just sitting? Yes, yes, I know, I'm showing my age...!
I think I notice it more now I have the baby...especially when WE get all the neglected kids gathering. Sometimes I feel like some sort of Pied Piper...happens at the playground too...mums on phones or chatting, completely ignoring some tot about to throw itself off a climbing frame and red faced trying to attract help...
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