Wednesday, July 22, 2009

The Grandparents

I have a friend who has been in a stand-off with her mother-in-law for more than a year now. Some may hear that and assume selfish pride is the issue. Sure, it is possible that one or the other is letting pride get in the way; but in this particular case, I agree with my friend.

The dispute started because grandma tried to supersede mom in the authority of the children. One particular incident - "the incident" - included grandma overriding mom's decision in front of my friend's son. In such a situation, how does a child know who is in charge?

In this situation, grandma was out of line. Unless the safety of the child is involved - and in this case, it wasn't - grandma had her chance to raise her own kids. Now is the time to step back and remember grandma's place is to love and spoil.

The saddest part of this situation is that because grandma does not respect mom's role in the family, grandma isn't welcome in their home any longer. A tall price to pay for a little pride.

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