AITA for coloring in a children’s coloring book?

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A Reddit user shares a situation where they were confronted by a mother in a doctor’s office waiting room for coloring in a children’s coloring book. Despite the books being mostly blank and rarely used, the mother reprimanded the user, insisting that the books were only for kids and that they shouldn’t be in the kids’ area.

After being given a stern warning, the user was later approached by the front desk staff, who asked them to “be mindful of other people.” The Redditor is now questioning if their actions were inappropriate. To read the full story, see the original post below…

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‘ AITA for coloring in a children’s coloring book?’

I (23 M) go to my doctor every few months for routine checkups/health concerns. Every time I go, I usually wait 5-10 minutes in the waiting room before getting called in. Every time I’ve gone there’s been a little table of kids books, crayons, and one of those toys with the beads on wavy wires.

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Even with multiple months between visits, the table always looks mostly untouched. Yesterday I was in the waiting room before a checkup and I figured there’s no harm in checking out the table. The only other people in the waiting room were a mom and her son sitting next to her playing with the bead thing.

I was flipping through the books (most of which were completely blank) and I got to a really cool page with the green goblin on it. The mom’s kid seemed pretty occupied by the bead thing so I started coloring and as soon as I did, I could see the mom giving me a dirty look.

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After a few seconds she sternly said “You know those books aren’t for you right?” from across the room. I told her that I’ve never seen anyone coloring in the books and that I was only doing one page while I waited.

Even after I showed her that most of the books were blank, she continued to sternly tell me that “The books are only for kids.” and that she “doesn’t want me in the kids area because of stranger danger”.

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I said that I could take the book back to my seat if that would help, but she wasn’t having any of it, so I walked back to my seat. She continued to give me dirty looks until I got called in for my appointment a few minutes later.

I think she must have said something to a doctor or other staff member because as I was leaving, the guy at the front desk called me over and asked if there were any issues with my appointment and when I said no, he told me to “just be mindful of other people”, to which I said ok and left.

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I didn’t really care enough to argue with him at that point, but I still feel like there wasn’t anything wrong with me coloring in one page of one of the many blank coloring books.

Here’s how people reacted to the post:

WielderOfAphorisms −  NTA. Some people just enjoy being miserable. Enjoy coloring.

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coolranchpuffs −  “Stranger danger” oh good grief. You’re in a doctor’s office lobby where they have almost every single piece of info possible about you including probably DNA. 🙄

Imagine being so miserable you have to take away someone’s small pleasure at a doctor’s office. She was just looking for a target for her life frustrations and you were the only one around. Ignore her.. NTA

rushistprof −  NTA, but protip from an experienced mom – I wouldn’t touch that stuff with a 10-ft pole because kids are snot-covered virus factories and you can pick up a bug just by looking at them twice, lol.

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Also, IME approx 1 in 10 moms don’t survive Mommy Forum Hell and just end up losing their minds. Sounds like you had the misfortune to run into one of the loons.

Spacetime23 −  NTA for colouring in it but next time just take it to your seat rather than hanging out in the children’s area.. .

EnvironmentOk5610 −  NTA. The mom wayyyyyy overreacted. But…you’re 23 and capable of bringing forms of entertainment with you when you anticipate having to spend time in a waiting room. You can tell that the children’s corner was meant for little kids by how small the table and chairs are 😂.

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I’m not at all saying you’re a creeper like the mom was implying, but folks get nervous when adults try to hang out in little kids’ playhouses or try to squeeze into those tiny chairs amongst the coloring books and those big crayons made for little toddler hands.

You could even bring one of those coloring books for adults with you next time if you find coloring especially soothing pre-doctor-visit! I’d recommend you work on it in the grown-ups seating area, however!

ClassicTrue9276 −  NTA. Who made her the coloring book police?

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xCoffee-Addictx −  NTA. S**ew her

chaenukyun −  NTA. It’s literally there for people to color in. If she’s so uncomfortable she can change doctors. I was legally an adult and triaged in the children’s ward of a hospital before, no idea why and frankly didnt care – just needed medical attention.

They’ll buy more coloring books as the pages fill up. You weren’t snatching the book out of the hands of a child. Eta: I would have taken it to my seat and color there

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Waste_Worker6122 −  NTA. The coloring books are there to help patients pass the time while they are waiting. As no one else wanted to use the coloring book why not you? Mom should have minded her own business and the staff should have supported you. I’d find a new doctor or at least have a stern word with the office manager.

thiswasyouridea −  NTA There is pointless gatekeeping and there is this.

Do you think the Reddit user was in the wrong for coloring in a children’s book, or was the mother’s reaction overly harsh? How would you handle a similar situation in a public space? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!

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