Tattletale, Tattletale, Britches on a Nail

Moms Talk is a new feature on Cartersville Patch that is part of an effort to reach out to moms and families.

Cartersville Patch invites you and your circle of friends to help build a community of support for mothers and their families right here in Cartersville.

Each week in Moms Talk, our Moms Council of experts and smart moms take your questions, give advice and share solutions.

Moms, dads, grandparents and the diverse families who make up our community will have a new resource for questions about local neighborhood schools, the best pediatricians, 24-hour pharmacies and the thousands of other issues that arise while raising children.

Moms Talk will also be the place to drop in for a talk about the latest parenting hot topic. Do you know of local moms raising their children in the Tiger Mother's way and is it the best way? Where can we get information on local flu shot clinics for children? How do we talk to our children about the Tucson shootings? How can we help our children's schools weather their budget cutbacks?

So grab a cup of coffee and settle in as we start the conversation today with a question from our Moms Council.

What is the best way to curb tattletale behavior?

There is a time and place for tattling, but if the offending child’s behavior is not hurting anyone and doesn’t affect my child then I would encourage my child not to tattle. Instead, when he is older (he is still a baby), I will promote peer mediation and teach him that if something is bothering him he should feel comfortable telling the offending party what is bothering him and why, with the hopes of coming to a resolution, or at least having his views heard. I think this is a good lesson to learn at a young age.

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Act like you don't hear them. After completely ignoring them every time, they'll finally stop, although it may take a while.

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