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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To feel annoyed by parenting police intervention?

47 replies

Maybemable · 08/05/2016 21:50

It hasn't been a great day - taking up carpet in main bedroom, assembling new bed, heat etc. Plus DD has Sats tomorrow. Anyway DD keen to go shopping to nearby shops and spend pocket money. I say fine as long as she helps tidy up carpet remnants in front garden first. DD has MAJOR meltdown as she wants to shop first, tidy second. I stand firm and insist she tidies first and am being calm and in control overseeing her from the first floor bedroom. Front door closed to prevent kitten going into road. Anyway, a nicely spoken 30 something woman stops by our gate to enquire "can she help" but not in a helpful way, in a judgy way. I say, calmly thanks no, daughter having a moment we are fine. She doesn't budge, and says my daughter seems in distress and claims she has been crying for some time. I say thanks we are fine and continue to try and reason with daughter. This woman still doesn't leave and so I say still calmly a third time, really we are fine thanks. And she finally moved off. But now I am fuming. Unless she is supernanny how dare she butt in?!

OP posts:
shinynewusername · 08/05/2016 22:36

I'd rather people were inappropriately concerned, than that they were inappropriately not-concerned

This. It's actually quite brave of her to stand her ground if she was still concerned. By the sound of it, she didn't need to be concerned, but she didn't know that. Some day, your DD might really be in danger (not from you) and have reason to be very grateful to a stranger not walking by and thinking "It's none of my business".

FirstWeTakeManhattan · 08/05/2016 22:38

I don't think she was being 'super nanny' or the parenting police Hmm

I think she was concerned about your daughter - who I realise was actually fine - and didn't want to just move away before she was convinced that things were okay.

If your daughter was presenting as very, very distressed, then I think she was not out of order at all.

I don't think you did anything particularly wrong, OP, but neither did this woman.

queenofthepirates · 08/05/2016 22:39

I am inclined to agree with Shiny, it's okay for people to be concerned about someone in distress. I think you were BU

ghostspirit · 08/05/2016 22:44

in a nut shell seems like ops daughter wanted to go to the shops. op said its fine but you need to help out with carpet first. the dd then had a pre-teen tantrum. and someone walking past the garden asked if she was ok. the passer by was told all is fine. at that point she should have left.

shazzarooney999 · 08/05/2016 22:44

It is so hard when they are on the spectrum isnt it? it is nice though when people do offer because it does get hard when people are staring or judging all the time, i had it last night when i went shopping and my son had a meltdown and lady asked if he was on the spectrum ect ect could she help, it is lovely that people offer, but sometimes they can do more damage than good.

BeckyWithTheMediocreHair · 08/05/2016 22:46

It is so hard when they are on the spectrum isnt it?

Where does OP say that her DD is on the spectrum? Are you extrapolating from her use of the word 'meltdown'?

shazzarooney999 · 08/05/2016 22:48

I presumed her child was on the spectrum with the use of the word meltdown, would that be ok with you? or shall i check with you before hand what sentences i need to write?

BeckyWithTheMediocreHair · 08/05/2016 22:50

No offence intended, shazza - genuinely asking if I had missed something.

I know that 'meltdown' has a very specific meaning but sometimes posters do use it to describe tantrums.

shazzarooney999 · 08/05/2016 22:51

I know but it hacks me off, theres a huge difference between a child having a tantrum and a child having a meltdown and it is a big difference trust me.

BeckyWithTheMediocreHair · 08/05/2016 22:52

I understand that, and I try to use the word precisely. I just don't think you can assume that that is always the case.

Maybemable · 08/05/2016 22:54

Apologies - I meant meltdown as in tantrum. DD not on spectrum however imo she is borderline oppositional/ defiant with a lot of v challenging behaviour which I don't always manage well. She was seen at CAMHS a couple of years ago but they couldn't find anything wrong.

OP posts:
shazzarooney999 · 08/05/2016 22:56

They can be hard to manage at times, today i have lost half the use of my arm through a meltdown lastnight, where my son punched the heck out of it, then he kicked me full force on the leg and the arm, leaving me bruised on both the leg and arm, trying to keep him safe from running onto the run where he would get killed. Hope you get help for your daughter soon xx

Maybemable · 08/05/2016 22:57

All - thanks for your input - has given me a bit more perspective. And I will try and avoid front garden show downs in future! :)

OP posts:
WorraLiberty · 08/05/2016 22:58

Well maybe she didn't believe your DD was fine and wasn't prepared to blindly take your word for it.

From her POV, you might have locked her out or something.

I think it's good that she didn't walk on until she was satisfied your DD wasn't being mistreated.

Annoying for you (understandably) but still fair enough imo.

Maybemable · 08/05/2016 22:59

Shazza - so sorry to hear about your son, thanks for your support. You sound an amazing mum. 💐

OP posts:
shinynewusername · 08/05/2016 23:00

the passer by was told all is fine. at that point she should have left

Cos of course no one who is abusing a child ever denies it? Hmm

Totally get why the OP was uncomfortable as she was doing nothing wrong. But I am also heartened that a passer-by would care enough to stay till she was satisfied the DD was OK, even though she must also have been very uncomfortable.

WorraLiberty · 08/05/2016 23:02

I agree shiny

pinkpetrol · 08/05/2016 23:04

Last year around SATs time my daughter would happily sit on out front door step sobbing. When i tried to get her in , she would scream "I just need air"- we have a lovely back garden full of air! Keep strong my daughter although still prone to amdram is much better this year

NeedsAsockamnesty · 08/05/2016 23:15

Would you have preferred her to have walked away u satisfied that your child was safe and then call the police?

Brokenbiscuit · 08/05/2016 23:20

I have a dd of that age, and I genuinely can't imagine her having a tantrum in public, ever. I can't really imagine any of her friends doing this either. So if I saw a kid of this age in that sort of state, I might well stop to check if everything was OK.

Obviously, in this case, the intervention was unnecessary, but on balance, I'd rather that people make the effort to check rather than just shrugging and ignoring.

Hope your dd is ok, anyway, and that all goes well for her SATS tomorrow.

allowlsthinkalot · 09/05/2016 12:24

If my six year old dd was having a strop in the front garden I would have no problem coming inside the house and ignoring her. Mumsnet is odd sometimes.

BeckysMediocreHair · 09/05/2016 12:30

I'd have vanished and let the 11 year old handle it - surely at that age she would be mortified to have a stranger ask why she's having a babyish crying tantrum.

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