Why can't 'they just leave me alone? Who are they to pass their snide remarks? Do you sometimes have these thoughts racing through your head? I do. Especially when "helpful" relatives try to "assist" you in your parenting journey.

"You SHOULD make sure that your son knows not to go around looking and touching things in relatives house. What if he breaks or spoils something?"mentioned my grandmother. " Back then when your mum was a kid she was NEVER so badly behaved."

I really feel that if she disagree with my upbringing of my son she should approach me directly and not make a "drama" out of it. I am sure that no parent likes their parental approach to be undermind by "higher" authority.

" DUH!!!" hearing such statments really makes me boil. It is bad enough that grandma openly voices her opinions but to hear such negativity with relatives giving the silent nod of approval when the 'Empress' speaks really irks me. I really hate it when she whimsically passes her judgements.

Does the above scenario ring a bell? Has it happened to you too?

What would you have done?

There are two possible ways that I could have responded.

1. Have a all out blow with her about parental styles with little chance of winning the argument. (Yeah grandma is extremely skilled at debating and will never admit that her judgement maybe skewed)

2. Take it with a pinch of salt and remove my child from her radar with an earlier departure from the family gathering.

I chose the later option as I knew that it would be the better option on that occassion. My elder boy and I went on a walk to the playground nearby and we had even more fun then being at the party.

" Mummy next time when we come to grandmas," said Ryan" can we just go in and say hi before dissapearing to the park?"

Hmm.. I definately would be considering his suggestion.

---