Socially awkward?

[HeatherlovesCDs]

Originally Posted by Kiliki This could be true. I suppose it also depends on the age difference. How old was the older kid? I expect a 12-13 yr old kid to be old enough to know and realize and acknowledge that little kids don't know "right and wrong" social queues or personal space, and to respond accordingly. I don't expect a 7-10 year old to necessarily make that connection. This touched my nerve, sorry. I have a big problem with kids being rude, and the OP's story reminded me of the little girl that my DD tries to talk to everytime we see her. (which is pretty often btw - a couple times a wk at least) So I am coming at it from a different angle.

Don't apologize. I happen to agree with everything you said. (as usual ) It's rude not to respond. I am working on that with my 5 year old right now. It is also a teachable moment for the 2 year old about personal space. But, in that situation, I would expect my 7 year old to know to be polite. I am confident he would have responded nicely, even if the child was "in his space." Then, after the child moved on, he would say, "That boy was funny." with a giggle. Or possibly, "I didn't like how close to me he got." But, my kids are around young kids because my oldest is only 7 and I have 6 total. They are used to how 2 year olds act. Actually, I would expect my 5 year olds to respond the same, but they might need more help since they are younger. On the flip side, when one of my 2 year old gets in someone's space, I gently pull them back and tell them it's not polite to get so close.

ETA - Even though I think it's rude. I still think it's fairly common/normal behavior for an older child. Even older children are still children and need to be reminded of manors sometimes. Even some adults need reminding.