'My friend is the kind of parent everyone hates'

"She just kept saying to him, ‘We can’t leave,’ and shushing him. I was cringing so hard.”  

Cinema etiquette is pretty straightforward.

We’re talking about unspoken rules like don’t talk, don’t hog the armrest, and definitely don’t use your phone.

But one mum is now questioning whether her friend’s poor cinema manners are enough to call time on their friendship.

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"I was cringing"

After organising a trip to see Moana 2, she was left frustrated when her friend refused to remove her crying 4-year-old from the theatre.

“For 20 minutes, halfway through the film, he was crying,” she recalled.

She even tried to defuse the situation.

“After a few minutes, I suggested, ‘Why don’t you take him to the lobby?' There are seats, and it’s quieter there. But she just kept saying to him, ‘We can’t leave,’ and shushing him,” she said.

Taking to an online parenting forum, she revealed her shock at her friend’s behaviour.

She couldn't help but feel mortified as the rest of the cinema began to stare.

“I was cringing so hard,” she said. 

“Sitting next to a crying child was mortifying.”

Eventually, the child’s father stepped in, taking the boy out of the theatre to calm him down—but only after 20 minutes of disruption.

“I didn’t realise my friend would be the type to sit there with a wailing child and not leave. It totally ruined the trip!” she explained. 

Image: iStock

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"Smug parenting is not nice"

The forum was divided over the cinematic drama.

Some thought her expectations were unfair:

“I feel like cutting your friends off because their 4 year old during a busy Christmas Day out was badly behaved is a bit dramatic,” one person commented.

“You better hope and pray your child never plays up or you will look ridiculous. Smug parenting is not nice,” another warned.

“I think this was a badly planned outing by all,” a third pointed out.

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She was sympathetic to the child’s reasoning for being unsettled during the movie. 

“He seemed tired. He was being an overwhelmed child and his parents should have been attentive to it and considerate of others,” she said bluntly. 

Now, she’s debating whether to limit the friendship—or keep it to the occasional playdate.

“We only see these friends for our kids so I think we’ll stick to more low key get togethers like play dates,” she said. 

Originally published as 'My friend is the kind of parent everyone hates'