Parenting 101

Girls can be their own worst enemies, especially ones still trying to find their place amongst the crowd. Between the she said this and the she said that; best friends one minute and then bitter enemies the next, it's an uncut path that navigates the road to friendship.

And it's hard to get your point across to your daughter when she's of the mindset that she already knows everything that there is to know of how to effectively deal with a situation when someone is purposely being unkind or setting off a rumor that doesn't need to be retold.

For if I've told KC once, I've most likely said it a thousand times that, "Rumors should end right where they start." It's a choice to repeat them, and more often than not, it's the one who simply parrots what they've been told that reaps the blame rather than the one who set the ball off rolling in the first place.

Which is probably why I found myself talking to another parent this afternoon after a gaggle of girls managed to turn a mountain into a molehill despite the odds against it. And I wasn't very happy at all to be chatting with this man who for some reason thought he had the right to question my daughter over the matter without first speaking to me.

To say that I was livid would be putting it mildly. And without a doubt I let him know that his own behavior was grossly inappropriate. After all, I doubt he would be happy to find out that any parent had dared to question his child without his knowledge like some third rate trial lawyer. It simply crosses a line that should not be crossed.

I did say however that beyond the tar and feathering and the need to find someone to blame game he was insistent on needing to play, that it was more important to me that all the girls involved took ownership of whatever part they played in the perpetuation of what was said.

Had I counted how many times he interrupted me, or how rude his tone was while he spoke with me, even you dear reader would be amazed at how well I kept my cool when I wanted nothing better than to give him the verbal tongue lashing I know I could have easily doled out had I been of a mind to. But what I understand that he obviously cannot, is that it's far better to approach a problem seeking a solution that is beneficial for all, than it is to approach one looking only to place the blame.