Parents Talk: How Do You Handle Mean, Pushy Parents?

Something happened a couple weeks ago at my daughters' dance recital rehearsal that left me a little angry, sad and speechless.

While waiting for our turn on stage, I overheard a mom berate her daughter for forgetting her tap shoes. The girl must have been maybe 8 or 9 and, from the sound of it, left her dance bag at home.

No big deal, right? That's what I thought. This other mom, not-so-much. I over heard her ask the girl, "How stupid are you?," sigh and act like her child had just committed a felony.

I didn't know what to say. I didn't know if I should have said anything at all. I do know it bothered me.

No matter what my children do, never would I call them stupid. The word doesn't belong in our vocabulary at home. Should it pop up, the kids get "the talk" about how the word makes others feel. I wanted to give that mom "the talk" but couldn't bring myself to do it.

My question is, what would you have done? Would you have stepped in and said something or let it go? Tell us in the comments.