Q: I hate my friends’ kids. There, I’ve said it.
How do I handle keeping my friends who have monster children? I find myself getting very tired of the CONSTANT interruptions whenever we talk on the phone.
I’m tired of only being able to have lunch at McDonalds, because that’s the “only” place where the kids are willing to go. I’m tired of discussing every cute thing she/he said or did, and every single little detail of the kids’ lives.
Trust me, I’m not a child hater. I like kids, just not the bratty ones.
One friend’s kid spit in my face, and instead of making her apologize, the mother just laughed and said, “She was hissing at you, she thinks she’s a cat.” I was not amused.
How do I deal with these friends? Or do I just wait 12 more years and call them then? I don’t have kids myself.
Thanks!
SCOTT: “I hate my friend’s kids too!”
Oh my gosh! That felt so good! The guilty pleasure of it all! That was fantastic!
Now that we can be discreet, I don’t really hate kids either, but what I really can’t stand are those out-of-control monster kids that the rest of us end up — in one way or several — being responsible for. It’s all so wrong.
Then they get jealous that they’re not getting all of the attention for the measly little 10 minutes out of the day the friend tries to devote to you, which leads to them feeling guilty that they’re “neglecting” the kids and they end up talking about and to them for the whole 10 minutes anyway.
What dumb luck for you!
Children affect friendships. They do.
There should be a “My Friend Had Kids” support group. Until then, it’s important to realize and know that all relationships go through changes. Sometimes you’re super close and sometimes not as close.
So, for the next 12 years, don’t cut your friend off completely just because she has kids and you won’t be super close. And let’s try to overlook the fact that it’s mostly her fault those demon seeds misbehave like they do.
So let’s review: we want to cut your friend some slack because she’s stuck with a burden you and I can only shudder to imagine. But at the same time, just because we’re not holding their behavior against her directly doesn’t mean we have to walk around with little footprints on our backs and spend the rest of our lives at McDonalds.
How’s that for a compromise?