Throwaway Comments

Monday is a day I really look forward to, as I get to take my 2 little monkeys to Playgroup and catch up with some of my fellow friends that are mums. I enjoy it but it can be a bit of a challenge as my 2 year old is a bit of a handful. Iola has opted out of sharing, and this can lead to many a playgroup tussle but I am sure that most mums would agree that this is common for toddlers. I have a friend who has a little boy who is very similar, and can be quite boisterous when playing. The odd fracas takes place but his mum always makes sure that he is spoken to about it and says sorry to the affected party if appropriate.

Today both our children were playing relatively well, but the little boy decided to throw something at another child. His mum quickly intervened and made him apologise to the other child and his grandparent. The grandparent commented that 'He hasn't changed then' which upset my friend greatly. She know's he can be a handful but these kind of throwaway comments can be quite hurtful to some of us less secure mums.

It took me back to an incident when My daughter was about 18 months. We were at a friends BBQ and my daughter hadn't had her afternoon nap. In these situations she tends to have very public meltdowns which can be the cause of much embarrassment but I try to best to diffuse the situation. On this particular day I have to admit that she was being hard work but I was hoping for understanding on my friends part which was duly given, but it was a different story for her aunty. She told me that 'I needed to curb my child' before I had any more. This was particularly insensitive at the time becase I had just found out I was pregnant with my second child. I don't know why people think they have the right to pass judgement on your parenting and your children after minimal contact with them. These kind of comments can be very hurtful and people really should think about the consequences of these comments before they utter them! I am thinking that I need to develop a thick skin for this parenting malarky.