+1 It can be hard, especially when taken by surprise, but it's better not to let behavior like this slide - better for the kid too probably, tbh. I don't think that LW should get angry, but responding calmly but with no bullshit but shutting it down (rather than inviting further interaction) is probably a must in the moment, if they're interacting with this weaponized child further in future.

Though jadelennox 's suggestion, or something like it, to attempt to remove the attempted child bully, should also be set in motion, I think. I don't think we have enough evidence to know for certain that Lynn is acting with malice and intent, but I do know that minoanmiss 's testimony about Evangelical brainwashing is congruent with everything else I've known about Evangelicals from observation and the writings of other exvangelicals. That being the case, the balance of evidence makes 'malice aforethought' more likely, but avoiding addressing it directly is probably still the way to go as long as her actions leave plausible deniability. She could potentially also go above Lynn, but probably better not to start with that as long as superficial cordiality is the current state of things between them.