Is this immature or would you feel the same way?

You shoulda farted in the little bastard’s face & ran away laughing.
Immature, but hits it right outta the park as far as personal gain goes.

You are allowed to not like him; you feel what you feel. You just shouldn’t act on it. (And for what it’s worth, I probably wouldn’t either.)

I had a nephew I hated for similar reasons, and I assumed I’d always hate him and he’d always be a little brat. But he grew up into a really nice kid. After 2 years or so of my secretly declaring hate for him, I got over it. You don’t know now if you’ll hate him when he gets older.

I’d blame his mother. If he shouldn’t treat Miss Aster like that, mother should do what she can to make sure it doesn’t happen. If my daughter did that, I’d physically pick her up and take her away from you. She’d never get a chance to say she didn’t like you while you were around. (Though sorry, she’d probably say it after you left. She just knows better)

But that was probably a sign that it was getting too late in the evening or afternoon and the grownups spent too much time being boring and talking with nothing for the kid to do. We’d probably bring some toys for her or just up and go home because my husband and I can tell when she’s about to get squirrely out of boredom or being tired.

It’s more of a mom problem than a kid problem, IMO. If a parent lets their kid invade another adult’s personal space like that, they are doing a bad job in that situation.

I love my daughter to pieces. I love her so much it hurts. I love her enough not to let her get into situations that would make others not love her at least half as much as I do.

^^^^^^ its a big house. His mother did not see him pushing me. His grandmother sat there laughing since he was behind me with a red face struggling.
But I didn’t think about him being tired. Although there were several little girls there playing too. My daughter said, “he’s a brat.” (when we were alone , of course).

I would probably dislike him and feel he’s a brat. I would also feel like his mother and everyone else in the room should not encourage his behavior, but should admonish him and tell him to get away from you on the couch. It’s definitely not appropriate behavior. I agree with @keobooks that he was probably bored. Maybe he was hungry. Maybe he needed some attention, and if negative attention is the only attention he would get, then that is the way kids are sometimes.

Don’t yield. He must learn that you can’t always have your way. Better you teach him than some bully or intercity bus.

@kritiper ” Better you teach him…” I see him once or twice a year. He doesn’t even live near me.

It seems like people will tolerate bad behavior if if strikes them as “cute.” It’s like that video of the little girl trying to buckle herself up, and is telling her dad to mind his own business. People go “Oh, how cute!” I don’t. I say, “What a brat!”

You did exactly what I would have done. Too bad Gramma was there. If it was me and it was just him and me in the room, I would have quietly turned around and snarled, “STOP.”

Yeah, it’s not your place to teach him. Besides, any impression you might make would be fleeting.

@Dutchess_III of course had we been alone I would have snarled at him. But of course it’s not my place to teach him anything. I rarely see him.

When I was working a kid came into our office with her mom. She was about 4. She was a BRAT. Running around, climbing on the furniture, beating on the key boards. She knocked something over and mom didn’t do a thing. She turned around and caught me staring at her with my head slightly lowered. It was an intense stare that warned, “You better watch it.” which I had perfected in the classroom. She calmed right the fuck down and was really good after than. But she kept glancing over at me and I would just barely nod my head to reinforce the lesson.

What could she tell her Mom? That I had looked at her?!

Even in front of the others, I would have said to him sternly “Can you stop?” Then I probably would have said to the mother “Can you ask him to stop, please?”

In a store, if I see a kid acting up, I’ll try to give him what I call “The Evil Eye.” Of course, not if his mother is looking my way, but otherwise, give him the eye and see if it scares him!

Yes that would have been ok too. Or “Please stop.” I would hope it would flag gramma.

Kids are dicks.

I would give it a pass, if anything I figure it was something he missed in his own home.

Kids are not dicks. Kids are minimally trained humans. Childhood is for the purpose of bringing humans from the stage of drooling bundle of poo-making primate, to intelligent, functioning adults. Four year olds have no tact. They don’t even have an app for that yet. Saying he did not like you had no real significance. It did not necessarily mean he disliked you, only that you are unfamiliar to him. Children tend to resent those who seem unlikely to play with them though. I suppose it is an instinctual thing to protect them from anything which might eat them. Less likely these days than in say, Neanderthal life.
It usually isn’t all that difficult to stop unwanted physical contact from a child that age. Appeal to their love of heroism, and say you are terribly thirsty. Ask them if they could find you a cool drink of water. You may end up with real water, an empty cup from a child’s tea set, or a paper Dixie cup which was dipped in the aquarium. The main thing is, they are no longer kicking or pushing you.

He’s 4. He should have learned two years ago, that that behavior is not acceptable. Neither are such rude words. He’ll be starting school in another year. He can’t be shoving other kids out of a chair that he wants to sit in.

He’s not going to learn anything from someone he sees once a year. He’s only going to learn from his parents, who, apparently, think he’s cute and darling and can do no wrong….Mom “worships the ground he walks on.” Therein lies the problem. Ms. Aster can’t do a damn thing about it.