Baby Wilfred at G7 - what do you think?

What a judgemental thread this is! - A young Mum wants to be with her baby at the sea side - understandable and lovely to see. This is worse than the BBC and Laura for finding blame out of nothing!

Such a shame he wasn't such a doting father to his other children. Please tell me why mother and son with him whilst he is working, many other parents don't the opportunity. Imaging other employers paying for family to attend meetings and conferences, oh hang on aren't our taxes etc, paying for it?

Shelagh6

baby Wilfred doesn’t get his hair brushed or combed either!

Do you know that Shelagh6 ?

And it’s Dr Biden winterwhite

How do you know? Just curious.

baby Wilfred doesn’t get his hair brushed or combed either!

I agree Buttonjugs (wonderful user name) that the unnecessary presence of a one-year-old might have irritated Mrs Biden, besides giving the impression that the two women weren't up to having a sensible conversation on their own.
What the rest of us might or might have not have done in our own families re nappies on beaches is irrelevant unless we knew photos were to be whizzed round the world.

It has been fashionable since the 1970s to take infants and toddlers practically everywhere, so we can hardly be surprised by this.

With the pandemic barely under control, I would advise any young mother NOT to take her baby anywhere at all, but that's just me.

Can't see anything wrong with an infant being seen in public clad in a nappy and was it a vest?

Really, stop telling us all that talking about a baby in his nappy is a political statement about his father.

I'm sure the Johnsons are delighted with all your support, but nobody's made a catty comment about a 2 year old child. Or even a one-year old one.

You know what I'm really fed up with? (Not that anybody cares, nor should they) It says more about you than it does about them. That's profound.

Oh I bet they would, Butttonjugs. There are some people who would still criticise Boris (or any Prime Minister really) even if he handed everyone a million pounds each on a gold plate.

Omg how many toddlers do you see on beach with a nappy and a T-shirt on a hot day. He probably was with his nanny. Boris is dammed if he does and dammed if he doesn’t. Id say it says more about you than it does them. If you can only make catty comments about a 2yr child. Me I thought wow he’s got a head of hair. Also how he’s grown.

Wasn't she breastfeeding at the time ?

Sorry, I'm still getting over the vision of Boris in his bathers!!!

sodapop

I don't know why it's necessary for spouses to attend these conferences either.
Like MawBe though I think the Johnsons are damned if they do and damned if they don't. They would have been criticised if Wilfred had been left at home as well.
I don't see the problem with the baby's pull up nappy, seems sensible for an outing to the beach.

I disagree. I don’t think anyone would have commented about him being left at home for a couple of days with the nanny. I think as well that as a much older woman Biden’s wife was probably irritated by the presence of a baby and having to force herself to interact with him.

I think it is totally up to the parents to decide things like this.
If I was Carrie I would certainly want my baby with me.
But whatever they do they are going to be criticised aren't they.

David Cameron famously left his baby daughter in a pub

Thank you Alegrias. I agree it’s easy to get mixed up with the two threads, the same with other areas of discussion when there’s more than one thread.

Thank you for taking the time to answer maddyone.

People have put forward a lot of different points of view on this thread. Personally I can't remember what's on this thread and what's on the other one! I thought the baby pictures were lovely, Carrie looks like a devoted mum and I have no strong feelings either way about Wilfred being in Cornwall.

I do have strong feelings though about people jumping to the defence of the PM and his wife and trying to suggest that we're unfairly criticising him, or worse still, his one year old child, by just having a discussion! (I know you're not doing that). Its just a knee jerk reaction and it doesn't get anybody anywhere.

Looking at some of the other posts it seems quite a few politicians have taken their babies along with them to various political events. I’m guessing it’s because many mothers don’t want to leave their young babies for several days at time.
Ellianne what a lovely photo of Jacinda Arden with her baby at the UN General Assembly.

Alegrias possibly I overreacted late last night.
Maybe I should have said not so nice, but in the cool light if day, I know it’s a discussion thread and everyone is allowed their point of view. The suggestion that BJ and Carrie can’t afford a nanny is sarcastic I think rather than horrid. Using the baby as a prop isn’t particularly pleasant either, BJ stopping at nothing including ‘parading’ his child. Actually I never spotted BJ with Wilfred, I only saw Carrie with her baby, with I regard as normal because not all new mothers want to leave their young baby for days at a time. I’m sure she must have had a nanny in the background somewhere as she didn’t have the baby with her all the time. And of course Diana took William to Australia on tour, William and Catherine also took George to Australia on tour, and they took both George and Charlotte to Canada, and Harry and Meghan took baby Archie to Africa on tour. I’m not suggesting the Prime Minister and his wife are royalty, I’m just saying it seems quite normal to me for a new mother to not want to be separated from her baby. Incidentally Obama and Michele met Prince George in his dressing gown at home with his parents and the press were given access to photograph.
So maybe horrid was too strong a word, but equally I thought parading the baby not very pleasant language.

Jacinda Ardern took her baby to the UN General Assembly in New York I seem to remember. I'm sure we would have seen more of her baby at the time if she had been a world leader.

MawBe

Lucca

MawBe

Did people have the same go at Tony and Cherie Blair taking baby Leo to a UN summit? Or introducing him to Bill Clinton?
And presumably Jacques Chirac?

Maybe they did? But not so much social media then ?

But we are talking about a press photo op- whether the pictures are subsequently disseminated on social or mainstream media was not at issue was it?

True.
To be honest I’m not bothered by them taking the baby there, I’m far more bothered by our PM’s attitudes policies and handling of Covid so “I’m out”.

I don’t think it mattered, I don’t know a young Mum who wouldn’t take her baby to the beach if the opportunity arose. Just because the photographers were there doesn’t mean that they were parading in front of them, they couldn’t avoid them so what are they supposed to do? Stay in the hotel or go out to a glorious p,ace and enjoy the lovely weather. I know what I would have done. My Mum went with my Dad and I travelled with my husband, only difference was we were not in the public eye so had our privacy.

Lucca

MawBe

Did people have the same go at Tony and Cherie Blair taking baby Leo to a UN summit? Or introducing him to Bill Clinton?
And presumably Jacques Chirac?

Maybe they did? But not so much social media then ?

But we are talking about a press photo op- whether the pictures are subsequently disseminated on social or mainstream media was not at issue was it?

Which posts do you find horrid maddyone? Can I ask why you find them horrid?

MawBe

Did people have the same go at Tony and Cherie Blair taking baby Leo to a UN summit? Or introducing him to Bill Clinton?
And presumably Jacques Chirac?

Maybe they did? But not so much social media then ?