[jalapeno]

I'm just sad today about a little boy. No great tragedy I suppose (probably far too common) but sad nonetheless.

And it's possible I'm reading too much into the situation. But it seems like some parents are just tougher on boys.

I know a mom and her son (not yet two years old). Well, I know them in passing - they are in a class I go to with my sons and so I don't necessarily have a lot of free time to get to know them. But it seems to me the mom is kind of rough with her son. I believe she only has one child.

Here's an example: If her son hits another child, she scolds him sharply. If he's the one who gets hit, she tells him "you're ok" and "you shouldn't have been bothering so-and-so anyway".

If he's crying, he's told "go play".

She "complains" about how much he likes to climb on things and get into things and how rough he is. But he really seems like a typical toddler boy to me. Except that I don't really see him get cuddled and babied.

Today during class this mom dropped her son. Probably 3+ feet. A solid DROP. He hurt his ankle. I think he was more or less ok because he was walking around and smiling within a few minutes. Limping a little but still stepping on his foot properly. Well, ok, he got a little bit of cuddling and an "I'm sorry" from his mom (sincere - I don't want to make her out to be a total ogre). But then she also made the comment at one point that they wouldn't be trying that particular stunt again because he wasn't as talented as the other boy that tried it (who's mother didn't drop him).

I just wonder if she's aware of what she's doing. My younger DS is getting to be pretty rough and tough too. And we have our rough and tumble play time for sure. But I still cuddle him and kiss his boo boo's. And I'm sure I'll do that until he's physically able to stop me.

For those of you with older boys, am I just reading too much into this do you think? Should I expect a "dose of reality" a few months down the road with my own son?