Continuing from my most recent post on how it is not my children’s job to entertain visitors, I have another, more serious, observation: my children’s affection is not a commodity.
Out with some friends, my children were subjected to a barrage of requests for faux affection.
Sometimes, other adults seem to have no idea how to treat children.
Recently, we met up with some friends. Some of whom have their own children. And my mother-in-law.
I was appalled at how some of the adults felt that it was the job of my children to entertain them.
My final Ten Thoughts Tuesday post is addressing respect.
1. Respect is something that come to the forefront of my mind since having children.
2. Regular readers will know that the lack of respect my mother-in-law shows me as a mother (and Multidaddy as a father) is one of the reasons our relationship is somewhat strained.
3. And whether it’s having children, or just getting older, I now also demand respect from people I associate with.
It’s a sad sad fact that we just cannot trust my mother-in-law around BabyBoy and BabyGirl.
I thought we were making progress. She was knocking when she came to our front door instead of barging on with her key (which Multidaddy had foolishly given her, but that’s another story), she was asking me what food she could give to the children when we went out for meals together, she would double-check with me if she thought one of them needed changing.
But now that’s all been shattered by one weekend visit.
Regular readers of this blog will know that we have had problems with sleep, especially when it comes to BabyBoy. So I am very very strict when it comes to sleep – and one cardinal rule is to allow the babies time to resettle themselves rather than going in straight away if they make a noise. Knowing that the grandparents find this very difficult to comprehend, we have always and repeatedly said that Multidaddy or I will decide when naptime is over.
So BabyBoy and BabyGirl went down for their lunchtime nap. They are pretty good nappers – at least an hour and a half at lunchtime so I took the opportunity to take a shower. I had the monitor with me. Mother-in-law was watching tv in the living room. Multidaddy was on a call in the study.
Less than a hour after they’d gone down BabyBoy made a few noises. Brushing my hair in the bathroom I kept an eye on the monitor. It was unusual, but BabyBoy was clearly half-asleep. Then, as I watched, the door to the nursery opened and I see mother-in-law creep in. Continue reading
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