Is it just me....

[Amina516]

..or would this piss you off too?

Backstory: My kids spend every summer in Florida ( I live in PA) with my in laws. I love my in laws and am very grateful for the time I get alone with hubby in the summer and also that my kids' summer is filled with sunshine, pooltime, Disney./bg

I call down there everyday to talk to the kids and see what they've been up to.Unfortunately, my daughter IS a drama queen. I fully admit this. However, I deal with it a certain way that prevents future tantrums and have shared this with my MIL. She refuses though, to discipline my kids in any way (verbally included) and will just call me and tell me how much my daughter has screamed today.

You know, Im not asking her to beat my kids. But if I tell you what works (noncorporal discipline) and you refuse to follow my advice with what I KNOW works with my kids....am i WRONG for NOT wanting to hear your bitching??

Ive had this same convo with her over and over again and all i get is "she was screaming over blahh and then blahh happened and she cried and etc". I ask "Well, what did you do?" And her response is usually "Nothing.". So honestly, I tune her out.

Am I just a heartless biatch? I just feel like I dont wanna hear about it if you're doing nothing to fix the issue.

[Nurian]

Nope! It's her fault. You gave her what she needed to fix the problem and she doesn't utilize it. Not your problem

[Treasure]

Nope, not a bitch at all.... how many times have we defined insanity when discussing sucky customers? I'm guessing your daughter is between 7 and 14, she's a DramaTeen, its what they do! (we did too!) She uses the screaming and crying bit with grandma, b/c grandma lets her get away with it - if grandma wants to change kiddo's behavior, she needs to change her own - set boundaries, such as the ones you've outlined, and enforce them, the way you have told her works; and if she refuses to listen to you, then she has no room to gripe and bitch.

[Amina516]

Shes actually only FOUR! FOUR!! I lie awake in terror thinking of her teenage years... Lol.

[Treasure]

Oh, then she's still only learning the manipulation game, and grandma is letting her win - time outs, and the word NO is your friend.

[Amina516]

Exactly what i say....putting her in her room with a silence clause does wonders...but theyd rather let her sit there and say outlandish things and then tell me about it later. It frustrates me and makes me NOT want to talk to her (MIL).

[Kyree]

What would your MIL say if you told her that your daughter is learning bad habits and that if she (MIL) will not start doing something, your daughter won't be going back there? (No idea if that is plausible, just asking ^^; )

[Greenday]

..or would this piss you off too?

I live in PA

Yes that would.

And people say kids are dumb. Obviously your kid is smart enough to know your mom won't do a thing about her tantrums.

[McGoddess09]

Like everyone else has said, it isn't your fault. You told her what needed to be done and she didn't do it.

[Plaidman]

Agreed with the above users. You told how to deal with it. They refuse. Their fault. Not yours.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Yes that would.

And people say kids are dumb. Obviously your kid is smart enough to know your mom won't do a thing about her tantrums.

Kids always know how to manipulate the grownups. Cuz grownups don't give them enough credit and they know it.


I don't blame you for being annoyed, and your MIL is doing your kids no favors.