She Freaked Out On Her Coworker For Disciplining Her Kid At Their Boss’s BBQ

People gathered around a wooden table, eating, drinking and having fun during a grill party on the terrace.
Photographee.eu - stock.adobe.com - illustrative purposes only, not the actual people

What would you do if someone stepped in to parent your child without asking for your permission first? This 31-year-old woman works for a mid-sized corporation in their marketing department.

Recently, her boss threw a relaxed BBQ at his home, and everyone was allowed to bring their children and spouses to the event. She has a five-year-old son, and she had him come with her to the BBQ.

“He’s super social, not perfect obviously, but generally well-behaved and respectful,” she explained.

Now, she has a coworker named Kelly who is literally the Grinch. Kelly is childfree and nearing her 40s. Kelly frequently announces that she dislikes children, and if someone brings their child to the office, Kelly loves to make nasty comments.

Kelly pretends that just seeing children sends her into a migraine, even if there’s no valid reason to be upset about this.

While the BBQ was happening, some of the children were playing tag in the backyard, and her son joined in on the fun.

“They were loud, sure, but it’s a BBQ, outside, with other kids. Normal stuff. Out of nowhere, I see Kelly grab my son by the arm and snap at him, ‘You need to stop yelling. You’re not at a zoo,'” she said.

She figured she had to be dreaming, or that Kelly had said something else. But then her son came running over to her, and he looked upset, and she knew she had to confront Kelly.

So, she approached her coworker and informed her that it wasn’t acceptable for her to speak to her son in such a way.

People gathered around a wooden table, eating, drinking and having fun during a grill party on the terrace.
Photographee.eu – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual people

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She reminded Kelly that if she had a problem, the right thing to do would have been to address it with her first. She finished her conversation by telling Kelly she wasn’t allowed to put her hands on her child or act in an insulting way.

“She rolled her eyes and said someone had to ‘set boundaries’ since I ‘clearly wasn’t going to.’ I lost it. I told her to stay away from my kid and that she had no business putting her hands on anyone else’s child,” she continued.

“People definitely heard, and it was awkward for sure. Now she’s been cold at work, and another coworker said I ‘overreacted’ and that Kelly was ‘just trying to help.'”

She’s left wondering if she freaking out on Kelly at the BBQ was the wrong thing to do, since she did make a scene.

What do you think?

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