I am seriously considering distancing myself from my NCT friends because of this woman.
Our babies are now 4 years old. Ever since we started attending NCT classes this woman has been the leader of the group; she is very attractive, with a seemingly glamorous lifestyle, and in addition is very outspoken and opinionated. She isn't a particularly nice person IMO, and has a way of forcing her opinions on you so that you don't dare to think anything else. However the other ladies from our group seem to think that she's great; they hang on each and every word that she says and go along with whatever she says. We all still meet up fairly regularly.
This woman is so hypocritical; basically we have to listen to her lecturing us about a particular subject and about her viewpoints on it, then when it suits her circumstances her views will take a complete turn and then we've all got to be lectured on the new viewpoint. To give an example, when we were all pregnant she lectured us all on how epidurals weren't necessary and how she didn't agree with them, and in all honesty made me feel that I'd be a total failure if I had one! However she then had her baby and had an epidural! We then had to listen to lots of talk about her extenuating circumstances and about how she really needed an epidural.
Then it was breastfeeding; I formula fed my DS from birth. She BF her DS for a few weeks and lectured us all. Her DS was around the 6 or 7 week mark when she stopped breastfeeding, and suddenly we were all getting lectured on formula feeding and told about how apparently formula isn't much different from breast feeding these days.
A recent thing when we did school applications this time last year was about OFSTED reports; her catchment school doesn't have a very good OFSTED report, but my local one does. When I mentioned which school we had applied for she went on for ages about how the OFSTED ratings do not matter and how she would far rather her child went to a school that he felt comfortable in, than worrying about all that academic stuff! Next thing she has decided to apply for a different school, which is an outstanding Ofsted rated school, and we haven't heard the end of it ever since! Her son got into the school and she is always talking about the school's rating and about how important it is to send your child to a good school.
Another thing that has annoyed me is she basically laid down the law to us all when we met up a few months ago and said lets all not brag about our DCs to each other or do FB posts about childrens' achievements anymore, and how it's best to keep our childrens' achievements to ourselves, as all children are different. Everyone nodded their heads like nodding dogs. However all this woman does is put braggy FB statuses up about her son, and how he can do this and that, and how she's so proud of him, and how at parents' evening last week she was told that he's the most advanced child in reception. Of course then she was fawned over by the rest of the ladies from our group.
It's getting to the stage where I really feel that I cannot have my viewpoints any longer, and this woman is really getting on my nerves. I like the rest of the women in the group but they are all quite easily led, and seem to really idolise this woman.
AIBU to stop meeting up with them all?