Hot take: Is it worse to call out a friend's bad parenting or just let it slide?

I was at a diner last Saturday and watched this mom let her kid throw fries across the booth while she scrolled her phone. I nearly said something about how that kid's gonna be a nightmare in school, but I bit my tongue because who am I to judge. On the other hand, my buddy Mark lets his 8-year-old run wild at parties and I just smile when the kid knocks over a drink. Part of me thinks saying nothing just lets bad habits grow, but another part knows parents get defensive fast. Does calling it out ever actually help, or does it just start a fight? Has anyone here told a parent they were messing up and had it go well, or is it always a disaster?

3 comments

3 Comments

gavinw4520d ago

Did you ever see that article about how kids actually want their parents to set boundaries, like they feel safer when someone's paying attention? I think if it's a friend you can joke about it like "man your kid's got some arm on him" and see how they react before going full lecture mode.

rileynelson20d ago

Yo @gavinw45 honestly that article hit different for me too. I used to be the parent who thought letting kids run wild was the key to raising independent humans. Like my whole vibe was "I trust you to figure it out" and I thought boundaries were just controlling. But after reading some stuff and seeing how much calmer my nephew is when his parents actually set limits, I gotta admit I was wrong. Kids really do seem to relax when they know someone's watching and cares enough to say no sometimes. Your approach with the joking comment to test the waters is smart too, way easier to start light than go full strict parent mode right out the gate. It's wild how much my own mindset shifted once I actually paid attention to what kids themselves say they want.

jade_singh9d ago

Caught a podcast saying the same thing. Structure builds trust.