Bl**dy interfering old bat ... am still fuming!

[ghosty]

At playgroup this morning DD (13 months) was happily bumshuffling her way around all the toys and chattering away and pointing at things to show anyone who was near her ...
I was looking on but not actually next to her ...
Anyway, this bloody old woman (a granny of a toddler) pointed very rudely at DD and said in a loud voice, "That baby should be crawling!"
I looked at her and said, "No, that baby should be doing exactly as she wants to ... "
So this woman turned to me and said, "It is a known fact that babies who don't crawl will have learning difficulties!!!"
After staring at her in astonishment I said, "I can assure you that there is nothing wrong with MY baby's development and if there was what business is it of yours?"
I spent the rest of playgroup fuming and ended up leaving early ....
Cow

[fairyfly]

silly things like that will constantly be said..... don't get angry

[helsi]

I'm sorry to say that many older people (shall we call them) have quite odd opinions compared to the parents of today. According to my MIL dh was potty trained at under 12 months!!

[Cristina7]

OMG, what a horrible, horrible thing to say to a complete stranger. I'd have been so angry too. Don't dwell on it or think of all the things you should have said etc. She was horrible, don't waste your time on her.

[fairyfly]

its not horrid at all, people say comments, you listen or you don't, someone was rude to you, twats ahoy, they live all over the place, don't listen.................i'm sure every single mumsnetter has said a throw away comment to someone


don't have a high tuned mind that picks up on shit like this, leave it alone, you will all send yourselves mad if you don't

[Levanna]

Ghosty, that would have made me so, so ! What a horrible comment and completely unfounded. I'd probably stuttered, shaken, blushed and left. You did well!

[singsong]

Don't worry about it ghosty, you and most of the rest of the population know that her comment is untrue. My cousin was a bumshuffler before she could walk, only disadvantage that her mum used to complain about is that she'd wear holes in the bottoms of all her trousers so quickly

[jabberwocky]

oh, ffs I would have been furious! It reminds me of when someone asked about ds and then said, "Oh, well, but it's still too soon to know about cerebral palsy, isn't it?" - which he doesn't have btw.

[marthamoo]

You should have said "it's a well known fact that children who have interfering old bats for Grandmas end up being low achievers with criminal temdencies."

Silly old fart.

[marthamoo]

Or even tendencies.

[FairyMum]

Lol Marthamoo! I can't believe she said that to you. Lost for words....

[Twiglett]

I'd have laughed in her face and got extremely sarcastic

but then I wouldn't have been able to go back afterwards

what a stupid cow

[GeorginaA]

LOL marthamoo, I like your style.

What a silly cow she was, ghosty. on your behalf.

My tactic tends to be of the eyebrow raised "oh really, that's interesting" mode of response, then annoyed rant afterwards to anyone who will listen. Not a big fan of confrontation me, but very admiring of anyone who is good at sticking up for themselves properly. You did good, kid

[ghosty]

Oh, FF ... I am not worried about what she said, just stunned that she should be so bloody rude!!

Marthamoo ....

[Freckle]

Next time (before you deck her ), just ask for her research-based evidence of the fact that everyone knows children who don't crawl will have learning difficulties. Or perhaps suggest that she is ample evidence of her own theory.....

FYI, DS2 never crawled properly. And he is as sharp as a knife.

[Pinotmum]

She's read one article in one magazine and totally misunderstood it and that makes her the expert now. I totally agree with Fairyfly these uninvited comments will continue so just learn to give the virtual finger. I can't believe how many child experts are out there in disguise as check out girls, bus drivers, grannies and my fav MIL's grrr. I bet your dd's just too gorgeous to ignore

[Mud]

actually crawling is NOT a developmental stage that is monitored by any childcare expert because children have such different paths to walking

the important thing is she can get from point A to point B, bum shuffle, walking on hands however

silly old troug

[Mud]

trout

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

How ignorant and rude.

The developmental stage she missed out on was acquiring manners.

[MrsBigD]

ghosty - according to that old bat my dd should be daft as, as she never crawled properly either. she was a bumshuffler, side roller, wigglly caterpillar but no proper crawling. and now she's brigh as can be (o.k. I'm biased I'm her mum but she's definitely not having learning difficulties]. Oh I admire your restraint as I probably would have something like marthamoo suggested

[Gobbledigook]

WHAT? What a load of crap!!!

Sad old trout

[Hulababy]

So rude, I would have felt really angry and somewhat stunned too.

[Hulababy]

Oh and DD hardly cralwed at all and she is perfecly fine. So she is talking utter rubbish - as I am sure you are already aware.

And what would she have done if your (or someone else's) baby did have some form of SN? Stupid woman.

[NotQuiteCockney]

Hulababy, that was my thought exactly. Not to say anything about your DD, but what if she did have SN? Is being shouted about by an old bat a cure?

[NotQuiteCockney]

about ghosty's dd, rather.

[californiagirl]

DD cruised before she crawled, and people kept telling me she needed to be made to crawl because otherwise she would be slow to learn to read. I never crawled and I could read when I was 3! People don't understand the difference between things being correlated and guaranteed causation.