I'm SO glad my child doesn't do that

I think every parent knows that one parent that puts off the vibe that their child is flawless.  Sometimes they're uppity parents that are just trying to get by and other times there are other reasons. It's almost ridiculous actually.

"Well I'm SO glad MY daughter doesn't do that."

Congratulations.....you just asked God to show you His sense of humor.  If your daughter doesn't do it, your son now will.

Look, hormones do funny things to kids.  Your normally sweet, loving, kind child will suddenly become mouthy and defiant.  No one is completely immune.  Seriously, no one.  Christians love to tout that their weekly trips to church and the youth groups their kids are involved in keep their children from having attitudes or talking back.  Ironically even the BIBLE talks about defiant children. It's been going on since the beginning of time, folks.  You're not immune.  Can you keep your kids in line?  Absolutely.  Does church help?  Well that probably depends on your church.  I'd say that being around positive influence anywhere helps so probably, yes.

Not only do hormones come into play but some kids are just moody, in general.  You may have a happy-go-lucky, easy-going sweet son or daughter that gives you very little attitude.  On the other hand, you may have a child that is just more moody from the start.  It doesn't make your child a brat because they are naturally a bit more inclined to grouchiness. 

The important part of this is that, as a parent, we shouldn't be playing the comparison game, PERIOD.  You shouldn't be comparing your children to each other (developmentally, behaviorally or otherwise) and you DEFINITELY shouldn't be making other parents feel self-conscious over challenges they're facing.  You may be "so glad" that your son doesn't get an attitude or "so glad" that your daughter doesn't get moody or "so glad" that your toddler doesn't throw tantrums and that's great.  What ISN'T great is getting an attitude toward other parents who might be facing the struggles, further alienating them as they try to do their best as a parent.

I guess the best way to sum this up is in the words of Flower from "Bambi" : "If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all."