I mum-shamed my cousin for how she parents her 1-year-old…I don’t care if I’m in the wrong, she’s ruining her kid
A WOMAN has confessed to shaming a mother for how she is raising her child.
Taking to the Reddit forum AITA, the post was captioned with “AITA for telling my cousin that her one year old toddler shouldn’t use smartphones?”
The Redditor explained how they had recently visited their cousin, who has a one year old child, that she lets “use a smartphone to watch TikTok and YouTube Kids”.
The person said how they “don’t like” young children using smartphones and thinks it’s “harmful”.
While she understands how parents might be too tired to occupy their kids, she said children using screens leaves their “brains at risk”.
The post went onto say: “My mother called out to the kid, she wanted to talk or play with him.
“But the kid didn’t even budge, constantly looking at the screen as if he couldn’t even register the presence.”
The person was “alarmed” by the child’s behaviour and said to her cousin that her child will be “ruined” if they continue to use smartphones, citing it’s “obviously not good for the brain”.
As for how the mother reacted, she was “defensive”, and told the meddling cousin to wait until she has children of her own one day before commenting on her parenting choices.
“I just replied that I will be responsible and not let my toddler use phones ever,” the post read.
The Redditor noted that it wasn’t her child, “but just wanted to give advice”.
The post was quick to gain hundreds of comments with different opinions.
One said: “I completely understand your point, but YTA.
“Parents CONSTANTLY get unsolicited advice from their family, friends, and strangers on the street.
“The minute you have a child, everyone in your life suddenly becomes an expert of raising children and every decision you make gets questioned.”
Another seconded this: “She didn’t ask, so mind your business.”
One comment offered a different perspective: “NTA, although it’s unsolicited advice—you’re right.
“You need to accept that you will always meet criticism when you give parenting advice that wasn’t asked for, though.”
Someone else wrote: “I’m not gonna boo you, you’re not wrong. Small children should not be glued to screens.
I don’t think parents are aware of how much time is being spent on screens.
Nursery worker
“But I also understand why your cousin got defensive, you (who have no kids) are calling her a bad mom and accusing her of ruining her child, when she just sees the smartphone as a way to keep the child occupied when she has other things to do.”
A third commented: “NTA. I don’t know why, as a society, we’ve decided that it’s rude to call out terrible parenting.”
Someone who has taught in nurseries for the last 10 years, as well as having her own kids who “were before the ‘iPad kid’ generation” gave their opinion.
The comment read: “I have to say…. These ‘screen kids’ are coming in and they are a different type of student.
“They cannot hold a pencil or colour, sort or snip paper with scissors (fine motor skills), they have ZERO ability to focus on tasks, even when things are fun, and a severe lack of self control.
“We expect very little self control when they are four to six years old, but even for the age, it’s lacking.
“Most of these children aren’t experiencing the world around them to learn things like manners, sharing, conflict resolution, how to open a snack, tie their shoes, pulling their own pants up and a million other things that kids learn from DOING, not WATCHING.
“I just don’t think parents are aware of how much time is being spent on screens, especially when we are so busy all the time!”
Would you let your one-year-old sit on a phone watching TikTok and YouTube videos?
And how do you feel about unsolicited parenting advice?
It comes after one mother is trolled for having 22 babies via a surrogate.
And another is slammed for choosing not to breastfeed her baby so she can go and get Botox.
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