A mum who would never brag about how well she plays tennis may think nothing of making a similar boast about her child. What's the difference?
Obviously, the difference is we are talking about our children, not ourselves. All parents are proud of their kids and take great pleasure in talking about them. But as a reader at Cafe Mom points out, there is a fine line between expressing pride and annoying the heck out of others."I think the difference between people who are just proud of their children/husband/life and people who have some kind of issue that makes them feel they NEED to brag is the former will eventually stop once they realise it's getting old. The latter continues at the expense of all around her."
I totally get where she's coming from. An example: My 8-year
-old has two friends who are dancers. They attend dance classes several times a week and compete one weekend a month. When I asked their mothers how they did at a recent competition, one mother answered with something along the lines of "She did very well and we are very proud of her." The other mother regaled me with a detailed re-enactment of the competition and went on and on about how her daughter blew away the other dancers with her superior skills. And then she whipped out the trophies she happened to be carrying in her purse. See the difference?
I love to hear good things about my friends' children. It makes me happy to see them happy and I am genuinely pleased when they do well. But I much prefer the company of a parent who humbly responds to questions about her child's accomplishments to one who brags incessantly to anyone who will listen. Which parent are you?