Comments on: Help! Another Kid’s Mom Upset My Kid

By: Dr. Heather

Dr. Heather — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:24:11 +0000

HI PATRICIA!

I’m working on a new post now. Thanks for checking — everything’s fine! Look for something big soon, too — and have a great weekend!

By: patricia

patricia — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 08:01:20 +0000

Baby Shrink, is everything okay? Should I stop checking for updates? I hope not, but I hope all is well.

By: Momo Fali

Momo Fali — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 03:51:15 +0000

I have a close family member who talks like that around my kids, even though I’ve made it pretty clear that it’s wrong. Some people get so wrapped up in their own beliefs that they forget we’re all in this together.

By: Donna from Kansas

Donna from Kansas — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 21:17:43 +0000

OK, my election/kid story is a little funnier. A very Republican friend of mine (we agree to disagree, no harm no foul) whose son is in my older son’s class calls me last night. She says that my son told her son that John McCain was going to die in three days! And that her son assured her that my son is “always right!” She could barely contain her laughter as we tried to imagine where this little tidbit had originated. So later I asked my son if he had heard any rumors about John McCain (and at this juncture, I am actually greatful that he even knows who John McCain is, something many of my high school students do NOT!). He says that yes, McCain is going to die of cancer in three days! The source–another nine-year-old in his class. So like a game of telephone gone awry, poor John McCain is obviously doomed before the election even gets here.

By: Ilima

Ilima — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 08:22:46 +0000

Unbelievable.

By: amy

amy — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 13:40:42 +0000

Politics aside, when I read this exchange, I immediately thought of an observation my husband made when our daughter was a baby. His mom was over, and my husband pointed out that she would use the baby to talk to us. By this, I mean that in the middle of a conversation with us (adults), grandma would turn and say to the baby (in baby talk) exactly what she would have said to us at that point in the conversation had the baby been absent. It didn’t even matter if the baby was asleep or awake. Sometimes it was so pervasive as to make the conversation difficult to follow. At this point, my husband would call her back to us by joking something to the following effect: “You know, mom, it’s okay to talk directly to us. We don’t bite.” It usually worked.

Although I can’t imagine exactly how I would have reacted to this clearly false and inflammatory statement (whomever you support – Obama does not himself kill babies), I hope that I would have been able to keep my cool because clearly this parent couldn’t manage that.

By: Crystal

Crystal — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 01:00:24 +0000

I might have snapped at the mom and not only cut her out of playgroup, but yelled at her about the appropriateness of that. Privately I would have then held forth on the evils of McCain to her.

By: mamabigdog

mamabigdog — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 22:33:42 +0000

Five Gold Stars for Brook! And five more for you, BabyShrink, for such a terrific and measured response.

Regardless of your political affiliation, making statements like that to a 6 YO child is flat out irresponsible, damaging and manipulative. Why someone feels the need to manipulate a small child for political purposes is beyond me. It’s the ultimate bully tactic, and the parent who made that statement should be ashamed of herself.

As for me, while I admire Brook for her restraint, I would have likely given that parent a sizable piece of my mind, hopefully with the children safely ensconced in the car with the radio on.

The playgroup will be different indeed…