Annoying things relatives say...

So-last night was dinner at the good 'ol inlaws. DH's aunt was there. Now-I never really had a problem with her...UNTIL I had children! OY does she get under my skin!! A little background on said aunt...

SINGLE
NEVER MARRIED
NO KIDS

So we are eating dinner. Somehow we started talking about milk. My boys love milk and they get it with every meal, if not a bit more. So aunt starts asking if we buy organic milk(I am not knocking anyone who does). She goes to tell me "it's only a few cents more." HUH!!?!??? When was the last time she had organic milk? Anyways...she said my boys should not be drinking regular milk-they should be drinking organic milk because of all of the bad stuff in regular milk. Now-if she wants to go and buy me a GALLON of milk every 2 days-go right ahead. Right now I pay $1.99/gallon of milk. I know organic is somewhere around $4 for a HALF gallon. Or maybe $3. Something to that effect.. In any case, it's just something *I* choose not to spend $ on.

This is also the SAME aunt who said we were feeding the boys like dogs when they were learning to feed themselves! :headbang: That was because we put the food on their trays and they had to pick it up with their fingers...Oh-and their first bday party...where in front of the 80 guests she said to me, "Do you really think they should be eating all that sugar?" Look lady-do you have ANY idea how much, if ANY, is getting in their mouth? And she tells the boys, "eat more of the chocolate stuff, not the frosting." UGH! Oh-and she is rather large AND a diabetic(I am no skinny mini either). She just gets under my skin!!!

So then FIL(her brother-it must run in the family) takes the boys outside. They had a onesie on, a long sleeve shirt, and a sweater. He goes, "Where are their jackets? They need jackets!" Mind you it was in the 50's. Yes-a bit windy-but it was not horribly cold out. If it was-they would have had a jacket on! He says to one of the boys, "Well your grandmother needs to find you a jacket!" UGH! Soooo annoying!!!

So-who else tries to parent your children and what to they say to crawl under your skin?

 

LOL I don't really have anyone that tries to parent my children. I guess my mom does, in a way, b/c no matter what I pack for them when they spend the night she puts them in something different, she never likes what I pack. But I figure, hey, they're spending every Saturday night over there and I'm getting a nice break, she can put them in whatever she wants and it doesn't bother me.

I always change them into what I like when we get home. She has started buying them clothes that she keeps at her house for when they come over. Fine by me.

 

I don't spend enough time for other people for them to really criticize my parenting... but when I do, yup, they make comments. The last in date was my BIL saying I should teach the kids not to take toys from each other (they're 13 months, so good luck with that, and his son had the worst manners growing up too). I know my MIL has made comments before but I've conveniently put them aside in my brain LOL.

 

QUOTE(megkc03 @ Apr 6 2009, 03:04 PM) [snapback]1261546[/snapback]
Anyways...she said my boys should not be drinking regular milk-they should be drinking organic milk because of all of the bad stuff in regular milk.


You'll laugh (I hope), but the most frequent parenting criticism I get from family and friends is that I feed my girls mostly organic stuff. Everyone seems to think I'm wasting my money buying organic, and especially organic milk. They all say regular is just fine and that it's all hype that there's bad stuff.

It made me laugh that you can be criticized for not buying organic and I get the same criticism for buying it.

 

My MIL is always trying to tell me that the boys need jackets even if its warm out! She automatically thinks they are going to get sick or an ear ache if they don't have one on. Plus, when we are at her house and my boys are even close to anything they can get into I freak out b/c her house isn't baby-proof at all (breakables everywhere)! You would think after 5 grandchildren that she would realize that somethings should be put up if you don't want toddlers to try to play with them. I watch them constantly, so they haven't broke anything yet-knock on wood. This drives me and my SIL up the wall!!! :headbang:

 

My mother has been on my case for a while now about the fact I dont give the girls spoons to feed themselves. I dont want to deal with the mess or the fight if I try to feed them! They eat with their fingers just fine and I spoonfeed them things like oatmeal, yogurt, cottage cheese, applesauce, etc.
She says I am raising animals! She says the only way they are going to learn to use them is by practicing, they are not just going to be able to do it miraculously. Well of course they are! They will just know how to use utensils when the time is right.

And stop trying to make my babies grow up!

 

QUOTE(cohlee @ Apr 6 2009, 08:23 PM) [snapback]1261866[/snapback]
My mother has been on my case for a while now about the fact I dont give the girls spoons to feed themselves. I dont want to deal with the mess or the fight if I try to feed them! They eat with their fingers just fine and I spoonfeed them things like oatmeal, yogurt, cottage cheese, applesauce, etc.
She says I am raising animals! She says the only way they are going to learn to use them is by practicing, they are not just going to be able to do it miraculously. Well of course they are! They will just know how to use utensils when the time is right.

And stop trying to make my babies grow up!


