Is it ever acceptable to interfere in your kids' arguments?
All new parents wonder how they will react if and when their offspring is ever hit by another child. I recently found out exactly how I react. I discovered that I (quite embarrassingly) take the 'fish wife' approach.
When my sobbing boy was presented to me on the door step by a tribe of young girls, all eager to tell me that he'd been hit by Josh, I lost all rational thought.
Seizing The Boy's wrist I marched him down the road to Josh's house, followed by the now very excited gabble of girls.
I knocked furiously at the door, and barked at Josh's dad that "Your boy hit my boy - can you ask him to apologise please?"
Josh was summoned, and I heard scuffling as he was coerced into coming out from the living room.
As he emerged, rather shyly, I suddenly began to feel very daft indeed. The heaving, teenaged brute I'd imagined was actually around five years old, and quite a bit smaller than my own son.
I didn't know what to do or say, other than when the apology was over, I signed my own regret to the father. "I thought he was up here", I mouthed, gesturing a flattened hand on my own shoulder.
I future I'm going to try not to say anything, or at least have a good idea what I'm dealing with first.
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Emma Deadman - is a first-time mum-to-be. She gives her take on life... from bump to beyond.
From speaking to other mothers of young children, this type of knee-jerk reaction is quite common. The 'mother instinct' in us to protect our offspring is a natural reaction. Hopefully Josh's father has been in a similar situation to yours and will have understood once the incident had passed.
Thanks for the tip, will look out for it when it's my turn x x x x
Now that really made me smile - thank you!