GainesvilleMoms.com

Has anyone ever been in this situation? I had to laugh when I read this article because it happened to me a few years ago. I was really close with a girl whose parenting was probably the opposite of mine.

Every time we hung out, I ended up parenting her child because she wouldn't do anything when her child would hit mine or scream, etc. I began to dread hanging out with her and eventually, the friendship fizzled. I began seeing her less and less until the phone calls stopped. Sad thing is that the friendship stressed me out only because of the child.

I did attempt to talk to her about it, but she said something like "kids will be kids..."

And in all fairness, I really cared about the child; just didn't care for her behavior. Which, unfortunately, was a result of her mom's parenting.

The good news is that it has only happened to me once. Here's an article about it:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/01/30/hate.kids.friends/index.html

I feel this way about my neice. I love being with my sister, but her four year old has no boundaries whatsoever. She's a sweet little girl who love her baby cousin, my daughter, but she is allowed to do whatever she wants at home. She's covered the walls in crayon scribbles; she jumps and bounces on every stick of furniture; she's allowed to wander the house as she eats her meals. So when she comes over to my house, I have to constantly tell her that we don't stand on top of the piano and play it with our feet at this house or I'm pulling her out of my bedroom closet where she's going through my clothes and trying on my shoes or asking her to please eat her snack at the table, not on the brand new sofa. It makes me crazy! My sister thinks I'm just uptight. Maybe I am, but it's sooo difficult to hold my tongue.

I've been there a couple of times. It's especialy hard when family is involved. I truly believe if you love your children, you will teach them to live by the golden rule and to be respectful to their elders. People are just not happy when they become self-absorbed and I don't want my children to grow up that way.

I agree with you completely. I hope I can stand strong when my little one is old enough. It seems so easy to fall into the trap of giving in to the child.