Things the grandparents do/say that drive you mad

[peanut56]

My mother and MIL are fabulous with my daughter. My only complaint is that MIL is constantly wanting to give her pop (soda) and I say no every single time. And she looks at me all surprised and confused every single time.

 

[Palestrina]

My mother and MIL are fabulous with my daughter. My only complaint is that MIL is constantly wanting to give her pop (soda) and I say no every single time. And she looks at me all surprised and confused every single time.

Haha this confused and surprised look I get all the time from mil. I don't know how many times I have to tell her I don't like cake, she offers me some every time and I have to explain to her that I don't like/eat/need cake. "But I made it!" she says.... it'd be nice not to be put in a spot to have to refuse homemade cake every time - it just makes me look rude.

 

[d_b]

My in-laws are great but my parents sometimes do things that get under my skin a bit. They don't live nearby so we occasionally Skype with them. I'll put my parents on the computer sometimes when he's eating and if he's just picking at cheese for example and not eating it they keep saying, "Ooooh, he doesn't like cheese, you don't like cheese do you??" When it's really a food he LOVES. I just find it irritating as they only see him on skype maybe once every 1-2 weeks, how do they know what he likes?? Also sometimes they ask to skype and then when I look they aren't there looking at the screen anymore, they have gone off to do something else?? ugh! I'm there following LO around with the ipad, getting him to do cute things for them and they're not bothering to watch? This is why we don't Skype very often

Then when my parents visit sometimes I feel they don't really want to spend time interacting with him.. I say no TV and grandma will take him for a bit and 5 minutes in the cartoons are on!

And they definitely don't change his diaper often enough. I think my mom has changed his diaper twice.

It's their first grandchild so I think they're a bit rusty and somehow scared of taking care of him.. lol. They're coming to visit in a few weeks and don't want to take him out of day care to spend time with him, I suggested they drop him off late or pick him up an hour or two early from day care and they don't want to do that either? They are travelling all this way just want to sit in my empty house all day instead of spending time with LO, I don't get it! Then they only stay for 5 days when they come (2x a year), and they are both retired and don't really have any commitments at home other than taking care of their house. Maybe I am a bad host to my houseguests?? lol

 

[Cleo]

My mil has the impression that grandchildren should survive solely on sugar. On his birthday he had a couple of spoonfuls of cake but then I gave him fruit which he loves. She told me he should be having cake, not fruit! Who says that?!? She brings him cartons of cookies, big bags of candy, and huge bars of chocolate. It all goes in the trash and he's too young to even notice it but soon enough he'll want it and then what do I do? I really don't let him have any sugar at all as we do not have any in the house but I worry about how much sugar she is exposing him to. Even though we have explained to her how we feel about sugar!

^This EXACTLY. Well, there's a lot more too, but I don't want to hog the thread!

 

[Baby France]

My mum has been a pain in the backside since DS was born. Even to this day, when he is three she says 'oh, his feet are cold, lets put another pair of socks on'...he's three FFS and perfectly capable and able to tell me himself that his feet are cold

She was the reason why our DS had troubl potty training. He'd be nappy and accident free all week and then when she had him for an afternoon, the next day he'd have accidents all day. On the third week she actually brought him home in a nappy.

At the same time we were taking the dummy off our little girl - she'd not had it for 10 days and it was done without a row from her. She brought her home the same day with a dummy in the mouth

When she realised what she had done she still plays games.

MIL is very supportive tbh. She'll openly give her opinion but will follow what we say. We've had to mention sweets a few times, but other than that, she's been brill.

My step mum and dad are usually fine, but they recently have been undermining DH and I. Saying things to us like 'chill out' and 'forget about it'. I think after my rant they've realised, but I intend on giving them some space (it won't be done nastily, as she's not been well recently )

USUALLY (FX) they are ok!

 

[Dragonfly]

"how did we get by when you and your brother where children and we where working?"

Answer to question would they look after kids for half an hour in my house while I cleaned my kitchen. And my granny looked after us as kids thats the answer to how they coped. Needless to say there was never help given just snarky comments and no longer visit.

"we didnt have that in our day "

yeah and we do now, and?

" you all turned out fine"
errm no we all didnt.

And any sentance that questions my parenting that starts with "and what are you going to do when......"

