the difference between moms and dads

So, I basically spent this whole past weekend babysitting--which, to be honest, is fine with me. I love that I get to paid to hang out with some pretty great kids--in fact, sometimes it seems unfair that I get paid to hang out with some pretty great kids.

I had Noah and Hanna on Saturday for about 12 hours--when I'm with them for that long, we usually end up going to play at Eagle's Nest and then they get McDonalds for dinner--they love it! So, on Saturday, off we went to play at Eagle's Nest...Noah just turned 6 so when we get there, he's usually off the whole time only periodically coming back to check and make sure Hanna is having fun. Hanna is almost 16 months so we stay in the little kid area--she is quite capable of playing by herself in there but I like to stay close just in case.

Anyways, while we were there, I noticed the difference between moms and dads. Now, I know that this is simply not true for all parents. In fact, I'm sure it's probably not even true for most parents--but, for these parents on this Saturday, it all rang true!

• Moms play, dads sit. It seemed like the dads brought their kids to Eagles Nest so they could entertain themselves and they could just play on their phone er, sit and watch. The moms on the other hand were more actively playing with their kids. Now, I do know that a lot of parents come to Eagles Nest because their kids can play by themselves (heck, when I take just Noah I even bring a book to read while he plays) but when you have a child that 12 months and can barely walk (if at all), you kind of need to interact with them a little...
• Onto the ball pit. In the younger kids section, there's a big ball pit for them to play in. But, for some of the even younger ones, they can't get in and out on their own. I noticed on Saturday (and the last time we were there), that if a child comes up to the ball pit and you're already there with your kid, moms have no fear of just picking up the kid that wants to play in the ball pit and dropping them in. But not dads! The dads look around--searching, I'm sure, for the parent that will come over and put their own child in the ball pit--or at least for the parent who says it's okay for them to put their child in the ball pit. And, once they can't find said parent, they feel very uneasy touching someone else's child--so they tend to just let that child sit outside the ball pit and watch all the other kids playing. It's actually kind of funny to watch.
• Moms will talk to anyone under the sun. They can strike up a conversation with any parent that's there. Dads tend to avoid eye contact and only speak when spoken to--they even seem to stay on their phones while their child is playing just so they don't have to talk to anyone else.
  

Alright, that's all I can think of for now. I noticed more but it's been a few days and 24 just came on so I can't focus!