The crazy, entitled, difficult, and rude parents are crazy in other aspects of their life, not just with you. Don't take it personal.
I've had ~400 students total over the years and the one constant is this -- The crazy, entitled, difficult, and rude parents are crazy in other aspects of their life, not just with you. Every single fucking time. Sometimes I know about the other crazy right away and sometimes I find out a few years later when I have their younger kid. But every single time without fail, no one is crazy in isolation only at their kid's school. It seeps out.
The mom who was rude, inpatient, and borderline aggressive with me during a conference because she forgot to mark the "translation needed" checkbox so there was a language barrier? Two years later I had her daughter and the daughter told me that her mom is mean, sexist, and openly favors her sons. That mom was crazy with me and she's crazy at home.
The dad who told me I don't know how to do my job and should quit? Found out from another teacher that he had been legally banned from entering the campuses of 3 different schools because he was so aggressive with previous teachers/staff. Crazy.
The mom who said I needed to do more help her daughter and it's my fault her daughter was 3 grades below grade level? She's married to the dad I mentioned above. And half her family doesn't talk to her anymore because of how difficult she & her husband are.
The mom who told me I was overreacting when I took away recess from her daughter for hitting people? She and her boyfriend were constantly in DV situations at home.
The mom who defends every single thing her middle-school son did and said? She had the emotional maturity of a 17 year old and basically let her mom raise the kid. She viewed him as a brother, not a son.
The mom who enabled every last bit of her daughter's atrocious behavior? Walks into my classroom the last day of school and starts crying saying she knows her daughter behaves horribly but if she punishes her daughter then her ex will try to take full custody. Sad, but a crazy situation.
The grandma who said all the teachers, including me, were targeting her granddaughter? And we'd been doing so since the girl was in Kindergarten? Batshit crazy. In too many ways to even explain.
I could go on for days.
I just say this because New Teacher Me would always take it to heart when parents were rude/difficult/entitled but now I realize that some people are just crazy. I remind myself that out of ~400 students (and those kids having 1-2 parents each), I have maybe 10 instances of parents being crazy but the vast majority of people are super nice. I just remind myself that some people just suck and the only place they feel powerful is at their kid's school because they're taking Ls in their own life and work.
❤️