I think that is my biggest pet peeve. PERIOD. Especially when dh asked his lovely mother at what age HE was potty-trained. Naturally, my MIL said it was BEFORE he was 2. I told dh anytime he wants to take a week, or two, or three off...to potty train his 17 month old TWIN BOYS-go right ahead! Otherwise-that is the FURTHEST thing from my mind!

As for the spoon-let your mother do it-and have her deal with the mess? No?

 

QUOTE(idril @ Apr 6 2009, 06:33 PM) [snapback]1261698[/snapback]
You'll laugh (I hope), but the most frequent parenting criticism I get from family and friends is that I feed my girls mostly organic stuff. Everyone seems to think I'm wasting my money buying organic, and especially organic milk. They all say regular is just fine and that it's all hype that there's bad stuff.

It made me laugh that you can be criticized for not buying organic and I get the same criticism for buying it.


See! Da*ned if you do, da*ned if you don't! If we could afford it, sure there are things I would probably buy organic. But I am also not going to lose sleep over it either. Gotta love family!

 

My grandmother is a bit of a, well, I've used not-so-nice terms for her, but she's a b*. They've seen the kids maybe 2 times in the past few months and she has said:

At xmas
"He's walking funny because he's in a diaper. He needs to be in pull ups."
Uhhhh, no, he's walking funny because he just learned how to walk two weeks ago.

"He needs a haircut, he looks like a girl."
Point taken, yes he did need a haircut, so I cut his hair.

"She has a really severe overbite."
Yes, I know that, she'll need braces.

"She has such an attitude, she's a little brat isn't she?"
Yes, she has an attitude and she's hard to deal with, but it doesn't make her a brat. Makes her independent!

Two weeks ago:
"Oh, look, he has the same bad cowlick on the back of his head that his mom does. There's nothing you can do for that."
No sh*. He's going to have to have long hair. . .go back to xmas comment

"They're dirty, they should get a bath every day"
Don't look at the bottom of their feet. I don't bathe every day, there's no reason that they should, besides there's a drought in Florida! They wash their hands. . .

And my favorite. . .
"You let them play at the dog park? That dirt is probably FILLED with dog feces!"
Yes, and the stuff in our yard is any better, it's straight up sand and ants? They're not eating the dirt, they're having fun running around, and you know what? They've been sick two times in 19 months. Bugger off you wench.

 

QUOTE(becasquared @ Apr 6 2009, 08:36 PM) [snapback]1261902[/snapback]
My grandmother is a bit of a, well, I've used not-so-nice terms for her, but she's a b*. They've seen the kids maybe 2 times in the past few months and she has said:

At xmas
"He's walking funny because he's in a diaper. He needs to be in pull ups."
Uhhhh, no, he's walking funny because he just learned how to walk two weeks ago.

"He needs a haircut, he looks like a girl."
Point taken, yes he did need a haircut, so I cut his hair.

"She has a really severe overbite."
Yes, I know that, she'll need braces.

"She has such an attitude, she's a little brat isn't she?"
Yes, she has an attitude and she's hard to deal with, but it doesn't make her a brat. Makes her independent!

Two weeks ago:
"Oh, look, he has the same bad cowlick on the back of his head that his mom does. There's nothing you can do for that."
No sh*. He's going to have to have long hair. . .go back to xmas comment

"They're dirty, they should get a bath every day"
Don't look at the bottom of their feet. I don't bathe every day, there's no reason that they should, besides there's a drought in Florida! They wash their hands. . .

And my favorite. . .
"You let them play at the dog park? That dirt is probably FILLED with dog feces!"
Yes, and the stuff in our yard is any better, it's straight up sand and ants? They're not eating the dirt, they're having fun running around, and you know what? They've been sick two times in 19 months. Bugger off you wench.


LOL! Your post reminded me of some more...

FIL at dinner last night wanted to know if we asked the Dr why Anthony didn't have as much hair as Nicholas. He said all babies/children should be on the same page! And yes-MIL essentially raised my dh and SIL. FIL brought home the money.

Gosh, there was something with Anthony and his legs...Maybe when he was learning to walk.. Anyways..FIL said it was because he wore a diaper...

And the one that gets on my nerves ALL. THE. TIME! Anthony is a good 2 inches shorter than Nicholas. FIL, yet again, asked if we talked to the Dr about growth hormones. Yes-my 17 month old should be on growth hormones! Seriously-mind you-it's his Italian genes! And like DH mentioned to him last night, if it wasn't for them having a twin-his father would have NO child to compare them to! UGH!

Oh-and dh is on the short side, I guess in society terms. He's 5'4". Why wasn't FIL concerned for him? FWIW-DH's two cousin's took the hormones and shot up!

 

We've been lucky that no one has tried to parent our children but I do hate it when people assume that they will do things at the same time, especially when our two did not walk or crawl at the same time.

