Pushy Mom Can't Keep Her Mouth Shut

Part of my job is to correct my kiddo when she makes poor choices. Sometimes, I must correct her when she lashes out because she doesn't like being corrected. In either case, she considers that to be "mommy nagging". In other cases, when I caution her about making a good choice, she perceives my concern to be worrying. It is often helpful if hubby backs me up, but sometimes it is even better to have a neutral third party chime in and offer their insight--as long as they are on my side, of course.

Today at the Kindergarten picnic, I noticed one of the kiddo's classmates giving his mom a hard time, and kicking his leg out at her. It wasn't clear if he meant to kick her or if that was just a nonverbal way of expressing his anger, but I stopped and told him that I couldn't believe he would act that way, since I thought he was such a nice boy. His mom asked him if I was a teacher, and I quickly jumped in and said, no, just a pushy mom. She nodded her head and told her son that I was right, and he wasn't being nice at all.

I realize that some parents would take offense at that, interpreting such an interruption as a criticism of their parenting skills. That is certainly not what I meant. I was trying to get the boy to think about his actions (and, OK, feel bad about treating his mom that way--let's face it, guilt can be a great thing). Legal disclaimer: I would never insult a child's parents, nor would I touch someone else's kid, and, as much as I appreciate third-party input, I expect the same from others. But, remember, it takes a village...