Dd3 is 7.5 and goes to the same brownies as a girl at her school who she doesn't get on that well with. It's nothing terrible, just a case of she did this, she said that etc. Probably six of one and half a dozen of another tbh.
Brownies had a trip recently at a venue which was a bit of a way from home. I had other running around with my other two dds that day so the mother of this girl very kindly offered to bring my dd home from the trip (she lives quite near me). I didn't think it would be a problem for dd and this girl to put up with each other for the half hour journey home.
Anyway, I was waiting for them to return, the doorbell rang and dd ran in in floods of tears. The mum looked/sounded very stressed, said the journey was terrible, she couldn't find our house and had asked dd for directions. Dd either didn't know (from where they were at the time) or sent her the wrong way or something. The mum had told dd off and asked her why she didn't say the right way to go. It sounded like it had got very heated and the daughter had also got involved in the conversation somehow. She also said dd had shouted her dd down when she tried to say something.
I'm always the first to admit if my child has done something wrong or been naughty and from the way this mum told me the story it sounded like dd was in the wrong so I said I would talk to her and apologise if needed. Dd was very upset, her point of view was that she wasn't sure of the way home and had spent the entire journey in this car feeling unliked/despised by both the mum and daughter. She was crying and probably let her emotions get the better of her.
The mum said some not very complimentary things about dd, I think she thinks dd is very strong willed and her dd is sweet and kind and has never had any issues with girls in her class before.
I know the journey must have been stressful but to take it out on a 7 year old? I would always treat a guest child (even if just in the car) kindly and make them feel comfortable. And I wouldn't rely on a child to give accurate directions!
AIBU?
To think you don't reprimand a 7 year old for not giving directions home?
Dancergirl · 27/11/2015 17:03
She didn't say she gave the wrong address, but that she had trouble with DIRECTIONS.
Your poor DD. 
I would just learn from this experience to be honest.
I don't expect a 7.5yr old child to direct me when I am driving.
But I did ask DN once if he recognised any familiar shops, corners, roads etc when I was driving him to his chess club 50 minutes away. He said he'd been there twice but always played on his iplayer whilst traveling and knew nothing because he didn't look out of the car window! I did actually end up shouting at DN saying, "For goodness sake, look out of the window and tell me where we are" 
I even phoned DN's Mum in Edinburgh and she finally admitted that she had never taken DN to the chess club - another Mum had - so she couldn't even direct me when I finally found the front door of the school. (Chess club was held in an annex that had another entrance.)
After that dreadful experience, Mum and I always exchanged venue postcodes for scouts, swimming, football and used STREETMAP so that I knew exactly where I was going.
SatNav works on postcodes or street addresses if the Mum has one.
Your DD will have felt anxious if the Mum was asking for directions which she couldn't give. Your DD will get over it with your calm help and support. There may have been some anxiety that if the adult is 'lost' then how will I get home.
Do you walk DD around your area?
Does she know the local landmarks? (A big pub, a police station, a huge farm gate, a local shop, the big park, the post office etc etc etc)
On a funny note: My late-DH was a traffic cop for 9 years and couldn't read a map if his life depended on it. Apparently, when traffic cops were assigned to new routes (before SatNavs) they coasted around the area for 2 days and found their own routes because it is then fixed in their minds. But that always gave DH the excuse to never have to figure out a new 3 hr journey - because his mind didn't work like that! If we went wrong, it was my navigational skills in question, not his driving! 
I hope that helps OP.
Thank you.
I am generally very honest about my dc and I know that dd does have a temper and is prone to emotional outbursts. But what surprises me is that these are usually reserved for us and she can hold it together at school and other people's houses. I have always got good reports about her behaviour from people generally and they say she is polite and well behaved. I think she must have been really upset to have lost it in the car. She felt both the mum and daughter hated her 
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