If you have a kid, then no doubt you’ve dealt with a not so helpful stranger at some point. You know, those complete strangers you run into in public that feel entitled to “comment” about your kid or your parenting skills.
There are many descriptive terms one could use for these not so helpful strangers, but in order to maintain the family friendly nature of this blog, we’ll just call them WJ’s (short for Wack Jobs).
I’ve dealt with my share of WJ’s over the past 2 ½ years. Brian from Look Daddy has had to deal with a WJ recently too. I’m sure you’ve had to deal with your share of WJ’s as well.
My Favorite WJ Incident
My favorite incident involving a WJ happened when Olivia was around 9 months old. Daycare was closed for the day, so I used some of my vacation time from work so I could watch her. And as it turned out, I had some things I needed to pick up from the local Menards, so that afternoon Olivia and I went on a little shopping trip.
I remember it was pretty cold out that day, with the temperatures around 10 degrees outside. So I bundled Olivia up in her winter clothes, put her in the car carrier, and covered her up with a blanket.
When we got to Menards, I put the car carrier in the shopping cart as I always did, and went about my business. Finally I got to the checkout lane, paid for my items, and was prepared to go outside back to the car.
So I pushed the shopping cart through the oversized automatic door at the exit door, and got about two feet outside. At that point I covered Olivia with her blanket, and then proceeded to the car. She was covered up literally within seconds.
That wasn’t soon enough though, apparently. As soon as I got to my car, an older women walked past me and scolded me with the following: “I was wondering when you were going to cover up that baby.”
I Like To Freeze My Baby?
My initial response to this old WJ lady was a look of puzzlement, because I wasn’t sure that I believed what I had just heard. Was she talking to me? What did I do? Isn’t Olivia covered up? Within seconds I realized that yes, she was talking to me. I also determined that Olivia was covered up, and that I hadn’t done anything wrong.
I can’t remember anymore if I replied with a snide remark like “gee, thanks for letting me know” or if I just ignored her. I suspect I ignored her, although I really hope I commented. Regardless, Olivia was fine then and she’s fine now.
What Gives Them The Right?
So what gives WJ’s the right to pass judgment on us parents? Clearly WJ’s are entitled to comment on our parenting skills because:
- They are perfect parents themselves.
- They have perfect children.
- They can intuitively perceive all the facts of a situation in mere seconds.
Since I’m not a perfect dad, and I don’t have a perfect kid, and I don’t know all the facts of every situation I observe in public… well unfortunately I’m not qualified to be a WJ. How about you?
Please tell us about your favorite run-in with a WJ in the comments section below!
