to avoid my friend because of the way she talks to her 2 yr old? she talks to me THROUGH him!

[onthefence]

Every 5 minutes I am told how 'bright' he is, how 'advanced' how 'intelligent' he is etc. and conversations we have are had through the poor child, even if he is totally not wanting to talk, just because he has good language, she feels the need to demonstrate it at every chance. The little boy gets very stroppy and has monster screaming fits which the mum thinks she can 'talk' him out of it and it generally just blows up and I end up going home early

It is awful. My 2 year old goes from being a chatty and cheeky toddler to being almost mute and acts out of character to get a bit of attention (pinches the child prodigy?s toys etc)

I can't help but see this friend regularly because she takes her ds to the same groups I go to. She upsets the atmosphere everywhere and I can't bare it!!!!

aibu?

It has affected our relationship and I find I don't really want to socialise without the kids like we used to.

"My 2 year old goes from being a chatty and cheeky toddler to being almost mute and acts out of character to get a bit of attention"

My first daughter started acting like this in the company of the other children in our NCT group, when she was about 2.5. It took me six months to recognise that she didn't actually like playing with them any more and it was time for us to cut and run.

Have kept in touch with the mums that I genuinely got along with. DD1 has flourished into a self-confident, happy child who is much better off without those early "friends".

Just my experience.

2yo does seem to be a bit of a turning point for these 'friendships' I have discovered.

I fear one of my friends is now avoiding me as her DD and DS1 don't seem to get on very well anymore - get togethers with them both can be very stressful with the clash of personalities (her DD goes mute around DS1).

....well I suppose that I am quite boring too, so that could be the other reason she is avoiding me

Life is too short to spend it with people you don't have fun with...

shitemum, that is why I mumsnet!

smithagain that is a very good point. now I have a perfect get out.
I have looked after hughbert loads, and amazingly they relate very differently to each other.
shitemum, so so true.

Oh I know a Hughbert, but in female form.

A good friend was exactly like this, but I kept hoping I'd see my friend back soon. Luckily they live quite a distance away so we met Hughbertina once when she was 2, then 3, then had a looonnnggg break and met up again now that she's 6. After a long painful weekend - "Hughbertina, why don't you put on your ballet music and dance for them for an hour in the sitting room", even when I closed my eyes and feigned sleep and my dd sat with a very bemused look on the couch she didn't stop, and the mum continued to skip to the next appropriate song on the CD.

I've decided we should meet up again when daughter has left home

oh gosh, hughbertina sounds delightful! it makes me so conscious of what I might be 'doing' to my children. parents have so much to answer to!