I made friends with a lovely woman recently who has a baby due a week after mine but also has a 2½ year old boy.

She was put onto me by a mutual friend as she needed a babysitter when her regular was not available and we live only a couple of kms from each other.

I looked after her son one evening and he was a delight. When she came home we ended up sitting onthe sofa and chatting for about 3 hours and so started our friendship!

We have so much in common and similar tastes/interests and I was really thrilled to have made a new friend who lived so close and had a baby due at the same time.

I really like her and I like her son....I just have some issues with how she handles him.

I'm not a fan of smacking....she smacks freely. Hands, bottoms...whatever happens to be in reach. After a few smacks, she interjected with 'Oh, I hope it doesn't shock you. We french people smack all the time'.

Then there's the yelling. She yells at him all the time and for small things. I haven't had the need to yell at him when I've been babysitting him as I can diffuse tantrums, dirrect him away from things or reprimand him without raising my voice. It seems like 70%+ of her communication (when I'm there) is yelling.

Then there's the bed time thing. He goes to bed at 9 or later each night as his dad works late and wants to tuck him in. This kid is dog tired by 6.30 or 7pm and gets difficult to handle (which leads to more yelling and smacking from his mum) and when I've hinted 'oh, doesn't he look sleepy rubbing his eyes and yawning like that' she says that it's not his bedtime yet and he has to learn the patterns of his culture so when they go back to France he will 'fit in'.

Then there's how he has to be the centre of attention (yeah, I kn0ow all 2 year olds do!) but she lets him have centre stage and gives him whet he wants (then gets p'ed off and yells more), rather than insisting that he can wait 3 seconds...imagine what it'll be like when she has the newborn to handle.

Then...the other day when I went over to visit, I was surprised that she let him have a can of Coke to begin with..... BUT FROM A BABY BOTTLE.... I really feel like a 2 year old doesn't need to know what that stuff is and a whole can of coke has a truck load of sugar in it...way too much for a little kid.

I was talking to a close friend the other day and she thinks the friendship is doomed from the beginning...I somewhat agree with her...but I really like the time we spend just the 2 of us either shopping, out to lunch or having a cuppa.

We'll both have small babies in 2½ months and will have even more reason to hang out in the summer here and Idon't feel like I've known her long enoough to have a frank chat about it with her (about 3-4 months).

Is it possible to continue this? What would you out there do? Have you had similar situations?