Divide and Conquer
At the playground, my daughter asked for a curd snack, so I brought it to her in the sandbox. When I returned to chat with the other moms, one of them scolded me for not teaching my child to share her food. I explained that there were about seven kids playing, so there wouldn’t be enough for everyone, plus the snack can’t really be broken apart, it’s not hygienic, and besides, my daughter should be able to enjoy her treat without someone snapping at her. The mom said my child would never learn empathy this way and would grow up selfish.
The Nightmare
I took my son to a birthday party and immediately told the host that my child has a peanut allergy and can’t eat the cookies, but I brought some special treats. Then a mom next to me said, “Oh, my daughter has a classmate like that too, the poor kid is allergic to everything, what a nightmare…”
Lectured
I was changing my baby’s diaper in the mall restroom when a mom came over and asked how old my little one was. I said one and a half years, and she replied, “Pfff, my kids were potty trained at one, and mine should’ve been dry ages ago!” Then she turned and walked away.
I Didn’t Have Kids for This
My sister-in-law and I had babies almost at the same time. When my child was two, I told her I was sending my kid to daycare and going back to work. She said she didn’t have kids to have others raise them—but a few months later, her son started daycare too.
No One
I wasn’t bragging, but another mom in the group asked if our baby sleeps through the night. I said luckily, since four months old, yes. She said, “He probably stopped crying because he knows no one will comfort him.” It took me a moment to realize how rude that was.
My Little Petike
The neighbor’s grandson, Petike, came over to play with my daughter but was pretty rough, pulling her clothes. I gently told him, “Petike, I know you like Szilvi, but be a bit gentler…” Then his grandma shouted over the fence, “My Petike wouldn’t even poke his Szilvi with a stick!” And these were three-year-olds.
Disappointment
I wasn’t surprised when my husband’s friends expressed sympathy after hearing our third child was a girl, but I was shocked when the moms at preschool did too. “Oh, honey! I’m sorry, you must be disappointed…” one said. They looked at me strangely when I replied, why would I be disappointed to have another amazing little girl?
Oh, You Poor Thing
I took my son to practice and for the first time brought along his two-month-old little brother. All the moms gathered around cooing over my baby, then one said, “Oh, you poor little baby, you should be home, but they dragged you out here in this cold…” It was a warm May day.
The Aggressive One
We flew to Greece for vacation with my husband and kids. Our five-year-old slept peacefully, but the little one needed attention. I’m not a fan of handing kids screens during travel, so I read storybooks or played with him. The trip was smooth until we were about to land, when my two-year-old snatched a cookie from my hand and tossed it in the air. It landed near the mom in front of us—not on her—and she jumped up, outraged, calling me a terrible mom with unbearable kids. I still don’t get why she freaked out so much—maybe because her kids were glued to screens the whole trip...?
The Pacifier Drama
At a colleague’s baby shower, I was chatting with a mom whose little boy was also one year old, like mine. When we left and I put a pacifier in my child’s mouth, she said, “You still use pacifiers? We never needed those…” She was clearly proud of herself for, as she claimed, never using pacifiers.
