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Here's a good little story from a trip I made a week or so ago to Target with my wife, her mom and her friend. At that time, she was babysitting her other friend's baby. Now, he's little and just started teething, so now and again he'll become very upset and start crying, so we'll tend to him and eventually he'll quiet down. He'll also get upset - of course - when he's tired. And when it's both? Oh, mercy.
Anyway, the four of us are in Target and we're walking around when the baby starts to cry - and I mean *cry*. Basically, there was little we could to do take care of it at that moment, so my mother-in-law elects to take the baby and bring it outside so she can sit, let him sleep, maybe even give him some infant Orajel stuff for his teeth (which usually helps). So, she loads up the stroller and heads in the other direction as we go further into the store with our cart.
Now, keep in mind, this kid can be loud when he wants to be. So, as we're heading to the back - we can still hear him and this customer, apparently commenting to a friend of her's, happens to say - as we're passing...
SC: "Ugh, how can they just let him cry like that?"
My wife, I should point out, has no fear of conflict. She will say whatever she wants to say if it needs to be said, the exact opposite of me. She would have let it pass, but that comment made her stop in her tracks.
Wife (J): "Excuse me, but that's our baby, and he's tired and teething, that's why he's crying."
Instead of stepping away gracefully? Maybe apologizing? Nah.
SC: "Well, why don't you pick him up?"
J: "That doesn't help. He's eight months old, I think I know what I'm doing. He needs to sleep, he's teething, he'll stop crying when those things stop bothering him. I don't need your advice, but thank you for your concern."
And we turned and walked away. The SC, by that point, had this
expression on her face, apparently in shock that someone was actually going to talk back to her like that. But seriously, people, mind your own business. It's one thing if we were neglecting him or - like other parents - just letting our kids run around wild, but it's another thing when it's just a baby and when he wants to cry, he's probably just gonna cry.
Oh, BTW, yeah, she did say the kid was her's, but it's a lot easier to say that than it is to explain the whole babysitting principle, especially to someone who feels the need to complain about something for no reason.
Anyway, the four of us are in Target and we're walking around when the baby starts to cry - and I mean *cry*. Basically, there was little we could to do take care of it at that moment, so my mother-in-law elects to take the baby and bring it outside so she can sit, let him sleep, maybe even give him some infant Orajel stuff for his teeth (which usually helps). So, she loads up the stroller and heads in the other direction as we go further into the store with our cart.
Now, keep in mind, this kid can be loud when he wants to be. So, as we're heading to the back - we can still hear him and this customer, apparently commenting to a friend of her's, happens to say - as we're passing...
SC: "Ugh, how can they just let him cry like that?"
My wife, I should point out, has no fear of conflict. She will say whatever she wants to say if it needs to be said, the exact opposite of me. She would have let it pass, but that comment made her stop in her tracks.
Wife (J): "Excuse me, but that's our baby, and he's tired and teething, that's why he's crying."
Instead of stepping away gracefully? Maybe apologizing? Nah.
SC: "Well, why don't you pick him up?"
J: "That doesn't help. He's eight months old, I think I know what I'm doing. He needs to sleep, he's teething, he'll stop crying when those things stop bothering him. I don't need your advice, but thank you for your concern."
And we turned and walked away. The SC, by that point, had this
expression on her face, apparently in shock that someone was actually going to talk back to her like that. But seriously, people, mind your own business. It's one thing if we were neglecting him or - like other parents - just letting our kids run around wild, but it's another thing when it's just a baby and when he wants to cry, he's probably just gonna cry. Oh, BTW, yeah, she did say the kid was her's, but it's a lot easier to say that than it is to explain the whole babysitting principle, especially to someone who feels the need to complain about something for no reason.
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