"we have things to do to you know"
"you always call at the wrong times"
" you never call at the right times"
"why cant someone else help "
constant let downs there after.

 

[citygirl1]

My mum is convinced that I shouldn't have my boy in the shower, he loves it! Think she's obsessed he's going to get legionnaires from it! Agghh!

 

[Chocoholic123]

"how did we get by when you and your brother where children and we where working?"

Answer to question would they look after kids for half an hour in my house while I cleaned my kitchen. And my granny looked after us as kids thats the answer to how they coped. Needless to say there was never help given just snarky comments and no longer visit.

"we didnt have that in our day "

yeah and we do now, and?

" you all turned out fine"
errm no we all didnt.

And any sentance that questions my parenting that starts with "and what are you going to do when......"

"we have things to do to you know"
"you always call at the wrong times"
" you never call at the right times"
"why cant someone else help "
constant let downs there after.

So true!
My mum was ranting yesterday that everyone potty trains so late these days and that I was dry by the time I was 2 and I said I read that potty training too early before they are ready can lead to bladder problems, my mum said rubbish that's ridiculous and I said erm couldn't that be why I've always had a weak bladder and have had recurrent bladder infections in recent years but she wouldn't have it!!

 

[emyandpotato]

Nothing too much really, especially now that he's older and I'm more relaxed about parenting. The only thing that upsets me is both sets of parents insisting that babywearing is bad for us and that he's too big. MIL took OH aside and told him that it was about time to use the pram. Kind of annoyed me.

 

[Dragonfly]

"how did we get by when you and your brother where children and we where working?"

Answer to question would they look after kids for half an hour in my house while I cleaned my kitchen. And my granny looked after us as kids thats the answer to how they coped. Needless to say there was never help given just snarky comments and no longer visit.

"we didnt have that in our day "

yeah and we do now, and?

" you all turned out fine"
errm no we all didnt.

And any sentance that questions my parenting that starts with "and what are you going to do when......"

"we have things to do to you know"
"you always call at the wrong times"
" you never call at the right times"
"why cant someone else help "
constant let downs there after.

So true!
My mum was ranting yesterday that everyone potty trains so late these days and that I was dry by the time I was 2 and I said I read that potty training too early before they are ready can lead to bladder problems, my mum said rubbish that's ridiculous and I said erm couldn't that be why I've always had a weak bladder and have had recurrent bladder infections in recent years but she wouldn't have it!!

To add "do you believe all that sh&t you read now" on smoking while pregnant and around children. She believes nothing is actually harmful to children as we all turned out fine. We didnt. If she didnt do it its the wrong way. And If I do it different then I must be calling her wrong.

 

[Baby France]

Ahhh...the ones about the 'good old days'.

In the good old days, we weren't even allowed an opinion

And smoking was good for you

 

[Jembug]

ha ha what a funny thread! Firstly love my mum and mil lots and defo need mil so I can work, but, the girls call her Nanna bicuit! because she gives them biscuits just because they have eaten a raison!
The other thing that annoys me is that I will pick them up and she will say that my 21 month old has had three cups full of milk {drinking her fourth at 4pm when we have tea at 5:30}
Or she says they've not eaten much but they had crisps,etc!
She is fab though, plays with them all day long and when I pick them they are always spotlessly clean and they just love there Nanna.

My mum works so only comes to visit rather than look after them during the day...
she calls Lunch or tea/dinner time- Din Dins and that really bugs me!
I asked her to baby sit and when I came back downstairs to put the girls to bed I found my mumgiving my then 6 month old chocolate stars! At that point she has barley started eating let alone whole chunks of chocolate..... I was not happy and her response was 'she loves it, its ok!' Nooooo its not ok, still makes me mad now!
Oh and my mum liked sticking fingers in there mouth too, she smokes and wont think to wash her hands...... hhhmmm I have another on the way too, ha ha

 

[mum2b2009]

My mum and sister..the two only people who look after my 3 year old let him sleep really late in the day and for ages...obv results in me having a massive job gettting him to bed! Ive told them loads of times not to but they dont care cause its not them who have to deal with it.

 

[nicb26]

My mum does not understand the concept of quiet time before bed! She will laugh and play and get lo all wound up so she's even harder to settle than usual. She also doesn't see the point of naps "ohhh, she doesn't want to go for a nap"... Yes, I know she doesn't want to, but she NEEDS to grr!

