As an individual, I would say I am pretty gullible and easy to trust others - especially when they are older and seems wise. I would say this pretty much applies to most topics except those that I'm passionate in, like matters relating to breastfeeding and perhaps blogging and doing product reviews.
Anyway, the other day, my hubby was telling me to be careful and be wise to discern the advice dispensed by other people especially when it comes to parenting and children topics. He said learn to identify whether these people truly care and wants to help and share their tips or they just want to boast and brag about their accomplishments.
To be honest, when hubby told me some of the things to look out for in order to identify 'well-meaning' people like this, I was gobsmacked. It kinda hit me because some time back, I was nodding and agreeing while looking at my kiddos as I listened to some of these 'well-meaning' people telling me that my kiddo is displaying rude manners and etc.
Yes, we should not give excuses for our children for their rude behaviour. But hubby's point was there are people who easily dispenses their thoughts and judgment based on a few minutes observation alone, and did not see the clear picture of why our boy acted that way.
Hubby said that people who truly care and really wants to help will try to understand the situation at home, how was our kiddos like at home, and then monitor and analyse from there onwards. Rather than just seeing what is going on in less than 5 minutes and immediately concluded that our kiddos are rude and misbehaved. He also said there are other 'well-meaning' people who instead of helping, they just want to brag about their kiddos' or their accomplishments.
In summary, again hubby said, we must not just listen totally and believed others opinions are right. We as parents should learn to identify these people and see for ourselves whether it is really as what other people observe.
What about you?
Do you know how to identify 'well-meaning' people and how do you handle people like this?
