My Mommy Pet Peeve

Okay, so the title of this entry is a bit misleading. I have numerous pet peeves when it comes to the behavior of other Mommies. I could probably spend a month writing about this topic alone. But I'll spare the reader my ranting and raving, and focus on one particular observation that gets me all hot under the collar. It really bothers me when other Moms ignore my child. I'm not talking about the random lady at the grocery store who fails to stop her cart to Oooh and Aaah over my precious little boy. The behavior to which I'm referring typically occurs in a group setting, with multiple Moms and children present. The situation unfolds something like this: We're in music class, singing along with a song and playing with instruments. Daniel, being the friendly guy he is, wanders over to another Mom in the circle. Maybe he hands her his instrument. Maybe he just smiles. But the Mom looks right through him, as if there's a law against acknowledging any child in the room but your own. What -- will your kid think you love him any less because you smiled at another child? On the contrary, dumbass, your child needs to see you acting warm towards other children so he can follow your lead.

I practice what I preach. I try to not only acknowledge other children I encounter, but I go out of my way to interact with them if I notice that their Moms are particularly disengaged. There are always one or two groups of Moms in any class who spend more time yapping with each other than they spend focused on their children. I think this is a travesty. Sure, we all need a little adult bonding, but not at the expense of our interactions with our children. When a child wanders up to me, I smile and say hello. Sometimes I ask the child about an object he or she is holding. Other times I'll do something silly to get a reaction. Maybe it's the teacher in me, and I'm expecting too much of people. But I see other Moms interacting with Daniel in the same manner that I do with their children. The perpetrators are few and far between. Unfortunately, however, it takes just one rotten egg (or sourpuss Mom) to ruin the casserole.