The indifference of the parent just staring at their phone in the first panel really hits home. Sure they could be recording the event but the expression says otherwise.
I’m a school bus driver and it’s genuinely depressing how often I see a parent waiting with their kid for the bus, face down in their phone instead of paying the slightest bit of attention to their child. I also find it depressing to see a person walking their dog while looking at their phone - not sure dogs actually give a shit but somehow they manage to look sad and neglected anyway in these situations.
Talking from the other side, it’s far harder than you think. Children can be incessant. They seem to be energy vampires. They suck the energy out of their parents, then funnel it right back, in the form of questions, chatter or desire for amusement. Maintaining the correct mindset is absolutely exhausting.
One of the hardest things is balancing being a “parent” with being “you”. If you try and just be a parent, you will burn out, and be a REALLY shitty parent. You need the balance between the two.
I don’t begrudge parents grabbing a few minutes of “me” time, when they can. Unfortunately, some don’t (or can’t) properly plan it into their lives. They then burn out and just grab whatever they can. This leads to the sort of behaviour you mentioned.
I like the way you explained not all the people on the phone are shitty parents! I think it’s a very nice and positive way of thinking about people. Just for the sake of balance I would like to add that shitty parents do exist, unfortunately. But I agree not all people that seem shitty at first glance are!
Agreed shitty parents exist. Some are just shitty, others are shitty because they’ve burnt themselves out.
I’ve definitely been the parent on the phone at the park, only because she’s finally playing, without wanting to include mummy and daddy in everything! Someone walking by would see a shitty parent. In fact, it’s a parent taking the short time they are engaged in independent play to recharge enough to be positively engaged for the rest of the evening.
As a lazy person who grew up with a parent who’s method of cooking vegetables was just “boil it till its grey!”, if a vegetable can be eaten raw, I will be eating it raw.
Raw broccoli dipped in garlic greek yoghurt is delicious, nutritious and fast/lazy to prepare.
I’m on the hunt for a vegan alternative that is decent, but until then, crunchy carrots and sugar snap peas are my go-to lazy veggies.
Maybe it’s because I’m on prescription probiotics and digestive enzymes, but I haven’t noticed a drastic change in my farts from the broccoli. They used to absolutely reek before I went low-dairy and started being a little more mindful of FODMAPS.
Now pea protein powder? that amplifies my flatulence to war crime levels.
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