Ever meet a mom whos so smug about the stupidest things?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a single dad of a toddler, and there is a mother in my building that I try to avoid at all costs. Every single thing she says comes back around to my daughter not having a mother.

"Oh, look at your pretty yellow dress! Your daddy must not know all girls love pink." Then to me, "I know she doesn't have a mother so you have no way of knowing this, but pink is the way to go. Any time there's a pink option, pick that. And if a store doesn't have pink, ask."

She actually believes she's helping me. Never mind that my daughter picked out her own yellow dress when we were in the store.

The woman does this EVERY TIME we run into each other in the elevator. I have taken to giving my daughter piggy back rides and taking the stairs to avoid her.

I"m female, expecting a girl and hate fucking pink. Purple is a pretty close second. I was fortunate enough to receive about 1000 free pieces of girl-clothes from a few friends who were done with them so was able to almost, ALMOST avoid pink. However, the SAH in-laws have all given us brand-new pink crap for our girl. they all have eating/drinking disorders so worry about correlation.

Ohh! So THAT'S why my DD spit up so often the first few months. The pink and purple footie pajamas triggered Baby Bulimia!! Who knew??!

LOL!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, I'm loving this thread - especially hilarious are the smuggies trying to defend themselves!

Anyway, my smug mother is a woman in my group of friend with 2 boys. They didn't know either gender before birth, but to hear the mother talk, it's as if they had sex selection "I was such a tomboy growing up, I know all about football and I only wanted boys. I wouldn't know what to do with a girl. Boys are just so wonderful. I don't think I could live a girl." It's especially odd bc 2 of the women she tells this little story to have girls... And don't we all love the children we're given?

I wonder if she's saying this because deep down inside she's secretly hoping that dc#3 is a girl. Maybe tempering her expectations. I know a lady like this who loves her two boys but confessed she cried when she learned ds#2 was a boy. She's pregnant with a 3rd and it is a boy. She says things like the mom you mentioned above.

PP here and I agree - I think this smug mother is insecure or jealous... Actually, I bet a lot of overt smugness comes from insecurity -"I'm not sure about this parenting choice, so ill just loudly announce to everyone that my child has no idea who Snoopy is so that they know I'm superior and avoid licensed characters."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I"m female, expecting a girl and hate fucking pink. Purple is a pretty close second. I was fortunate enough to receive about 1000 free pieces of girl-clothes from a few friends who were done with them so was able to almost, ALMOST avoid pink. However, the SAH in-laws have all given us brand-new pink crap for our girl. they all have eating/drinking disorders so worry about correlation.

Hating pink and purple because they're "girl" colors is pretty similar to thinking that all girls must always wear pink, in my opinion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have heard a couple moms brag that they don't worry about things like bedtime schedules, or limiting tv time and candy/sweets. It's kind of a I'm too cool to sweat such stuff kind of thing. The brags are usually coupled with digs at people who do have bed skeds, tv, and candy/sweets rules as way too upright.

+1

My personal favorite is the mom who doesn't know the names of her son's teachers or anything about the research projects her son does. That's because she is a hands off mom and lets her son explore without ever "interfering" and being a "helicopter mom".

Of course, her son is very self-motivated, gets excellent grades without trying, and is extremely organized. I have a child like that. I also have another child that needs a little more parental direction at this stage in his life. Different children, different needs. She has just been extremely fortunate to have a child who fits her expectations, and doesn't understand that not all children are going to be that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Balance Biking Mom. Yes, it's impressive that your just turned 3 yo is riding a big kids bike with no training wheels. Please stop trying to give my 4yo (with training wheels) your old balance bike "so he can catch up." He's fine.

My balance biking kid didn't have the coordination to stop the bike properly and while he can ride it fine at 5, he doesn't want to because he had a couple unfortunate encounters with trees and is not comfortable with braking. I doubt the 3 year old has the faculties to properly control the bike anyway.

AKA "If my five-year-old is unwilling/unable to do something, it is unfathomable to me that there exists a younger child who is willing/able to do the same thing." Not smug at all.

