To agree with Uber parent her kids are vastly superior.

[Joshanddonna]

Last night I went to a talk about Year 13 at my kids school and I sat next to a woman I've known since my DS started reception. Let me tell you that her children are highly superior to anyone elses. They run, they write books, they read Shakespeare for fun, they all learn multiple instruments, speak several languages and even walk in a vastly superior way to anyone else on the planet (probably even on water).
You can't have a conversation with her she just talks at you.... regaling you with their achievements. If you try to interject with anything your kids have done she will interupt and tell you hers did it so much better.
My DS is lovely and doing well. Her DS is heading for Oxford and sainthood.
So I sat and listened as she spoke about this golden child and at the end agreed he was indeed a superhero and I didn't know why I even bothered talking to my DS.
My DH - who when he saw her grabbed DS and moved to another part of the hall - said I shouldn’t have said it. But that is what she wanted to hear and now I hope she will never speak to me again.
What do people like this want you to say?!

I just left. I’d been at work since 7am and I was just so tired. I’m happy to agree with her it was just easier.

I had to put up with a bragging parent all the way through primary school. Her child was the best at absolutely everything. Music, language, sport, this super child was better than any other child.

This super child was destined for super things and the 11+ tutoring was only put in place to make sure super child went to super selective grammar school.

Super child was a horrible child, sneering at others and laughing that they'd be going to local comprehensive school, while they, super child, was destined for super things.

Well. Super child got low 11+ marks and didn't get selected for super selective grammar school.

Super child is now at the same perfectly good comprehensive school as the others from her primary school.

It's all gone verrrrry quiet.

I thought that too!

Generally I tend to use the word 'Really???' and I can make it sound like all sorts of things.

MN is the home of the psychological excuse, no-one is ever astraight forward PITA, there are always 'issues' about which we should be sympathetic.

I snapped after 5 years of endless wittering about her amazing, incredible genius dd, I only managed so long for my dd as the girls were good friends.
Towards the end of prmary I snapped and turned around and said quite softly
‘We know that your dd is amazing and we have heard nothing else for the last 5 years, I have heard that the next school is a great leveller’
Her face was worth the wait
You could hear a pin drop 😁

I think being proud and praising your kids for achievements is fine. As long as you can listen and hear other people being proud of theirs too.

Also, I'm big on being proud of the achievements of the friends of my kids too.

Essentially, round my way, if you do something really awesome you get celebrated.

I did love your answer to the Uber braggy mum though OP

YABU for taking it personally.
It's nothing to do with you or your child, it's all about her insecurity & feeling she has to prove herself through her offspring.
Feel sorry for that child, they won't have an easy childhood.

No one actually cares about your kids achievements though, they really don’t.
Save your breath and talk about something else - you will be far more interesting to people.

I wouldn't want my child to be an extreme high achiever in school. I actually don't think it's something to boast about. I saw a few really flounder at uni when they become very much a small very average cog in a much larger system. They often don't know how to try and struggle emotional and flunk at uni. That adjustment of realising you're not The Big I Am is so much harder when it comes in early adulthood than early adolescence

🤣🤣 perfect response Dodgy

You’re probably right. But as I’ve said before it had been a very long day.

I dont know how any parent of teens dares boast! You just never know what is round the corner! Utterly tempting fate surely.

A friend has a Dd who was a wild party animal and committed minor crimes. My poor friend was at her wits end. Clever girl though and suddenly worked like mad and got all 9s in her GCSEs came top of the school and now on Oxbridge path. . Friend didn’t even mention it I was boasting on her behalf!

It doesn’t matter whether it is their child, husband or own achievements - years ago I perfected what my Grandmother used to call ‘killing with kindness’ it never fails
they either think you are wonderful and so lovely, are totally blindsided and don’t know how to react or just avoid you
Best of all they can’t say you did anything wrong

I love these kind of parents!! They're almost always the parents of children who end up being troubled teens who go totally off the rails and have horrendous drug habits!!

Wait a few years, your time of 'oh dear, what a shame' will come.

There are always these parents, I usually appease them with a 'wow, you must be so proud'. I never discuss my children and their achievements with parents I dont really have a connection with because it's almost always met with jealousy. You have to fund your team and sing your childs praises to them and then celebrate their childs achievements also!

I know I am a bit ancient - but what are DS and DH? Given up guessing now

Personally, if someone values all this walking on water, Oxbridge entry, multiple.instruments thing then fine! Personally I'd choose a kind, considerate, compassionate, hard working, resilient kid over all that. I wonder what values supermum thinks her son's achievements reflect (on her and her son?) She doesn't sound too self aware or socially skilled :(

I have experienced similar. Mostly from parents at our (bog standard, state) primary wanting me to join in with complaining about the teachers, how unprofessional they are, how they aren't stretching the class, etc etc. I lost it last time & said 'it must be hard to have geniuses for children but my perfectly average child is making excellent progress' they've stopped trying to include me now. They basically wanted the teacher to only work to the highest standard in the room and to leave out children, like my lovely ds, who has special needs. Assign him to the TA and let the teacher focus solely on the prodigies. Exhausting.

I remember this type of parent very well - thank goodness two out of our three DCs are through school and the youngest is a teenager so I don’t have to stand at the school gates or attend many school events and listen to them blowing off about their offspring as you stifle a yawn.

The great thing about it is that the DC all end up on their own paths, and the great academic achievements of P4 or S2 are completely irrelevant when they’re working adults. The only time you really see those parents are in the aisles of Sainsburys where you can studiously avoid them or pretend you’re on your phone.

In some ways these parents are very relaxing company - you can just nod and smile and say “my goodness!” .
They never ask about my children (unless it’s as an opener to talk about theirs again) and nothing much is expected in reply…

Ask her if he poops rainbows and fairy dust as well. 😂😂😂Once he's at uni and has the freedom to do what he wants he won't be such a golden child.

Love this! Well done Op.

This is a great approach!

We have a set of parents like this in our extended family. All their children are amazing of course, but unfortunately one of them is very close in age to one of ours so the comparisons are relentless. Example, when they got their GCSE results I was emailed a photo of their DC's results sheet before our school was even open. Their DC got mostly 9s with a couple of 8s. Mine got mostly 8s with a couple of 9s. I got gushing commiserations and comments about what a lovely young person my DC is and well, we can't all be academically gifted like their DCs can we? Ours will probably find other talents eventually. WTAF?? I just don't engage. I'm sure they view it as jealousy but I really can't be arsed - even when our children's achievements do "beat" theirs. If I made sarcastic comments they wouldn't even notice. I seethe quietly and try to protect my own children from the toxicity.

I'm guilty of sharing some of their achievements with fellow parents. I can't help myself and afterwards I realise it probably made me look braggy. I'm a single parent and my parents aren't interested in their achievements so I like to share with someone.

The woman sounds a bore and I think you were quite measured and funny in your response OP. However, there is a LOT of schadenfreude on this thread. That is ugly too.