 

My mil who has only seen the twins 2 times in 4 yrs tries to tell me how to raise them and other ds. Nothing I do is right how I put them to bed when to put them to bed. How and what to feed them. The ent doc wants them to have a paci at night stll cuz it helps with their sleep apnea by holding their tongue down. She thinks she knows more than doc. She really upsets me!!

 

as far as I am concerned NO ONE can tell you how the rear a multible unless they have had one.I had three under four and it was sooooooo very different than my twin grandchildren. l say give them the kids to look after them for a week with no help. I did it for a whole day , I nearly didnt last and they are 15mths .

 

There is one thing that would REALLY get on my nerves during the first year, everytime one of them would cry, everyone one would try to cram a bottle in their mouth, even after I just fed them! I had to tell some ppl, just b/c they cry doesn't mean that they need fed! That drove me CRAZY!! :crazy:

 

QUOTE(tigerbabysmum @ Apr 7 2009, 02:07 AM) [snapback]1262253[/snapback]
as far as I am concerned NO ONE can tell you how the rear a multible unless they have had one.I had three under four and it was sooooooo very different than my twin grandchildren. l say give them the kids to look after them for a week with no help. I did it for a whole day , I nearly didnt last and they are 15mths .


I couldn't agree MORE!! No one knows until they've been there!

 

I tend to get my dander up over any advice that includes the phrase "..that baby" (or, in my case now, "...those babies")
as in:

THAT BABY needs to be on solids/potty trained/a haircut
You are spoiling THAT BABY
THAT BABY needs a jacket...


You get the idea. I'm pretty willing to listen to nearly anything when it's well presented. For example I can deal with:

"Are they showing any signs of being ready to toilet train?"

or

"Did you want me to grab the babies each a jacket? I'm sure Grandma has some extras here for standbys"

or
"Would you prefer I put the baby down and let him cry, or would you rather I held him?"

That sort of thing. But "that baby" gets to me.

 

QUOTE(idril @ Apr 6 2009, 06:33 PM) [snapback]1261698[/snapback]
You'll laugh (I hope), but the most frequent parenting criticism I get from family and friends is that I feed my girls mostly organic stuff. Everyone seems to think I'm wasting my money buying organic, and especially organic milk. They all say regular is just fine and that it's all hype that there's bad stuff.

It made me laugh that you can be criticized for not buying organic and I get the same criticism for buying it.



I had exactly the same thought. I get criticized for giving the kids organic milk. (And it's not "a few cents more"! The cheapest is $3.59 a gallon. I don't even really do it because I think the babies need all organic. It's more an animal treatment issue with me. There are no studies showing non-organic milk is harmful to kids in any way.

 

QUOTE(Mom to Jack and Anna @ Apr 7 2009, 10:54 AM) [snapback]1262641[/snapback]
I had exactly the same thought. I get criticized for giving the kids organic milk. (And it's not "a few cents more"! The cheapest is $3.59 a gallon. I don't even really do it because I think the babies need all organic. It's more an animal treatment issue with me. There are no studies showing non-organic milk is harmful to kids in any way.


SEE! I am glad I am not nuts and know it's close to $4/gallon for organic milk! LOL!

Ya just gotta love people these days. I certainly would NEVER tell someone how to raise THEIR child. Geesh people! My brother's family-they do organic milk, and probably other organic items as well. But in comparison to myself-my brother is a millionaire. I don't care what he feeds his kids-as long as they are fed and happy and healthy-that's all that matters!

 

My MIL doesn't really try to parent, but seems like we can't do anything right.
Can't count the number of times she has said how she can't believe how much things have changed in the 30 years since she had kids.

Annoying things said, well she did say about 2 weeks ago when talking about having twins, that if she had twins she would shoot herself...real nice Nana, real nice LOL

Dianna

 

QUOTE(megkc03 @ Apr 7 2009, 11:48 AM) [snapback]1262762[/snapback]
SEE! I am glad I am not nuts and know it's close to $4/gallon for organic milk! LOL!

Ya just gotta love people these days. I certainly would NEVER tell someone how to raise THEIR child. Geesh people! My brother's family-they do organic milk, and probably other organic items as well. But in comparison to myself-my brother is a millionaire. I don't care what he feeds his kids-as long as they are fed and happy and healthy-that's all that matters!



That's the cheapest! Most brands are $5.99+. :shok:

 

My mother DRIVES ME INSANE!!!!

Here is the running list so far she says that drives me up the wall:
She always says our house is too cold in the summer(remember we live in Florida) our A/c is set at only 73. She say's i'm going to freeze them too death!
I'm not feeding them enough
I'm not giving them a multi-vitamin
Last week it was high 78 here so, we pulled out the swimming pool and let the kids play around in it. She said it was too cold for that too.
I need to start potty traing the kids rught NOW! They should be potty trained by age two

I could go on & on & on but, I wouldn't want to bore you anymore....LOL!!!