-Friend of a parent of a 4 year old who "has the faculties to properly control" a balance bike and has for about 6 months now.

Was it my use of the word faculties that bothered you? Sorry about that. I agree about the 4 year old being able to use the bike but would be really surprised about a 3 year old just because riding a bike requires so much coordination. Since you called me smug, well smug you too. Actually when it comes to my son I think he's really uncoordinated and clumsy so it's probably better that he doesn't ride the bike. I think there probably exist millions of children much younger than him that are probably much more advanced, mature and better at a lot of things. Am I still being smug? I give up.

No, it was (like I said) the presumption that a younger child could not possibly ("I doubt...properly...anyway") do something that your older child could not do at the same age (or older). All of the smugness on this thread is rooted in the assumption that something that does not work for your family could not possibly work for another family or that your way is the best way. I know that my own child has strengths and weaknesses (and he's not the one riding the bike) and that our family choices work for us regardless of what anyone else thinks about it or does for their own family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So when my 2.5 year old grabbed his Pooh doll this morning it occurred to me that Pooh was a good response for all those who encounter Smug Parents who avoid all Disney and licensed characters. Pooh is both.

Only Disney Pooh is Disney. "Real" Pooh is a book. Just sayin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So when my 2.5 year old grabbed his Pooh doll this morning it occurred to me that Pooh was a good response for all those who encounter Smug Parents who avoid all Disney and licensed characters. Pooh is both.

Only Disney Pooh is Disney. "Real" Pooh is a book. Just sayin.

Yes. "Real" Pooh looks like E.H. Shepard, not Walt Disney.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I"m female, expecting a girl and hate fucking pink. Purple is a pretty close second. I was fortunate enough to receive about 1000 free pieces of girl-clothes from a few friends who were done with them so was able to almost, ALMOST avoid pink. However, the SAH in-laws have all given us brand-new pink crap for our girl. they all have eating/drinking disorders so worry about correlation.

Hating pink and purple because they're "girl" colors is pretty similar to thinking that all girls must always wear pink, in my opinion.

NP, but I feel the same way. I don't hate pink and purple, I just hate that practically everything that's for girls is pink and/or purple. A little pink would be okay, but walk by the "girl aisles" (I hate that those exist, too) and it's like a Pepto Bismol bottle vomited all over everything and then sprinkled glitter on it. So I figure that if I actively limit pink and purple, it will counterbalance all the pink and purple that will inevitably appear in the form of gifts, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Umm, your child is only 7 MONTHS old!! Come back and talk to us when he's seven YEARS old!!!!

Don't let others discourage you, PP. I feel strongly that the stories that feed my child's mind should be of the highest possible caliber, so I am one of those crazy moms who limits media consumption and "characters."

I agree it is impossible for most families, because if you stick your kid in daycare then preschool, then public, you lose control over what they are exposed to from friends and from classroom materials. I kept mine with a like-minded nanny, then sent them to a character-free preschool, and they are about to start a character-free elementary program. I know others who have stayed home partly for this reason. I may seem like a silly priority for some, but if you want to, you can make it work.

When my then-3-year-old saw Dora at the white House Egg Roll 2 years ago, she yelled, "Look! It's the girl from my pull-ups!" Only assocition for her. She is now 5 and in the princess phase, but the only Disney princess she knows is Merida (an intentional choice on my part). Other than that, we look for stories about princesses and queens who display bravery, sacrifice, leadership, and--most importantly--ownership of their choices. Her peer group is friends from her school and we have had only one princess birthday party so far. Her brother is right there too.

You can think this is a stupid or wasteful priority, but if you think it's impossible, you're wrong.

What on earth is a character free preschool and public school? If you actually think these exist outside of locking your kid at home you are a NUTCASE.

PP with the 7 month old boy here. I believe Waldorf Schools don't allow all kinds of marketing and commercial stuff in their schools, no Disney, etc.

