The other Saturday, while waiting at a No. 9 Warrington bus stop at Lyons Lane ( on the way into Manchester via Warrington Central), I got into conversation with a mum and her 11 tear old son who was sitting on the kerb, facing the road. At some stage during the conversation we checked on the Touch and Go app where the bus was because I wasn’t sure whether the schedule was different from that displayed at the stop. Picking up on the pluses and minuses of Smart Phone use and AI theme we agreed that ‘It all seemed to go wrong when we stopped using chalk and slate’.

We mounted the single decker bus. I sat on a second row seat on the right hand side and they sat further back. Sitting in a push chair in the push chair space, facing the window, where the sun shone in from and with her legs up against the side of the bus was an under two year old toddler. Her grandmother was seated next to but facing her.

It was difficult not to be impressed by the fact that the girl was holding a portable sketch pad on her lap with her left hand while drawing with her right. As she drew and re-drew, she uttered “Eyes, mama …” and chatted about things that could be seen on the journey.

At one stage the toddler turned to her left and gazed at the young couple. The only way to describe her expression was that she was scrutinising them. She then turned back and continued sketching and chatting with her grandmother. At Bank Quay Rail Station a tall man walked from the back of the bus to get off. As he passed by the back of her, she loudly said “Goodbye” and carried on sketching and chatting. She then looked at the couple and waved her hand at them and said “Hiya” without smiling.

This incident demonstrated how an adult should interact with a toddler. Not as so often seen when the parent is chatting on or with eyes glued to their smart phone while the toddler sits in solitary splendour!: Here the toddler and grandmother were chatting, the toddler scrutinised her nearby passengers, said goodbye to a complete stranger who she’d had no previous interaction, then turned back to look at the couple and greeted them. Although the toddler glanced briefly at other passengers she neither smiled, waved to or said “Hiya” to them.