In the Media – On Mom Bullies (Today.com)
Screenshot (Today.com) – Mom Bullies
Today Contributor Cathy Areu talks about her encounter with mom bullies at school. In an article published on Today.com entitled, “I’m Cathy and I’m the victim of mom bullying’: 5 tips for surviving mom bullies” she writes about her experience of being harassed by other moms at her child’s school.
She interviewed The Friendship Doctor asking for advice for how a mom should handle mom bullies when she encounters them in the schoolyard, playground or PTA.
Advice in short for dealing with mom bullies:
- Avoid them!
- If you can’t completely avoid the bully, then distance yourself to the extent that you can.
- Do not take anything personally. You’re not alone. The bullies are probably bullying others.
- Don’t rally others to your team. Fighting a bully with bully tactics never works.
- Protect your child. Don’t let the bully hurt your child with his/her words or actions.
Click here to read the 12/28/16 Today.com article in its entirety. There is also a clip from the trailer of the comic movie Bad Moms on the Today.com website.
Previously on The Friendship Blog:
Category: Mean girls
Great interview with Dr. Levine! I’ve seen the bully mom phenomena getting worse in recent years. I used to read all those mommy blogs and I noticed they made “motherhood” a creative passion, a calling, and sometimes, an obsession. While it’s wonderful to devote your heart to your children, I wonder if some of these mom bullies are putting TOO much focus on their kids.
I think it’s important for parents to have lives of their own, and to stop using their children as trophies or goal posts. Helicopter parenting is not pretty, and it’s not healthy.