Photography ©iStock

Years ago, my friend had a baby and when I went to visit her and her little  bundle of joy, she said to me, “Isn’t he the cutest baby you have ever seen? I mean, I know that every mother thinks that her baby is cuter than others, but my baby really is!”

A different friend and I were talking once about our kids and without skipping a beat, he said—without any hint of irony, “Well, it’s different for us because our daughter is a genius.”

Here’s the thing: Every parent that I know thinks that his or her children are the most amazing creatures on the planet. This should be obvious. When it’s your own child, every milestone, every smile, every first word, every step is huge and monumental and amazing. To onlookers, however, it’s not huge, it’s simply something that all children do.

At what point, though, when we talk about our children, does it stop being just telling cute or funny stories about our wee ones and become outright bragging? A recent article about this in the New York Times really got me thinking: When I talk about how my kindergartener sneaks math sheets into bed with her to “solve problems” instead of sleep, for example, do people think it’s funny, or do people eye-roll and think that I’m bragging about how smart she is?

For me, when I talk about my children’s accomplishments, I’m not implying that anyone else’s children are somehow less accomplished. That’s where I personally think the line between telling stories and bragging is drawn. The two friends I mention above are saying that their children are cuter than other children and smarter than other children, respectively. On the other hand, when I tell a story about my daughter doing math when I think she’s sleeping, I’m not saying she’s better, smarter, funnier, or more talented than your child. I am just marveling at this little person who continues to amaze me every single day. And I don’t think there’s anything braggy about that.

Where do you draw the line between sharing and bragging? When does it stop being a story and become an annoying form of boasting?

–Ali, senior associate editor of CF.ca