I know there is a saturation of corporate crap and marketing in our culture but I don't like it so I am going to do my best to keep as much of it away from my kid as possible when he is older. Obv now he is learning to crawl so it doesn't rally matter yet. I like the PP's idea bout searching out stories about princesses and queens who have displayed good qualities, like bravery. How is having an animated stripper body and waiting around for a man to come make your life complete something we want to teach our kids is a feminine ideal?

I don't care what y'all think about me for holding these opinions.

I am the much-maligned PP from above, and yes, it's a Waldorf school. To address some of the accusations/assumtions:

1) the point is not to shelter Larla and Snowflake from any and all outside influence forever, but to surround them with stories about people who are making powerful, potent choices when they are very young, so that the stories starring empty stereotypes will be less appealing. That is why I prefer "scary" Brave to vapid Cinderella. Merida has terrible fights with her mother, but they come from a real and complex relationship between two characters making real choices, and the movie led to a lot of talks about listening to others and how being a leader means taking responsibility. Cinderella makes alomst no choices. She works hard (for people who abuse her) and is endlessly cheerful, but her stepmother, the fairy godmother, the king and the duke make all of the choices in the story.

2). Sorry to disapoint, but my DD potty-trained at 2, she just has a long memory--not that 3 is even that late.

3). I am not a fan of princesses, but my DD is right now, which is why we read about them. We read plenty of book about other types of characters, just not when it's her turn to pick.

4). I know I will continue to be ripped apart a d I should probably give up.

+100

[Anonymous]

Wow! I am disheartened by how mean people are being. It is hard enough to be a parent, much less bear the nasty comments of fellow parents. Have a little sympathy and support other parents rather than gossip/make fun of them.

[Anonymous]

Okay, I'll bite. I was attending a Music and Me class with my 3 DC's, and the teacher just randomly played a song and went around the room and asked all the kiddies what they had for breakfast. Heard plenty of yogurts, cereal, eggs, etc....but we just happened to have (gasp!) donuts that morning as a treat. The utter shock and stares at me were priceless.

[Anonymous]

MIL is the queen of smug. You name it, she has side swiped it. "I'm here to see (DC) not you", just as an example.

Really byotch? Really?

Some people don't do nice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I"m female, expecting a girl and hate fucking pink. Purple is a pretty close second. I was fortunate enough to receive about 1000 free pieces of girl-clothes from a few friends who were done with them so was able to almost, ALMOST avoid pink. However, the SAH in-laws have all given us brand-new pink crap for our girl. they all have eating/drinking disorders so worry about correlation.

Hating pink and purple because they're "girl" colors is pretty similar to thinking that all girls must always wear pink, in my opinion.

+1 My sons love pink and purple

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I"m female, expecting a girl and hate fucking pink. Purple is a pretty close second. I was fortunate enough to receive about 1000 free pieces of girl-clothes from a few friends who were done with them so was able to almost, ALMOST avoid pink. However, the SAH in-laws have all given us brand-new pink crap for our girl. they all have eating/drinking disorders so worry about correlation.

Hating pink and purple because they're "girl" colors is pretty similar to thinking that all girls must always wear pink, in my opinion.

NP, but I feel the same way. I don't hate pink and purple, I just hate that practically everything that's for girls is pink and/or purple. A little pink would be okay, but walk by the "girl aisles" (I hate that those exist, too) and it's like a Pepto Bismol bottle vomited all over everything and then sprinkled glitter on it. So I figure that if I actively limit pink and purple, it will counterbalance all the pink and purple that will inevitably appear in the form of gifts, etc.

Or it will ensure that all your daughter will ever want to wear is pink. Anytime I had a friend whose parent forbid something, it became an automatic draw... Like flies to honey.

[Anonymous]

Pink hatin' poster here:

I don't hate all pinks and purples but PP hit the nail on the head. It's that pepto bismol pink and that there is so little choice for other colors.

I hear you on the splash back.

My son keeps trying on baby girl clothes (and the set i've given him is pink). It's really funny b/c (obviously) 9m onsies do not fit a 4 yr old. He also dresses up his bear which is even cuter.

While some of this thread is a bit mean, a lot of it if really, really funny. Like baby bulimia poster. So FUnny!