Reply to Losing Friendship Over Child

Forum Index » General Parenting Discussion

Reply to "Losing Friendship Over Child "

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]Just my two cents-- if this friendship is important to you, bite your tongue and be patient for a while.

One of my closest friends for years became a parent a decade after I did. Her kids were NIGHTMARES but she excused and sometimes even celebrated their "spiritedness." Trying to talk to her about it strained our friendship . She thought I was "pathologizing" because I teach kids with developmental and behavioral challenges. She hurt my feelings by pointing out times when my own kids were not perfectly behaved-- implying I was a hypocrite.

I gave up trying to talk about it, and just quietly stretched the times between visits, and arranged them to be in outdoor settings, or places where I didn't have to be the one to enforce the rules! When her kids were still getting us kicked out of restaurants and children's museums at 9 and 10 years old, she was finally ready to see they had issues that needed addressing. The family started counselling. Both kids went to counseling. They were both tested, and one was moved to an ED (emotional disturbances) program at school.

The kids' behavior improved somewhat after this. My friend was less stressed. My kids and I were less stressed when they visited!

A few years ago,she was diagnosed with cancer and died 14 months later. We talked almost every day during that time. I visited her the day before she passed.

I don't know how close you and your friend are. There were DEFINITELY times when I considered cutting off contact with my friend. But, if I had, I would have lost years with someone who was like a sister to me. I miss her now.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics