Being laughed at on the School Run

[ChoccyBiscuits123]

Okay so I'm going to start by saying I'm not usually bothered by people's behaviour - I'm very much a live and let live person....however...there are two women on the school run that I am just perplexed by.

So for example this morning..I had just dropped my daughter off at school and I'm minding my own business walking home. These two other mums come from around the corner and immediately start laughing directly at me in my face...! They then stifled their giggles and walked past. This is not the first time this has happened.
Once they started singing a Kylie Minogue song at me from the other side of the road laughing and twirling around. All a bit much for me in the morning!!

We're all pretty relaxed dressers on the school run..they wear tracksuits and tie their hair up and I tend to wear leggings and a navy joules coat with miminal make up (mascara and perhaps a red lip if I have the energy) so it's not like I'm going to school in Kylie hot pants or full make up or other crazy clothing.

I'm perplexed as to why they've targeted me as I don't know them at all. It's got to the point where it is upsetting me. Someone laughing in my face or stifling giggles as I walk past is hurtful and it's starting to feel like bullying. Am I being too sensitive? Is my make up or dress sense so awful they cant help but laugh? I am so confused! Esp as they don't seem to do it to anyone else.

I want to ignore it and just put it down to them being muppets but I am struggling now.

I can't confront them as they will probably just see it as hilarious and as they've never actually said anything directly to me they could accuse me of being paranoid.

Any help or advice much appreciated. No nasty comment please.

Agree ref no hard stares, or any confrontation. You're dealing with different mentalities. They just need to be drowned out, music, 🎧, no attention. Done.

I can't believe anyone would actually do this? It sounds like a massively cruel over reaction to something a bit weird and easily ignored. Or to pretty much anything.

I would go with the headphones, benign smile approach personally.

They sound like Vicky Pollard and her friend.

They sound like scum. And extremely pathetic. I'd give them a filthy look every time I passed them.

You'll always get people like this. I find life so much easier since I stopped caring what people think. I used to be a complete people pleaser and since I've stopped people treat me so much better. In this instance conpletely ignore them. Just have your headphones on doing the school run so you don't have to deal with them and don't think about them anymore!

Pftt.

I have personally been laughed at by strangers and used a stare to stop it.

Go on, tell me how it didn't work. I'm sure you know everyone's lives and reactions far better than we all do. But thanks for the lecture.

Laughing in someone’s face and stifling giggles as you walk past is the height of emotional maturity 🙌

There must be a reason for this. Do their daughters have an issue with yours? Have they been told by other mums that you’re weird?
I think that if this happens regularly and is clearly aimed at you, it could be considered to be harassment.

Zone out with headphones and sunglasses, but if you do get a reaction, stop suddenly, as though surprised, remove glasses and headphones, politely ask if they could hear those two cats fighting, seem to hear them every morning in same place………smile sweetly, and walk on by……..More effective if you can have have someone tipped off and alongside you😈

I would put some headphones on once dropped child off. And just ignore them.
It's very sad to be an adult and still feel the need to bully someone . They must have very sad small lives . I bet the behaviour rubs of on their children.
I hated when my kids went to primary school. So many crazy parents to avoid . Headphones definitely made it easier

What constitutes harassment.

Yeah, I’m sure your particular brand of death stare can stop an opponent at 30 paces. If you believe that, jog on.

I think NewShoes is very likely to be right.

I had this for over 6 years

Queen bee had 9 children and when she had no6,she gave birth,glanced at him and walked out of the hospital-he was adopted

(she was slagged off by a lot of the mothers for that but I never said a word)

No 7 was,very sadly,born stillborn

I barely knew this woman-she was a friend of a friend of a friend but she took a real dislike to me for some reason

She went round telling everyone I'd laughed at the fact her baby was stillborn (I never laughed-i wouldn't do that) and when that failed to get a rise out of me,she got her dds to go round telling everyone that my dd had laughed instead-leading to my dd being bullied

I had to go into the school so many times and these girls wouldn't let it go (school admitted that these two had admitted to lying but refused to stop,egged on by their mother-if someone even glanced that them,theyd screech 'you laughed about my dead baby brother!')

I would be followed round shops,the city centre,home and loudly laughed at in the playground at pick up/drop off time-it was harassment (police where less than useless and I didn't want to fan their flames)

They made our lives hell all the way through primary-it stopped in secondary (the teachers had none of it and stopped the girls)

I'll never forget going to sports day-i was wearing a pale blue dress,red shoes,touch of make up and nice hair

They where there in last weeks baby vomit splattered top,dirty tracksuit bottoms,manky trainers and dirty hair

I was panned for daring to wear nice clothes-i could hear their nasty comments

All slid off me as it was jealousy-their words where just words and their actions where making them look petty and spiteful

Best laugh was,all her mates who where joining in,where the same woman who had slagged her off for leaving her baby in the hospital and had laughed behind her back when her baby was stillborn

Not my circus and not my monkeys-she had a lot of issues

But the OP isn't 'scared, distressed or threatened'. She's mildly bemused and slightly annoyed because two women laughed at her once, and on another occasion sang a Kylie Minogue song at her across the road.

This is not a police matter.

My God don't do this. Are you mental TonTon??!

Put your earbuds in and completely blank them. Act as if you're totally oblivious even if you're dying inside. It's the only real way to deal with idiotic behaviour.

Honestly, they'd be better off joining the 7 year olds in the playground. How pathetic.

I’d be tempted to take a friend or two with me on the school run and do the exact same to them. But I can be childish and vengeful like that 😂

I do agree with the more sensible suggestions of ignoring them or asking what their problem is.

Pretend to be on your phone when you see them " oh God it's those 2 again, it must be awful to be them....anyway mate, what are your plans for later?"...or you could just hum the theme tune to Laurel and Hardy as they walk past.

That was the first thing that came to my mind.

I’m not sure this is directed at you? Perhaps they are being silly/larking around/singing etc and then they are laughing because youve seen them? Why would they laugh at you, unless theres a big dripfeed coming about you doing the school run in some kind of outrageous clothing?

what a vile and immature pair of idiots they are. How horrible for you and the other thing that bothers me is that these two women are mothers and responsible for bringing up young impressionable children

Just ignore. They are bullies and want a reaction.

Is it when you are alone or when you have your dc with you?

Hold your head high and keep doing what you are doing (maybe stick some kylie on your playlist and stick your headphones in).

I'd be giving them the finger, to be honest. Or asking if them if they need some help in a sarcastic manner. I put up with enough of this bullshit at school, heaven help anyone who tries this on me now.