Message ID: 2oepgfF9ob1kU1@uni-berlin.de
My brother's family lives in another town. They have visited us several times in the past, staying three or four days each time. Every visit has been a disaster because they don't discipline their two young children.
Last time, the children scratched our wood floors, loosened our oak stairway railing by hanging on it, and ran and jumped around endlessly. When I tried to control the youngest daughter, she blatantly told me she can do whatever she wants, and she is only 4 years old! The family keeps trying to corner us to visit again. How should we handle this?
-- R.C. in Ottawa, Canada
Dear R.C.:
Put your spine back in and say, "We'd love to see you. I'll make a reservation at a nearby motel, and we'll take you out for dinner." If they insist on staying at your house, reply sweetly, "We aren't up to having company, and the motel will give you some privacy." If they persist, tell them outright that their children are too much for you to handle. Don't let them talk you into anything.
Say "No".
Then say it again.
And again after that.
And if he asks why tell him the truth:
Look him right in the eye, tell him that his kids are ill-isciplined
hellions, and that you've seen better behaved baboons on Wild Kingdom.
Then list off the damages they left behind after their last visit, and
what it cost to fix them.
If for some dog-nows reason you choose to let them back in the house, insist on a $1000.00 damage deposit up front.
He may march off in a huff, swearing never to darken your door again. But then, that's for the best, isn't it?
Childfree Abby
The ChildFree Abby Archives - http://www.dismal-light.net/childfreeabby/