Parking-lot parents
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Anonymous
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Does everything that parents do have to be something that defines them and makes them a "type" of parent? "Parking lot parents" "daycare parents" "working parents" "private school mom" "public school moms."
Someone sitting in her car during a practice is just a mom sitting in her car for a variety of reasons. Do we really need to call her a "parking lot mom"? |
Anonymous
How else will OP know how to judge her properly? |
Anonymous
| Been there before open the door |
Anonymous
They over scheduled their kids and now the only down time they get is in their car. They hate their daily grind of stupid kid activities that they feel compelled to sign up for. Oh well. Not your monkeys not your circus. Just be glad it's not you. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
My child is not overscheduled with swim practice twice a week. But I WFH and have no desire to get dressed and brush my hair to sit on bleachers for an hour in the heat and humidity of a pool while listening to people watch competing TikTok videos on their phones. I'll sit in my car barefoot and read a book, thanks. |
Anonymous
| I attend actual events, as in concerts and competitions. I never attend practices. I don't think I ever attended a whole soccer game. I find them excruciatingly boring so I don't. |
Anonymous
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You sound really, really thirsty for friends OP. So sad.
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Anonymous
Yep. I'm an introvert who wants to do some instacart+ shopping and scroll on my phone while waiting for my child to finish their 2nd soccer practice of the week. And I probably didn't change out of my lounging clothes to go to the practice. Judge Away. I'm good with you not liking me. |
Anonymous
Thanks - this makes sense. |
Anonymous
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I do this during my DD's dance and gymnastic classes even though there is a waiting room both places where you can watch the kid's classes and socialize with other parents.
I find the waiting room environment claustrophobic (literally -- at her dance studio there is not enough room for everyone to sit down so there are often many parents just standing and it's crowded) but also I found that staying in there just led to annoying conversations. If I discovered other parents either wanted to have interesting conversations or kept to themselves, it would be fine. But mostly it's these awkward comparison conversations where people are like "how many days a week is your child dancing??" and discussing their kids' progress in minute detail and talking about their plans to help their child become more competitive. My kid does these things once a week (and not year round) because she has fun and likes her friends in them. I think the gymnastics is good exercise and body awareness, and the dance teaches music appreciation, body awareness, and grace. But I'm not trying to turn out the next Simone Biles or Tyler Peck here. I'd be surprised if she did either of these past middle school, though would support her if she wanted to. The LAST thing I want to do is compare my kid to others, get worked up about how she's advancing through levels, etc. It's not healthy. So I sit in my car, read a book or sometimes do work if I can do it without internet, and come in 5 minutes before class ends. Works well for us. |
Anonymous
This is Washington DC. Here, we put people into different baskets. We separate people by race. We define them by employment. We categorize them by “SES.” We divide them by BIPOC or merely white. We need to know: LGTBQIA++ or not? (or an ally?). No surprise then, parents are helicopter, or tiger, or lawnmower, or Bro Dad, or absent. To answer your question: yes: here in the DMV, we will label you. Now answer the question: are you a parking lot parent or not? |
Anonymous
That’s sad. I sit in my car for plenty of practices and don’t make every event, but just not showing up ever for one kid because you find it boring is sad. |
Anonymous
Except it's not true. |
Anonymous
I promise you that my kid doesn't know I'm missing when his head's underwater. |