 

[nicb26]

So true!
My mum was ranting yesterday that everyone potty trains so late these days and that I was dry by the time I was 2 and I said I read that potty training too early before they are ready can lead to bladder problems, my mum said rubbish that's ridiculous and I said erm couldn't that be why I've always had a weak bladder and have had recurrent bladder infections in recent years but she wouldn't have it!!

wow I didn't know this. I was trained by 18 months and have a ridiculously sensitive/weak bladder!

 

[louandivy]

Aww my OH's parents are so sweet and Ivy adores them, but I do get sick of the fact that every single time we go over there is a good 10 minute conversation over whether she would be left or right handed, this has been going on since she was like 4 months

 

[Bex84]

My mil with oh she has mils nose, shes just like bil, i was talking about how lo has trouble with milk and she said oh she gets that from bil (despite the fact i have same problem as lo) when she was little going on about weaning early, how she wishes lo was a boy ahhh so much more my lo is nothing like bil and mil u could swap mine and los baby photos it wouldent bother me if they said she looked or did something like dh. My parents when they see her is lovely but they are lazy with actually seeing her

 

[Palestrina]

So true!
My mum was ranting yesterday that everyone potty trains so late these days and that I was dry by the time I was 2 and I said I read that potty training too early before they are ready can lead to bladder problems, my mum said rubbish that's ridiculous and I said erm couldn't that be why I've always had a weak bladder and have had recurrent bladder infections in recent years but she wouldn't have it!!

wow I didn't know this. I was trained by 18 months and have a ridiculously sensitive/weak bladder!

Don't want to massively hijack the thread however this is a little upsetting and untrue. Millions of children all over the world, especially in 3rd world countries where they don't have money for/access to disposable diapers are potty trained within their first year and live to tell the tale without bladder problems. It's definitely possible to potty train early which is only considered early now because diaper companies insist and urge us to continue using diapers until a kid is 4yrs old. Elimination is a normal bodily function and certainly if a child is able to form complex sentences (which is a highly sophisticated intelligence available only to humans) by they time they are 2 they can certainly learn not to poop on themselves before that. Sorry, rant over.

 

[Palestrina]

My mil with oh she has mils nose, shes just like bil, i was talking about how lo has trouble with milk and she said oh she gets that from bil (despite the fact i have same problem as lo) when she was little going on about weaning early, how she wishes lo was a boy ahhh so much more my lo is nothing like bil and mil u could swap mine and los baby photos it wouldent bother me if they said she looked or did something like dh. My parents when they see her is lovely but they are lazy with actually seeing her

Haha that's hilarious, but it's true for me too. My mil attributes everything about LO to her side of the family. Apparently LO has blonde hair just like his daddy did (who has jet black hair now by the way). It couldn't possibly be because I'm blonde lol. Also LO is her 4th grandchild, the others are considerably older however she picked the day after I gave birth to tell me that one of the other grandchildren was her "favorite." She also told me she was hoping for a girl. I have to laugh to keep myself from crying lol.

 

[BrokenfoREVer]

So true!
My mum was ranting yesterday that everyone potty trains so late these days and that I was dry by the time I was 2 and I said I read that potty training too early before they are ready can lead to bladder problems, my mum said rubbish that's ridiculous and I said erm couldn't that be why I've always had a weak bladder and have had recurrent bladder infections in recent years but she wouldn't have it!!

wow I didn't know this. I was trained by 18 months and have a ridiculously sensitive/weak bladder!

Don't want to massively hijack the thread however this is a little upsetting and untrue. Millions of children all over the world, especially in 3rd world countries where they don't have money for/access to disposable diapers are potty trained within their first year and live to tell the tale without bladder problems. It's definitely possible to potty train early which is only considered early now because diaper companies insist and urge us to continue using diapers until a kid is 4yrs old. Elimination is a normal bodily function and certainly if a child is able to form complex sentences (which is a highly sophisticated intelligence available only to humans) by they time they are 2 they can certainly learn not to poop on themselves before that. Sorry, rant over.

My mom said I was potty trained by the age of 2 & that it did it myself, by telling her I needed the toilet etc. I've never had any bladder issues. So I wouldn't take "early" potty training as gospel for bladder issues later in life.