Reply #20: Why do so many DU parents take it personally when.... [View All]

....someone comments on an ill-behaved child they've encountered? It's not YOUR child we're commenting on.

The level of outrage generated just stuns me. Yes, almost all of us understand that kids get tired, bored, don't feel well and sometimes are just going to act out. Fact of life. And we know that most of the time, the parent is probably as mortified by it as we are annoyed. Fact of life.

But ya know what? Sometimes kids are just obnoxious little monsters. Kids aren't angels, kids aren't perfect, kids aren't wonderful and fun and delightful all the time. Sometimes they are atrociously ill-behaved. Sometimes it's a result of previous bad behavior that's been reinforced by crappy parenting, and sometimes it's just the kid being selfish and nasty. IT HAPPENS. If someone here remarks about that, it doesn't mean we think all children are obnoxious or all parents are bad or that children should never be taken out into public. And it certainly doesn't mean that it's all about YOU.

What it means is that in that particular, isolated instance we happen to be relating, the kid was a nasty little brat. Yes, a BRAT. I'm at a loss for why so many seem to take umbrage at that. I'm also amused that so many seem to think that if you speak ill of a child's behavior, it could only be because you don't have children yourself.

(walks away shaking head)