I don't like what just happened

[HEyHEY]

A lady at work's kid came in, and called her mom. Then the she said her mom was gonna pick her up, she then left. So her mom arrived and she wasn't here.
I said I didn't know where she went, I just assumed she was outside.
So, the mom comes, looks all around, can't find her and goes out looking.
SHe finds her and then brings her into the office crying and demands she apologize to ME.
I said "Me? Oh, don't worry about it."
I felt uncomfortable, she had no reason to say sorry to me. ANd I don't like that she thinks I may have been angry with her.
Why would her Mom do that?

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

1. God I hate situations like that.

I've had people do that to me, too.

I have learned to very FIRMLY insist the kid does NOT need to apologize to me, if it is clear no apology is needed. It pisses the parent off, but seriously.........

[Spangle]

2. She is teaching her child something

That people are watching and seeing. That you can make all sorts of persons worry about you, etc.

However, considering you were not watching the child, etc.. It was going way to far.

I prefer this sort of teaching then the modern one where parents teach their children that it doesn't matter one bit what others think or see. Or that you do don't have to show respect to strangers.

[Mizmoon]

3. Because the kid keeps wandering off

the mother is annoyed and trying to get her to stop.

Desperate parents do stupid stuff sometimes.

[lutherj]

4. Yeah, I remember an incident where a small kid was having a

tantrum in the grocery store and I happened to walk by and he took a swing at me. The mother then lost it and insisted that the kid apologize to me, but the kid wouldn't, so there I was, standing there awkwardly for maybe 30 seconds waiting for the kid to apologize, until the woman just hauled the kid out of the store, never even acknowledging me. Seems like if an apology is in line, the parent should offer it and then deal with the discipline problem privately.

[Pithlet]

5. She was probably shaken up

and maybe assumed that you'd been just as affected. Not knowing where your child is, no matter how short the time, is very traumatic, and is hard to recover from that quickly of your wits.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

6. Die Reichmama needs to lighten up!

It almost sounds as if she was expecting you to watch her kid until she got there. How old is the child in question?

[HEyHEY]

7. 9 or 10

[GoddessOfGuinness]

8. I'd say this is parental guilt

getting deflected back on the kid.

Personally, I think 9 or 10 (in today's world) is way too young to expect that sort of discipline. I understand how emergencies can pop up that require a parent to expect more of their kid than the child may be mature enough to handle.

It's too bad the mom missed out on an opportunity to teach her daughter what she should have done, instead of humiliating her. If she'd let go of the breach of conduct, held her daughter close, and said, "Thank goodness you're ok, I was really worried about you!" the kid would have learned that A) she was wrong to leave and B) her mother loves and cares about her very much.